Wired for music: a search for health and joy through the science of sound
Description
“Beautifully written… a riveting account of how melodies and rhythms connect us, and help us deal with alienation and anxiety.”—Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score
In this captivating blend of science and memoir, a health journalist and former cellist explores music as a source of health, resilience, connection, and joy.
Music isn’t just background noise or a series of torturous exercises we remember from piano lessons. In the right doses, it can double as a mild antidepressant, painkiller, sleeping pill, memory aid—and enhance athletic performance while supporting healthy aging. Though music has been used as a healing strategy since ancient times, neuroscientists have only recently discovered how melody and rhythm stimulate core memory, motor, and emotion centers in the brain. But here’s the catch: We can tune into music every day and still miss out on some of its potent effects.
Adriana Barton learned the hard way. Starting at age five, she studied the cello for nearly two decades, a pursuit that left her with physical injuries and emotional scars. In Wired for Music, she sets out to discover what music is really for, combing through medical studies, discoveries by pioneering neuroscientists, and research from biology and anthropology. Traveling from state-of-the-art science labs to a remote village in Zimbabwe, her investigation gets to the heart of music’s profound effects on the human body and brain. Blending science and story, Wired for Music shows how our species’ age-old connection to melody and rhythm is wired inside us.
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Publisher's Weekly Review
Journalist Barton explores the power of music in her impressive debut. After developing "soft-tissue injuries so severe it hurt to turn a doorknob," Barton gave up her dream of becoming a classical cellist, despite 17 years of work, and set out to find new ways to experience music, whether learning about the mbira, taking drum lessons, trying "soundwave therapy," or traveling to a favela in Brazil where "hipsters played tambourines while rappers dueled." Marveling at the prehistoric origins of song and the innate musicality shared by humans and animals (whales "sing," and cockatoos are known for "beat-matching"), Barton delves into neurological studies of how music helps ease anxiety, insomnia, and post-surgery pain. She also debunks myths, such as that prenatal classical music listening sessions can enhance a baby's brain power. The survey is infused with candid personal anecdotes ("By the age of ten," her son "was as repulsed by my world music as I am by his Minecraft-themed pop") as it explicates the wonders of the human brain and its ability to make sense of sound: "After all, it's our brain that weaves layers of meaning from all the chaotic frequencies we hear." Witty and soulful, this will delight music fans. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Journalist Barton explores the power of music in her impressive debut. After developing "soft-tissue injuries so severe it hurt to turn a doorknob," Barton gave up her dream of becoming a classical cellist, despite 17 years of work, and set out to find new ways to experience music, whether learning about the mbira, taking drum lessons, trying "soundwave therapy," or traveling to a favela in Brazil where "hipsters played tambourines while rappers dueled." Marveling at the prehistoric origins of song and the innate musicality shared by humans and animals (whales "sing," and cockatoos are known for "beat-matching"), Barton delves into neurological studies of how music helps ease anxiety, insomnia, and post-surgery pain. She also debunks myths, such as that prenatal classical music listening sessions can enhance a baby's brain power. The survey is infused with candid personal anecdotes ("By the age of ten," her son "was as repulsed by my world music as I am by his Minecraft-themed pop") as it explicates the wonders of the human brain and its ability to make sense of sound: "After all, it's our brain that weaves layers of meaning from all the chaotic frequencies we hear." Witty and soulful, this will delight music fans. (Oct.)
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