Musical Cognition A Science of Listening

Why do people attach importance to the wordless language we call music? Musical Cognition suggests that music is a game. In music, our cognitive functions such as perception, memory, attention,and expectation are challenged; yet, as listeners, we often do not realize that the listener plays an actve role in reaching the awareness that makes music so exhilarating, soothing, and inspiring. In reality, the author contends, listening does not happen in the outer world of audible sound, but in the inner world of our minds and brains...The scope of the topics discussed ranges from the ability of newborns to perceive a beat, to the unexpected musical expertise of odinary listeners. The evidence shows that music is second nature to most human beings - biologically and socially.