Benzon, William L. - Beethoven's Anvil

Why does the brain create music? William Benzon finds the key to music's function in this fascinating book. Music demands a coordination of different mental functions and it is this, Benson argues, tht underlies our deep need to create and participate in music. Music synchronizes the brain and ahs a profound influence on the shape of mind and human cultures.

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CONTENTS

PrefaceSpeculative Engineering
Acknowledgments
1 Some Varieties of Musical Experience
Collective Dynamics
1 Music and Coupling
2 Fireflies: Dynamics and Brain States
3 Musical Consciousness and Pleasure
Music and the Mind
1 Blues in the Night: Emotion in Music
2 Rhythm Methods: Patterns of Construction
3 Bright Moments
The Evolution of Musical Culture
1 The Protohuman Rhythm Band
2 Musiking the World
3 Music and Civilization
4 Through Jazz and Beyond
Notes
Bibliography
Index