Musicophilia : tales of music and the brain

Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does–humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks’s compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people–from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome who are hypermusical from birth; from people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds–for everything but music. Our exquisite sensitivity to music can sometimes go wrong: Sacks explores how catchy tunes can subject us to hours of mental replay, and how a surprising number of people acquire nonstop musical hallucinations that assault them night and day. Yet far more frequently, music goes right: Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson’s disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer’s or amnesia. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and in Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks tells us why. ([source][1]) [1]: https://www.oliversacks.com/books-by-oliver-sacks/musicophilia/ Music Can Move Us To The Heights Or Depths Of Emotion. It Can Persuade Us To Buy Something, Or Remind Us Of Our First Date. It Can Lift Us Out Of Depression When Nothing Else Can. It Can Get Us Dancing To Its Beat. But The Power Of Music Goes Much, Much Further. Indeed, Music Occupies More Areas Of Our Brain Than Language Does--humans Are A Musical Species. Oliver Sacks's Compassionate, Compelling Tales Of People Struggling To Adapt To Different Neurological Conditions Have Fundamentally Changed The Way We Think Of Our Own Brains, And Of The Human Experience. Here, He Examines The Powers Of Music Through The Individual Experiences Of Patients, Musicians, And Everyday People. Music Is Irresistible, Haunting, And Unforgettable, And Oliver Sacks Tells Us Why.--from Publisher Description. Haunted By Music. A Bolt From The Blue : Sudden Musicophilia ; A Strangely Familiar Feeling : Musical Seizures ; Fear Of Music : Musicogenic Epilepsy ; Music On The Brain : Imagery And Imagination ; Brainworms, Sticky Music And Catchy Tunes ; Musical Hallucinations -- A Range Of Musicality. Sense And Sensibility : A Range Of Musicality ; Things Fall Apart : Amusia And Dysharmonia ; Papa Blows His Nose In G : Absolute Pitch ; Pitch Imperfect : Cochlear Amusia ; In Living Stereo : Why We Have Two Ears ; Two Thousand Operas : Musical Savants ; An Auditory World : Music And Blindness ; The Key Of Clear Green : Synesthesia And Music -- Memory, Movement, And Music. In The Moment : Music And Amnesia ; Speech And Song : Aphasia And Music Therapy ; Accidental Davening : Dyskinesia And Cantillation ; Come Together : Music And Tourette's Syndrome ; Keeping Time : Rhythm And Movement ; Kinetic Melody: Parkinson's Disease And Music Therapy -- Phantom Fingers: The Case Of The One-armed Pianist ; Athletes Of The Small Muscles : Musician's Dystonia -- Emotion, Identity, And Music. Awake And Asleep : Musical Dreams ; Seduction And Indifference ; Lamentations : Music And Depression ; The Case Of Harry S. : Music And Emotion ; Irrepressible : Music And The Temporal Lobes ; A Hypermusical Species : Williams Syndrome ; Music And Identity : Dementia And Music Therapy. Oliver Sacks. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 353-367) And Index. Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat._ But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does—humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks’s compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people—from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; from people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds—for everything but music. Our exquisite sensitivity to music can sometimes go wrong: Sacks explores how catchy tunes can subject us to hours of mental replay, and how a surprising number of people acquire nonstop musical hallucinations that assault them night and day. Yet far more frequently, music goes right: Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson’s disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer’s or amnesia. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and in Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks tells us why. Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does--humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and Oliver Sacks tells us why.--From publisher description. Read more... Abstract: Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does--humans are a musical species. Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. Here, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people. Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and Oliver Sacks tells us why.