Music as Medicine

From the bestselling author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind, a surprising and inspiring exploration of the healing power of music.



We are only just beginning to appreciate the healing power of music. In recent years, a wave of scientific research has upended everything we once knew about its effects on our brains: not only in reducing stress, but also in enhancing cognitive function, slowing the spread of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, even strengthening our immune systems.

Here, a neuroscientist and celebrated musician introduces a bold new paradigm for medical treatment, rooted in the unexpected influence of music on our minds and bodies. From explaining how ‘rhythmic auditory stimulation’ can fight multiple sclerosis, to examining why Tracy Chapman’s songs might just help cure PTSD, Professor Daniel Levitin offers surprising insights into the new science of music as medicine.

Along the way, he explores how each of us can use music to calm our thoughts, repair our memories and heal our deepest psychological wounds. The result is both a surprising tour through the science of music, and a joyful celebration of humanity’s oldest obsession.

Review

For many years I have wondered why a bunch of frequencies organised into a piece of music has the ability, even without words, to make the listener cry and become emotional. Although I know this happens to me and many people, I have often wondered how this can be. Dr Levitin, in this latest book, Music as Medicine, has some fascinating insights into this great phenomenon. -- PAUL MCCARTNEY

Daniel Levitin is a triple threat―a visionary neuroscientist, an extraordinary musician, a brilliant writer―and this is his best book yet. Music as Medicine is inspiring and illuminating, as deep as it is delightful. I couldn’t put it down. ― DANIEL GILBERT, author of Stumbling on Happiness

Lookin’ back at my life, it’s pretty easy to see how music has profoundly benefited my well-being, all while drawing me further and further into its mysteries – and there appears to be no end to this path. Dan Levitin’s take on this mirrors mine – and he can both explain it and tease out the possibilities presented. ― BOB WEIR, The Grateful Dead

Working as a cross-culture detective, Daniel J. Levitin unravels the mysteries of how music heals us and fires our emotions, inspirations, and desires. Levitin cracks the case wide open while synthesising his research and experience in a book that is an important addition to our understanding of the human experience. ― MICHAEL CONNELLY, author of Bosch

In the same way that we musicians study music theory, we also need to study everything in this book. How and why music affects us, and what it does to our minds and bodies, is just as critical to know. And Daniel Levitin pulls this all together beautifully ― VICTOR L. WOOTEN, five-time Grammy Award-winner

Music as Medicine showcases Daniel J. Levitin’s expertise in all genres of music as well as experimental neuroscience. No one else in the universe could have written this book. ― NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

About the Author

Daniel J. Levitin, PhD, is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and bestselling author. He trained at Stanford University Medical School, The University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Oregon. He is founding dean of Arts and Humanities at the Minerva Schools at KGI in San Francisco and Professor Emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University. He is the author of This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies and Statistics and The Changing Mind. He divides his time between Montreal and California.