Physiology and Music

In our last class we discussed the extent that we have learned about the connection between music and physiology. In the end, we agreed that the translation claiming that there was much to be discovered in this field was more accurate one and this triggered my memory of a book that I read over the summer. Daniel Levitin’s This Is Your Brain on Music discusses how the brain is used in relation to music. The most interesting point that I took away from his work is that if one plays, composes and listens to music, he or she is using all of the parts of the brain that science has accounted for to this day. This brought me to question Hanslick’s assertion in regards to the relation of physiology to music. It is my impression that he was referring solely to the ways in which one listens to music and not performance or composition. I would be curious to hear what Hanslick would say about these other realms of music and how they could be used to support or oppose the arguments that he makes about the relationship between music and feelings.

Book Review of This Is Your Brain on Music