I just finished This is Your Brain on Music, by Daniel Levitin. It is an amazing book, for several reasons:
- Levitin was a rock music ;erformer and producer before deciding to study musicology and neuroscience, so his examples are hip and personal. But he is an eclectic lover of music, and his references to classical music are equally knowledgeable and evocative.
- The book addresses aspects of a question that has troubled me since my childhood: Why does some music make us happy and other music makes us sad? How universal are its effects?
- Levitin is a wonderful scientist, who is able to express strong beliefs while clearly representing opposing views.
- The writing is excellent.
I think the layout could have used a bit more “air.” Paragraphs are very long, and often made me feel a need to take a deep breath before proceeding.
It’s an old saw and true: If you want to write well, read lots of good writing. This book will help.
I’ve recently finished it too. Good mixture of fairly detailed facts mixed with opinions. Some of the musical references were hard to follow – the breadth of musical styles was profound. Not the kind of book to be read in one sitting. Something to dip into again and again.
- Alison