--From publisher description Haunted by music. A bolt from the blue : sudden musicophilia ; A strangely familiar feeling : musical seizures ; Fear of music : musicogenic epilepsy ; Music on the brain : imagery and imagination ; Brain worms, sticky music and catchy tunes ; Musical hallucinations -- A range of musicality. Sense and sensibility : a range of musicality ; Things fall apart : amusia and dysharmonia ; Papa blows his nose in G : absolute pitch ; Pitch imperfect : cochlear amusia ; In living stereo : why we have two ears ; Two thousand operas : musical savants ; An auditory world : music and blindness ; The key of clear green : synesthesia and music -- Memory, movement, and music. In the moment : music and amnesia ; Speech and song : asphia and music therapy ; Accidental davening : dyskinesia and cantillation ; Come together : music and Tourette's syndrome ; Keeping time : rhythm and movement ; Kinetic melody: parkinson's disease and music therapy ; Phantom fingers: the case of the one-armed pianist ; Athletes of the small muscles : musician's dystonia -- Emotion, identity, and music. Awake and asleep : musical dreams ; Seduction and indiference ; Lamentations : music and depression ; The case of Harry S. : music and emotion ; Irrepressible : music and the temporal lobes ; A hypermusical species : Williams syndrome ; Music and identity : dementia and music therapy. Haunted by music. A bolt from the blue : sudden musicophilia ; A strangely familiar feeling : musical seizures ; Fear of music : musicogenic epilepsy ; Music on the brain : imagery and imagination ; Brain worms, sticky music and catchy tunes ; Musical hallucinations A range of musicality. Sense and sensibility : a range of musicality ; Things fall apart : amusia and dysharmonia ; Papa blows his nose in G : absolute pitch ; Pitch imperfect : cochlear amusia ; In living stereo : why we have two ears ; Two thousand operas : musical savants ; An auditory world : musicality and blindness ; The key of clear green : synesthesia and music Memory, movement, and music. In the moment : music and amnesia ; Speech and song : music therapy and aphasia ; Accidental davening : dyskinesia and cantillation ; Touch heaven : music and Tourette's syndrome ; Keeping time : rhythm and movement ; Kinetic melody: music therapy and parkinson's disease Phantom fingers: the case of the one-armed pianist ; Athletes of the small muscles : musician's dystonia Emotion, identity, and music. Awake and asleep : musical dreams ; Indifference to music ; Lamentations : music and depression ; The case of Harry S. : music and emotion ; Irrepressible : music and the temporal lobes ; A hypermusical species : Williams syndrome ; Music and identity : music therapy and dementia. What goes on in human beings when they make or listen to music? What is it about music, what gives it such peculiar power over us, power delectable and beneficent for the most part, but also capable of uncontrollable and sometimes destructive force? Music has no concepts, it lacks images; it has no power of representation, it has no relation to the world. And yet it is evident in all of us–we tap our feet, we keep time, hum, sing, conduct music, mirror the melodic contours and feelings of what we hear in our movements and expressions. In this book, Oliver Sacks explores the power music wields over us–a power that sometimes we control and at other times don’t. He explores, in his inimitable fashion, how it can provide access to otherwise unreachable emotional states, how it can revivify neurological avenues that have been frozen, evoke memories of earlier, lost events or states or bring those with neurological disorders back to a time when the world was much richer. This is a book that explores, like no other, the myriad dimensions of our experience of and with music. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition.“Powerful and compassionate.... A book that not only contributes to our understanding of the elusive magic of music but also illuminates the strange workings, and misfirings, of the human mind.” —The New York Times In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls “musical misalignments.” Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with “amusia,” to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable. With the same trademark compassion and erudition he brought to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks explores the place music occupies in the brain and how it affects the human condition. In Musicophilia, he shows us a variety of what he calls musical misalignments. Among them: a man struck by lightning who suddenly desires to become a pianist at the age of forty-two; an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; people with amusia, to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans; and a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music. Illuminating, inspiring, and utterly unforgettable, Musicophilia is Oliver Sacks latest masterpiece. Drawing on the individual experiences of patients, musicians, composers, and ordinary people, the author explores the complex human response to music, and how music can affect those suffering from a variety of ailments.