Music as Medicine

Reviews

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. 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. 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. 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 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. Expand reviews