Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-282) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: What is music? What is this book about? -- How the brain processes music -- Brains and the evolution of Homo sapiens -- Why do we have music as another communication system? -- Music, altruism, and social cooperation -- The consequences of owning a modern mind -- Music, development, and education -- Music, therapy, and old age -- Coda: Homo sapientiort?
Summary:
Music is central to human cultural and intellectual experience. It is vitally important for the welfare of human society and - this book argues - should become more widely accepted in our community as a mainstream educational and therapeutic tool. This book explores the importance of music throughout human evolution, and its continued relevance to modern-day human society. Throughout, the emphasis is on the origin of music and how (and where) it is processed in our brains, exploring in detail the genetic and cultural evolution of modern, loquacious humans, how we may have evolved with unique neural and cognitive architecture, and why two complementary but distinct communication systems - language and music - remain a human universal.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.