Music is more than just pitch and rhythm, timbre and tempo. Music can comfort. Or annoy. It helps us celebrate – and mourn. Music can foster a sense of group identity. (Consider national anthems.)
Are human beings hard-wired to enjoy music? What role did music play in the evolution of human societies? What would life be without music?
In this World Science Forum, we talk to Daniel Levitin, a neuroscientist at McGill University. He’s an expert on music cognition and the author of two books: This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs.
Levitin argues that music is at the heart of human nature. The World’s Rhitu Chatterjee spoke with Levitin for The World Science Podcast.
http://www.world-science.org/forum/music-brain-daniel-levitin/