ISBN : 9780198829355
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.
1 Introduction: What is music, what is this book about?
2 How the brain processes music
3 Brains and the evolution of Homo sapiens
4 Why do we have music as another communication system?
5 Music, altruism and social cooperation
6 The consequences of owning a modern mind
7 Music, development and education
8 Music, therapy and old age
9 Coda: Homo sapientior?
List of Illustrations