Music: The Brain and Ecstasy

( 2 )

Overview

Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy is a far-reaching study of how music captivates us so completely and why we form such powerful connections to it. Leading us to an understanding of the pleasures of sound, Robert Jourdain draws on a variety of fields including science, psychology, and philosophy. He uses music from around the world to show how melodies work, how rhythm differs from beat, and why some sounds are beautiful and others ugly. Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy looks at the evolution of music and introduces ...
See more details below
Available through our Marketplace sellers.
See All Options
Other sellers (Hardcover)
  • All (31) from $1.99   
  • New (2) from $13.75   
  • Used (29) from $1.99   
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Note: Marketplace items are not eligible for any BN.com coupons and promotions
$13.75
connecticattic
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(4)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

New
New! We ship daily from our smoke-free, humidity-controlled library. No-hassle returns.

Ships from: New Canaan, CT

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$23.99
Mario Leclerc QC
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(22)

Condition: New
New 1997 Softcover Edition Published by William Morrow-Quality Books...Because We Care-Shipped from Canada-Usually within 1 and 2 business days.

Ships from: Ottawa, Canada

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 1
Showing All
Close
Sort by
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy is a far-reaching study of how music captivates us so completely and why we form such powerful connections to it. Leading us to an understanding of the pleasures of sound, Robert Jourdain draws on a variety of fields including science, psychology, and philosophy. He uses music from around the world to show how melodies work, how rhythm differs from beat, and why some sounds are beautiful and others ugly. Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy looks at the evolution of music and introduces surprising new concepts of memory and perception, knowledge and attention, motion and emotion, all at work as music takes hold of us. Along the way, a fascinating cast of characters brings Jourdain's narrative to vivid life: "idiots savants" who absorb whole pieces on a single hearing, composers who hallucinate entire compositions, a psychic who claimed to take dictation from long-dead composers, and victims of brain damage who can move only when they hear music. In each of these, Jourdain assures us, we will see parts of ourselves. Using such examples, he helps explain the parallels between music and language, and asks how the brain reacts to each.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Synthesizing recent research from the burgeoning science of musical psychoacoustics, Jourdain, a California musician, provides a richly informative, exuberant, wonderfully accessible introduction to how we perceive and experience music. Choosing examples eclectically, from Henry Mancini's "The Pink Panther" to Mozart, Stravinsky and Duke Ellington, he explores how, when we compose, perform or listen to music, the brain assembles musical devices, patterns and harmonies into vast, meaningful hierarchies of sound. He also offers tantalizing if inevitably unsatisfying answers to such age-old enigmas as what makes a great melody or how music elicits emotions and gives pleasure. Requiring no prior musical or scientific knowledge, this survey is sprinkled with interesting historical anecdotes (Beethoven was an early victim of metronome mania; Aaron Copland hit upon the title Appalachian Spring only after he had finished composing his tone poem) as well as seldom-appreciated facts. We learn, for instance, that musical dissonance and consonance have a neurological basis, in the inner ear's structure. Jourdain writes with verve, infectious enthusiasm and rare insight into music's emotive power. (Mar.)
Library Journal
Jourdain, a pianist, composer, and researcher on artificial intelligence, investigates music from its most fundamental biological basis to the psychology of composing and performing, ending with speculation on music's future possibilities. While trained musicians will be especially fascinated with the chapters on musical education, the virtuoso, and the amateur, Jourdain succeeds in making this work understandable for those without specialized knowledge. Though written music surfaces in the form of Henry Mancini's sprightly theme from The Pink Panther as an illustration of various concepts, readers who don't read music will probably still follow the examples without difficulty. The author's presentation combines the thoughts of many previous writers in a wide variety of fields with the results of recent research, enriched with his own insights on popular, classical, and non-Western music. A thought-provoking work for music teachers, serious music students, and others with an interest in what music is and where it might be going.-James E. Ross, WLN, Seattle
Kirkus Reviews
A layman's primer on the psychology and history of the human response to music.

Jourdain, a California composer and pianist, goes at his subject with the zeal of an impresario, approaching music from as many different angles as he can think of: the anthropological, the biological, the aesthetic, the moral, and the physical. The book that results from his discoveries swarms with information. We learn that "all in all, it took some 500 million years—well over a hundred million generations of animals—to evolve from the first hint of sound to an ear that can fathom Don Giovanni." Readers also benefit from detailed explanations of the mechanics of hearing for crickets (whose " `ears' consist of thinnings on [their] front knees that vibrate only at certain frequencies made by rasping cricket legs"), various birds, dinosaurs, whales, as well as Jourdain's main focus, homo sapiens. He divides the book into chapters on the basics of sound and aspects of music (e.g., harmony and rhythm) and the ways we perceive them, then goes on to consider the neurological and emotional adaptations of composers and musicians to the demands of music, noting that there is no proof that any "particular brand of emotionality is tied to musical greatness." Although the title implies that ecstasy is central to Jourdain's musical interest, this isn't addressed until the last chapter, which looks at music as a means of psychic healing and regeneration ("it lifts us from our frozen mental habits and makes our minds move in ways they ordinarily cannot"). Jourdain is an able guide in matters scientific. His comments on music as an art are less sophisticated. When discussing musical understanding, he remarks, " `Meaning' is one of those fuzzy concepts that keep philosophers in business. It has no simple explanation."

A know-it-all he isn't. But Jourdain knows enough to keep us listening.

Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780688142360
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 3/1/1997
  • Pages: 377
  • Product dimensions: 5.92 (w) x 8.56 (h) x 1.31 (d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 From sound... 1
2 ...to tone ... 30
3 ...to melody... 58
4 ...to harmony... 91
5 ...to rhythm... 120
6 ...to composition... 155
7 ...to performance... 196
8 ...to listening... 236
9 ...to understanding... 269
10 ...to ecstasy 300
Glossary 335
Notes 345
Bibliography 351
Index 361
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 2 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)