Levitin - The world in six songs: how the musical brain created human nature

THE WORLD IN SIX SONGS

DANIEL J. LEVITIN is the author of The Organized Mind and the New York Times bestseller and Los Angeles Times Book Award nominee This Is Your Brain on Music. He runs the Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise at McGill University. Before becoming a research scientist, he was a record producer and professional musician. As a producer, he has a number of gold records to his credit, and has worked on albums by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Midnight Oil, and k.d. lang. He has played professionally with Mel Torm, Blue yster Cult, and David Byrne. He has published extensively in scientific journals such as Science and Neuron and in audio trade journals such as Grammy, Billboard, and Audio magazine.

Praise for The World in Six Songs

A lively, ambitious new book... whose combined elements can induce feelings of enlightenment and euphoria. Levitin is... able to show off his natural passion and estimable aptitude for writing about music.... Will leave you awestruck.

The New York Times

For fans of This is Your Brain on Music this is a must-read. For other readers, this is a literary, poetic, scientific, and musical treat waiting to be discovered.

Seattle Times

Why can a song make you cry in a matter of seconds? Six Songs is the only book that explains why. With original and awe-inspiring insights into the nature of human artistry, it is irresistibly entertaining. Anyone who loves music should read it.

Bobby McFerrin, ten-time Grammy Awardwinning artist (Dont Worry, Be Happy)

Equal measures of neuroscience and Nick Hornbyesque enthusiasm... A rare feat, both brain workout and beach read, a book that explains the mysteries of oxytocin (the trust-inducing hormone released during communal singing as well as in women during childbirth) and why Sting chants eh-oh at the end of Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.

The Very Short List, www.veryshortlist.com

Exquisitely well-written and easy to read, serving up a great deal of scientific information in a gentle way for those of us who areor just think we area bit science-phobic. More than that, the book is fun. Who would have thought that a scientific hypothesis could be supported by the Slinky song or by Dylans Death Is Not the End?

Huffington Post

Without music, we would be little more than animals, and Daniel Levitin explains it beautifully.

Sir George Martin, CBE, producer of the Beatles

Music seems to have an almost willful, evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know, leaving its power and mystery intact, however much we may dig and delve. Daniels book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox. There may be no simple answer or end in sight, but the ride is nonetheless a thrilling one, especially in the company of a writer who is an accomplished musician, a poet, a hard-nosed scientist, and someone who can still look upon the universe with a sense of wonder.

Sting

Daniel Levitin writes about music with all the exuberance of a die-hard fan, and all the insight of a natural-born scientist. This is a fascinating, entertaining book, and some of its most inventive themes may stay stick in your head forever, something like a well-loved song.

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

Daniel Levitin takes the most sophisticated ideas that exist about the brain and mind, applies them to the most emotionally direct art we have, our songs, and makes beautiful music of the two together.

Adam Gopnik, author of Paris to the Moon

This book brilliantly covers a lot of ground, tells an intimate version of a universal truth, and, finally, explains why a simple love song like When a Man Loves a Woman can take on a religious aura; a book you can use.

Ben Sidran, musician, producer, and composer of, among many others, Steve Millers hit song Space Cowboy

Fascinating. Provides a biological explanation for why we might tap our feet or bob our heads in time with a favorite song, how singing might soothe a baby, and how music emboldens soldiers or athletes preparing for conflict. An easy read.

Associated Press

His passionate journey into the hearts and minds of the musically obsessed is a fantastic ride. Along the way, youll hang out with Sting, Joni Mitchell, and Oliver Sacks, as well as people you likely wont have heard of but will be equally interested to meet, like music theorist Ian Cross.

New Scientist

Levitin creates a rich account of how music has allowed humans to thrive even when faced with war, loss, and dwindling romance.

Seed Magazine

Enthusiastically recommended... Expansive, highly readable, inspirational.... brilliant, popularistic music commentary.

Chamber Music Today

Thoughtful and wide-ranging... entertaining, captivating. Read Six Songs. Maybe we can have our cheesecake and eat it too.

Evolutionary Psychology

With protean musical reach and intellectual grasp... a Pied Piper celebrating diversity within community, in this exploration of music, emotion, and the brain. Now with a freer, more personal voice, Levitin provides an exemplary mix of scientist and artist, student and teacher, performer and listener.

Library Journal (starred review)

Charles Darwin meets the Beatles... an intriguing explanation for the power of music in our lives as individuals and as a society.

Publishers Weekly

A truly fascinating book with enormous scope, The World in Six Songs provides music lovers, and others, with an education in music as it influenced human and cultural evolution. Levitin presents his information in a scientific yet approachable manner and keeps what could be a very heavy topic fun and anecdotal.

Powells Books, Portland, OR

Its a provocative theory and an ambitious undertaking, but Levitin is up to the task. Through interviews with musicians and evolutionary biologists and his own scientific research, Levitin forms a compelling argument. As important as this work is, Levitin keeps things light. The result is a tremendously fun yet thought-provoking book.

P. Egan, Elliot Bay Book Company, Seattle

I found this a fresh, compelling construct that allows the author to explain how music enriches and informs our lives, how it teaches us, how it helps usand also for him to share vivid stories that illustrate his points.... This ones worth not just a read but a couple of wonderful rereads.

Readers Digest

An entertaining read. You will constantly learn new things.

The Vancouver Sun

Daniel Levitin is one of the most interesting writers and thinkers about music in the world today.

Edwin Outwater, former resident conductor, San Francisco Symphony; guest conductor, San Francisco and Chicago Symphony Orchestras

I was skeptical when I began reading. The stated goal seemed outlandish. But by the time I was about one-third the way into The World in Six Songs, I realized just how powerful it is. It really is a tour de force. It is exquisitely written, and brings together a vast array of knowledge, tying things together in creative ways, while always remaining accessible. This promises to be not only another widely read hit, but also an important document for the field of music cognition.