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    Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
    Unavailable
    Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
    Unavailable
    Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

    Written by Oliver Sacks

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat.  But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas of our brain than language does-humans are a musical species.

    Oliver Sacks's compassionate, compelling tales of people struggling to adapt to different neurological conditions have fundamentally changed the way we think of our own brains, and of the human experience. In Musicophilia, he examines the powers of music through the individual experiences of patients, musicians, and everyday people-from a man who is struck by lightning and suddenly inspired to become a pianist at the age of forty-two, to an entire group of children with Williams syndrome, who are hypermusical from birth; from people with "amusia," to whom a symphony sounds like the clattering of pots and pans, to a man whose memory spans only seven seconds-for everything but music.

    Our exquisite sensitivity to music can sometimes go wrong: Sacks explores how catchy tunes can subject us to hours of mental replay, and how a surprising number of people acquire nonstop musical hallucinations that assault them night and day. Yet far more frequently, music goes right: Sacks describes how music can animate people with Parkinson's disease who cannot otherwise move, give words to stroke patients who cannot otherwise speak, and calm and organize people whose memories are ravaged by Alzheimer's or amnesia.

    Music is irresistible, haunting, and unforgettable, and in Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks tells us why.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 16, 2007
    ISBN9780739357408
    Unavailable
    Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
    Author

    Oliver Sacks

    Oliver Sacks was born in 1933 in London and was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford. He completed his medical training at San Francisco's Mount Zion Hospital and at UCLA before moving to New York, where he soon encountered the patients whom he would write about in his book Awakenings. Dr Sacks spent almost fifty years working as a neurologist and wrote many books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations, about the strange neurological predicaments and conditions of his patients. The New York Times referred to him as 'the poet laureate of medicine', and over the years he received many awards, including honours from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Royal College of Physicians. In 2008, he was appointed Commander of the British Empire. His memoir, On the Move, was published shortly before his death in August 2015.

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    Reviews for Musicophilia

