Ever wonder why many people wake up to music, work out in the gym to music, and play music while they are doing other activities? The reason lies in the fact that music engages many parts of our brain that integrate elements of emotions and memory. No wonder, listening to music does alter our mood and reduce stress. For good reasons, music is considered as important as the fundamental pleasures with a majority ranking music among the things that bring them the most pleasure, usually above money, art and even food.
In Every Brain Needs Music, Larry Sherman, a neuroscientist and lifelong musician, and Dennis Plies, a professional musician and teacher, collaborate to show how human beings create, practise, perform, and listen to music. They explore how music – instrumental or vocal — alters the air molecules that enter the ear and stimulate specialised nerve cells to generate powerful effects on our emotions. While neurons, the brain cells, do play a role in responding to music, it is unclear how we immediately recognise music after hearing just a few notes but distinguish the crescendo of flushing water as a sign of functional plumbing only. Charles Darwin suggested that the human brain evolved to engage in music, and is equipped to draw a distinction between music and noise.
The language of music
Like human languages, music has a language that can enhance the meaning of our words and our ability to express ourselves in subtle ways. In eight musical curated chapters, the book connects cognitive, sensory and motor functions of the brain’s capacity for creativity. Of common interest are the final two chapters on how the brain listens to music and likes or dislikes it, bringing joy or sadness.
To add more substance to the narrative, the authors conducted a survey of over one hundred composers, professional, and amateur musicians, teachers, students, and music lovers to gauge their response on how music brings them pleasure. While acknowledging that music is the most fundamental of the higher-order pleasures, the majority echoed Friedrich Nietzsche’s most famous words: ‘Without music, life would be a mistake.’ Music is ingrained in the human system much before language came into being. Music is known to create an ‘aha’ moment for many – an Alzheimer’s patient after listening to his favourite number could recall his family members; a young woman with Parkinson’s could lift her foot after humming a rhythm; and an advanced stage cancer patient could forget the pain after listening to his favourite song.
Witty and informative, Every Brain Needs Music evokes the love of music in more ways than one. Learning to play an instrument or sing can drive the generation of new cells, new synapses, and new myelin in our brains. As music involves a high degree of sensory, motor, and cognitive integration, it generates a powerful effect on emotions and memories. No other activity engages multiple networks within our brains. It is this that makes music exclusive to human existence. The authors call for the need to mainstream music education for the role it may play to enrich our aesthetic and cognitive lives.
While researching and writing this book, Sherman and Plies were careful not to be swayed by poetic expressions like ‘music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.’ Instead, they took a deep dive into what music is to the human brain. Their conclusion? It’s the brain which makes music music.
Every Brain Needs Music
Larry Sherman, Dennis Plies
Columbia University Press
$32
The reviewer is an independent writer, researcher and academic.