Beethoven's Anvil Music in Mind and Culture

by Benzon, William

• ISBN13: 9780465015443
• ISBN10: 0465015441
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-17
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Why does the brain create music? In Beethoven's Anvil, cognitive scientist and jazz musician William Benzon finds the key to music's function in the very complexity of musical experience. Music demands that our symbol-processing capacities, motor skills, and emotional and communicative skills all work in close coordination--not only within our own heads but also with the heads (and bodies) of others. Music is at once deeply personal and highly social, highly disciplined yet open to emotional nuance and interpretation. It's precisely this coordination of different mental functions, Benzon argues, that underlies our deep need to create and participate in music. At once daring and scholarly, this remarkable book offers a sweeping vision of a vital, underappreciated force in our minds and our culture.

Author Biography

William L. Benzon, Ph.D., a cognitive scientist, is an associate editor of The Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems.

Table of Contents

Preface: Speculative Engineering	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Some Varieties of Musical Experience	p. 1
Collective Dynamics
Music and Coupling	p. 23
Fireflies: Dynamics and Brain States	p. 47
Musical Consciousness and Pleasure	p. 69
Music and the Mind
Blues in the Night: Emotion in Music	p. 93
Rhythm Methods: Patterns of Construction	p. 116
Bright Moments	p. 143
The Evolution of Musical Culture
The Protohuman Rhythm Band	p. 169
Musicking the World	p. 195
Music and Civilization	p. 222
Through Jazz and Beyond	p. 250
Notes	p. 283
Bibliography	p. 301
Index	p. 325
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.