    3.5/5

    800 ratings64 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Sacks' observational essays on all things musical. Typically good.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating book, great read
    • 5/5
      music according to sacks
    • 4/5
      Neurologist and prolific author Oliver Sacks turns his attention to music and the brain in this collection of case studies of patients and others.I've read Hallucinations and Gratitude, and own two other books by Sacks that I'm interested in reading. His collections of case studies both shine light on how the brain works and what it can do when it works uniquely in an individual. I found this one of his weaker books. Music is the driving force behind it, but the case studies are all over the place, running the gamut from perfect pitch (very closely related to music) to an individual who had such severe amnesia and short term memory loss that he couldn't remember anything within a few minutes but who nonetheless could still relate to music. Some chapters were organized thematically and introduced several case studies; a few were one unique case study, only a few pages long. And for some reason, this one in particular had a lot of notes referring to case studies that were explored more fully in his earlier books. I carried on because I did enjoy what I was learning, but it's probably not a book I'd reread nor one I'd recommend as an introduction to Sacks' work.
    • 3/5
      Interesting stories and ideas about music as a pretty basic human need and facility. The book is a bit jumbled, though, so individual cases aren't as memorable.
    • 3/5
      I found this book less compelling than others of Sacks' I think that this is because the case studies included in this volume were a little too short/lacking in detail. I think that it was also due to the fact that for the phenomena of music I was more interested in the theory rather than the rather repetitive music case studies. I also found that Sacks introduced himself into too many of the stories,still a very interesting read that I would recommend to others.
    • 5/5
      I almost wish I had a rare brain disorder so I could get to meet Dr. Sacks. He is a fascinating person on paper but I suspect face to face he would be unforgettable. He describes himself as shy and withdrawn but he obviously connects with patients and his co-workers. In this book, as in Uncle Tungsten, he has allowed more of himself to come through. Perhaps it is because the subject, music, was an integral part of his growing up. I learned a lot about music by reading this book. Music has always been important to me and I took piano lessons for 10 years but I am not gifted musically. I can sing in tune if I am with others but on my own I have trouble staying on key. The one thing piano lessons did for me was make me appreciate music and I am in awe of people who can play, compose, sing or even keep a rhythm. My mother, who never had any formal music training until she was in her late 60's, could sight read music, play from memory, transpose keys for music that people had trouble singing and even compose songs. When she was retired she started playing for church occasionally (whereas I got horrible stage fright playing for an audience) and she decided she would learn to play the organ so she could play that for church. Even when she wasn't practising for church she would often spend hours playing the organ. One of her dogs would climb into the big recliner and gaze happily at her when she played. After reading this book, especially the part about music therapy for Alzheimer's patients, I wish we had organized music therapy for my mother when she was in the later stages of that disease. I think she would have benefited enormously by it. I'm making a note to myself that I want to explore some facet of music when I retire. As Sacks says in his final paragraph: Music is part of being human, and there is no human culture in which it is not highly developed and esteemed. Its very ubiquity may cause it to be trivialized in daily life: we switch on a radio, switch it off, hum a tune, tap our feet, find the words of an old song going through our minds, and think nothing of it. But to those who are lost in dementia, the situation is different. Music is no luxury to them, but a necessity, and can have a power beyond anything else to restore them to themselves, and to others, at least for a while. I hope Oliver Sacks has many more books in him. I'll be reading every word.
    • 3/5
      I found this book less compelling than others of Sacks' I think that this is because the case studies included in this volume were a little too short/lacking in detail. I think that it was also due to the fact that for the phenomena of music I was more interested in the theory rather than the rather repetitive music case studies. I also found that Sacks introduced himself into too many of the stories,still a very interesting read that I would recommend to others.
    • 3/5
      In Musicophilia Oliver Sacks explores the relationship of music and the brain through medical case studies and his own personal experiences. This book follows the format of Sack's previous writings and the content seems somewhat familiar. At times the material is a bit dry or the discussion of a topic overextended. Yet Musicophilia worthwhile reading because Sack's writing continues to reflect his remarkable knowledge, insight, and empathy.
    • 5/5
      Very thorough study of how music affects the mind. Oliver Sacks is brilliant in his study and explanations of how the mind operates and processes music. It is a long and varied tale of scientific understanding written by a very knowledgeable Dr. of neurology. Add to the fact that he is a practicing musician with a lifetime of experiences and you really have the best of both worlds. As a musician, I feel privileged to be the recipient of his study. I would highly recommend this book/audio book to anyone who has ever heard of, or is interested in becoming a music therapist. He covers every base imaginable and has led me on another quest to understanding the wondrous working of the mind. The narrator is also first class and makes listening a pleasure.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating look at the complexity that is music and its effects on and from the complexity that is the human brain. I wish I would actually remember the various brain locations he mentions, but just seeing the variety of symptoms and how music therapy of various types can mitigate some gives you hope that someday even more can be understood and helped.
    • 3/5
      Honestly, not what I was expecting. Possibly because I may not have paid enough attention to its premise, so that would be my fault. Still, not what I wanted and fairly dry at that, not reader-friendly, so probably only good for a niche audience...
    • 3/5
      Very interesting - particularly the part(s) where he says that everyone has an emotional reaction to music. I don't. I like music, I sing and play, but it's all about the words - the tune supports them but doesn't have much impact by itself. Purely instrumental music is pleasant noise, doesn't connect to me. I can't remember a tune without words to it (without a huge number of repetitions). Which made a lot of his assumptions fascinating - like learning that most people can see a color I never knew existed. The parts about music therapy were also interesting - how it can help with aphasia (loss of words) and with physical problems from Parkinson's tremors to locked muscles or nerves. He ends with some sweeping generalizations about the depth to which music is part of our selves, physically (spread throughout the brain) and mentally/emotionally/culturally; I found (as I usually do with Sacks' books) that the smaller observations and case studies were more interesting than the grand conclusions.
    • 5/5
      Found it profitable both from the neuroscience aspects and the impact of music (the musical brain) and the human condition impacted by the various conditions discussed. While it is likely most appreciated by those with a background in neuroscience, I believe it would benefit the layman. I should note that I read the 2008 Revised and Expanded edition.
    • 3/5
      This book has been interesting, but one it took me a good long while to get through. The brain is a really amazing thing and it was interesting to see what effect music has on the brain and also the brain on one's perception of music.

