Music, the brain, and ecstasy : how music captures our imagination / Robert Jourdain.

By:

Jourdain, Robert

Publication details: New York : W. Morrow, c1997.Edition: 1st edDescription: xvii, 377 p. : ill. ; 22 cmISBN:

0688142362

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

781/.11 20

LOC classification:

ML3830 .J68 1997

Summary: Publisher description: What makes a distant oboe's wail beautiful? Why do some kinds of music lift us to ecstasy, but not others? How can music make sense to an ear and brain evolved for detecting the approaching lion or tracking the unsuspecting gazelle? Lyrically interweaving discoveries from science, psychology, music theory, paleontology, and philosophy, Robert Jourdian brilliantly examines why music speaks to us in ways that words cannot, and why we form such powerful connections to it. In clear, understandable language, Jourdian expertly guides the reader through a continuum of musical experience: sound, tone, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, performance, listening, understanding--and finally to ecstasy. Along the way, a fascinating cast of characters brings Jourdian's narrative to vivid life: "idiots savants" who absorb whole pieces on a single hearing, composers who hallucinate entire compositions, a psychic who claims to take dictation from long-dead composers, and victims of brain damage who can move only when they hear music. Here is a book that will entertain, inform, and stimulate everyone who loves music--and make them think about their favorite song in startling new ways.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 2 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Shelving location	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	NMC Library	Stacks	ML3830 .J68 1997 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		33039000696202

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Previous	No cover image available							Next
Previous	ML3805 .J43 S3 1968 Science & music,	ML3820 .A43 2013 Indirect procedures : a musician's guide to the Alexander technique /	ML3830 .B97 2012 How music works /	ML3830 .J68 1997 Music, the brain, and ecstasy : how music captures our imagination /	ML3830 .J87 2019 Musical emotions explained : unlocking the secrets of musical affect /	ML3830 .K756 2017 The new analog : listening and reconnecting in a digital world /	ML3830 .L38 2006 This is your brain on music : the science of a human obsession /	Next

Includes bibliographical references (p. [351]-359) and index.

Publisher description: What makes a distant oboe's wail beautiful? Why do some kinds of music lift us to ecstasy, but not others? How can music make sense to an ear and brain evolved for detecting the approaching lion or tracking the unsuspecting gazelle? Lyrically interweaving discoveries from science, psychology, music theory, paleontology, and philosophy, Robert Jourdian brilliantly examines why music speaks to us in ways that words cannot, and why we form such powerful connections to it. In clear, understandable language, Jourdian expertly guides the reader through a continuum of musical experience: sound, tone, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, performance, listening, understanding--and finally to ecstasy. Along the way, a fascinating cast of characters brings Jourdian's narrative to vivid life: "idiots savants" who absorb whole pieces on a single hearing, composers who hallucinate entire compositions, a psychic who claims to take dictation from long-dead composers, and victims of brain damage who can move only when they hear music. Here is a book that will entertain, inform, and stimulate everyone who loves music--and make them think about their favorite song in startling new ways.