I heard there was a secret chord : music as medicine / Daniel J. Levitin.

By:

Levitin, Daniel J [author.]

Material type: Text

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

1324036184
9781324036180

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Contents:

A musical species -- If I only had a brain : the neuroanatomy of music -- Oh, the shark bites : musical memory -- Look at me now : attention -- Daydream believer : the brain's "default mode," introspection, and meditation -- Interlude -- Music, movement, and movement disorders -- Parkinson's disease -- Trauma -- Mental health -- Memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke -- Pain -- Neurodevelopmental disorders -- Learning how to fly -- Music in everyday life -- Fate knocking on your door : précis to a theory of musical meaning -- Music medicine, mystery, and possibility.

Summary: "Neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music Daniel J. Levitin reveals how the deep connections between music and the human brain can be harnessed for healing. Music is perhaps one of humanity's oldest medicines as well as its most universal: from China to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and pre-colonial South America, cultures have developed rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, spur healing, and calm the mind. Despite this history, musical therapy has long been considered the remit of ancient practice and alternative medicine, if not outright quackery and pseudoscience. In the last decade, however, an overwhelming body of scientific evidence has emerged that persuasively argues music can offer profoundly effective treatment for a whole host of ailments, from Alzheimer's to PTSD, depression, pain, and cognitive injury. It is, in short, one of the most potent and remarkably promising new therapies available today. A work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and joyful celebration of the human mind, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord explores the critical role music has played in human evolution, illuminating how the story of the human brain is inseparable from the creative enterprise of music that has bound cultures together throughout history. Music insinuates itself into our earliest memories; it is intimately connected to our emotional regulation and cognition; its shared rhythms and sounds are essential to our social behaviors. As neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin demonstrates in this mind-expanding follow-up to This Is Your Brain on Music--which revolutionized our understanding of the neuroscience of song--medical researchers are now finding that these same deep connections can be harnessed to create profound benefits for those both young and old"-- Provided by publisher.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	615.85154 LEV	Available		36748002567339

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Music is one of humanity's oldest medicines. From the Far East to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and the pre-colonial Americas, many cultures have developed their own rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, promote healing, and calm the mind.

In his latest work, neuroscientist and New York Times best-selling author Daniel J. Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music) explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today. He brings together, for the first time, the results of numerous studies on music and the brain, demonstrating how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain.

Levitin is not your typical scientist--he is also an award-winning musician and composer, and through lively interviews with some of today's most celebrated musicians, from Sting to Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama, he shares their observations as to why music might be an effective therapy, in addition to plumbing scientific case studies, music theory, and music history. The result is a work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and jubilant celebration. I Heard There Was a Secret Chord highlights the critical role music has played in human biology, illuminating the neuroscience of music and its profound benefits for those both young and old.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 344-383) and index.

"Neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music Daniel J. Levitin reveals how the deep connections between music and the human brain can be harnessed for healing. Music is perhaps one of humanity's oldest medicines as well as its most universal: from China to the Ottoman Empire, Europe to Africa and pre-colonial South America, cultures have developed rich traditions for using sound and rhythm to ease suffering, spur healing, and calm the mind. Despite this history, musical therapy has long been considered the remit of ancient practice and alternative medicine, if not outright quackery and pseudoscience. In the last decade, however, an overwhelming body of scientific evidence has emerged that persuasively argues music can offer profoundly effective treatment for a whole host of ailments, from Alzheimer's to PTSD, depression, pain, and cognitive injury. It is, in short, one of the most potent and remarkably promising new therapies available today. A work of dazzling ideas, cutting-edge research, and joyful celebration of the human mind, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord explores the critical role music has played in human evolution, illuminating how the story of the human brain is inseparable from the creative enterprise of music that has bound cultures together throughout history. Music insinuates itself into our earliest memories; it is intimately connected to our emotional regulation and cognition; its shared rhythms and sounds are essential to our social behaviors. As neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin demonstrates in this mind-expanding follow-up to This Is Your Brain on Music--which revolutionized our understanding of the neuroscience of song--medical researchers are now finding that these same deep connections can be harnessed to create profound benefits for those both young and old"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

1 A Musical Species (1)
2 If I Only Had a Brain The Neuroanatomy of Music (15)
3 Oh, the Shark Bites Musical Memory (36)
4 Look at Me Now Attention (60)
5 Daydream Believer The Brain's "Default Mode," Introspection, and Meditation (11)
Interlude (95)
6 Music, Movement, and Movement Disorders (102)
7 Parkinson's Disease (126)
8 Trauma (139)
9 Mental Health (156)
10 Memory Loss, Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Stroke (168)
11 Pain (187)
12 Neurodevelopmental Disorders (200)
13 Learning How to Fly (227)
14 Music in Everyday Life (250)
15 Fate Knocking on Your Door Précis to a Theory of Musical Meaning (276)
16 Music Medicine, Mystery, and Possibility (317)
Acknowledgments (325)
Appendix: Types of Music Therapy (331)
Glossary (335)
Notes (344)
Index (384)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Playing and listening to music soothes the agitated mind, stimulates memory, and improves physical coordination, according to this exuberant treatise from neuroscientist Levitin (This Is Your Brain on Music). Drawing on experiments conducted in his lab--the brain produces endogenous opioids when listening to music, his students found--and his experience as a professional guitarist and producer, Levitin delves into the burgeoning field of music therapy. Music, he writes, promotes the mind's default mode network of high neural connectivity and stimulates facets of brain function from motor control and memory to focus and emotional control. As a result, research suggests, music may diminish anxiety and depression, reduce blood pressure, improve walking and speech in Huntington's disease patients, lessen Alzheimer's symptoms, and even help to bridge seemingly uncrossable social divides (at a 2009 Esalen Institute workshop Levitin attended, Israeli and Palestinian participants wrote a song together that called for the removal of walls between the West Bank and Israel, swaying some Israeli hardliners that the wall was antithetical to peace). Enriching lucidly explained neuroscience with ebullient musical appreciation (a Billy Pierce saxophone solo is "in turns thrilling, heartbreaking, bustling, radiant, and always, always moving forward"), Levitin makes a persuasive case for music's therapeutic potential that gives due to its medical promise without undercutting its mysteries. The result is a fascinating take on the tuneful raptures of the mind. (Aug.)

Kirkus Book Review

A leading researcher delves into the unique healing powers of music. Most people have certain pieces of music that improve their mood or make them tap their foot. Levitin, a respected neuroscientist and cognitive psychologist with a long list of academic and artistic qualifications, has been studying this phenomenon for years, using MRI and other advanced technologies to find out what is going on inside the brain. He delved into this area in his books This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs, and this book extends and updates his research. Listening to music activates certain areas of the brain, and the aim is to use that increased stimulation to help areas that have been damaged by illness or are malfunctioning to produce depression or other mental problems. Levitin has had significant success using music as a form of treatment, although he acknowledges that there is still much about neuroanatomy that is unknown. Using it for movement problems has been the area that has shown the most promise, and the chapter on treating Parkinson's disease is illustrative of what can be achieved. There has also been success with treating PTSD, helping sufferers reconnect with their pre-trauma identities. The author emphasizes that there are no magic bullets, and not everyone responds. Moreover, each patient has to find a piece of music--or a genre or style--that speaks to them. Nonetheless, Levitin is convincing in his argument that this area potentially offers an alternative or supplement to pharmacological methods. Informative and enjoyable, this book is for anyone interested in how the practice of medicine is expanding, and it's a must-read for fans of the author's previous books on music and the brain. Levitin's story is a fascinating piece of work, written with authority, empathy, and occasional humor. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.