      It's one that I'm glad I've read, but also one I'm glad I've finished.
    • 2/5
      I usually enjoy Oliver Sacks' books but I could not get through this one. I recommend "A Leg to Stand On" as one that is most wonderful.
    • 3/5
      The book is definitely not a "general interest" book, and will be appreciated by those with an eclectic choice of reading or a deep interest in music and the human mind.

      Musicophilia is quite entertaining, though at about the mid-point (where he is discussing the case of Clive) Dr. Sacks goes off the rails into a siding that leaves you wanting to put the book down and not come back. If you can brave through that point the rest of the book raises some interesting questions and case studies.
    • 5/5
      I 've read the portuguese translation of this book
    • 2/5
      Sacks follows a familiar path in this exploration of music-related mental conditions. Perhaps I am finding the path a bit well-worn, but I tired of the format before the end. Partly this is my problem rather than Sacks as much of the material is already known to me. Nevertheless there is always something to surprise, wonder or learn with his books.
    • 4/5
      Intellectual and emotional. This book gives various anecdotes about how music affects people. Some are about how one's very existence and identity are attached to music. Some parts were just heartbreaking in how music was able to inspire people, how music was the only thing that allowed some people to have some sort of existence. Fascinating read.
    • 4/5
      I never read non-fiction, but this was just. so. fascinating! Sacks' style is conversational and warm--never sterile nor overly academic. If I were in need of a world-renowned neurologist, I'd certainly be seeking out Sacks, who is clearly a compassionate and involved scientist.

      If you've ever found yourself curious about how music affects your brain, or why you just can't get that song out of your head, or how music might help those with (X, Y, Z) disease, this is the book for you.
    • 4/5
      In Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks bundles a score of case studies into four loose sections: musical imagery and hallucination; the variety of music talents and mental processes; the relationship between the parts of the nervous system that are involved in music and those that are involved in motion; and the ways music is bound up in memory and identity. As always, Sacks' writing is lively and his stories are intrinsically interesting. Yet, in the book, I kept losing the thread tying the individual cases into a larger scheme. In part, the book feels as though large chunks were written to be published as separate essays, and mashed together later - but usually when that's the case, the reverse of the title page includes credits, which this doesn't. Still, information gets repeated and patients introduced multiple times, and every character seems to appear with one or two complementary adjectives: "an intelligent and friendly woman of seventy"; "a cultivated man of seventy five". One occasionally longs for "a licentious and disreputable man of forty two" just for a change of pace. The book might have more force for a reader with extensive training in playing a musical instrument or composing, since many (though not all) of the patients Sacks describes have such a background.
    • 2/5
      Oliver Sacks rocks Radio Lab, but the "So what?" is missing from this book.
    • 3/5
      I found this book less compelling than others of Sacks' I think that this is because the case studies included in this volume were a little too short/lacking in detail. I think that it was also due to the fact that for the phenomena of music I was more interested in the theory rather than the rather repetitive music case studies. I also found that Sacks introduced himself into too many of the stories,still a very interesting read that I would recommend to others.
    • 4/5
      While the stories and case studies were inconsistently interesting--some were more much more compelling than others, and some were given more attention than my level of interest seemed to want--this is still a very interesting collection. There's no strong central thesis here, but Sacks is a solid writer who draws makes many interesting connections and has a strong feeling for the people with whom he comes into contact. One could easily get quite a lot from the book simply by dipping into it and reading those chapters that seem most interesting. And of course some background and training in music, neither of which I have, would probably amplify one's interest in some of the portions I found slightly tiresome, such as discussion about the source and varieties of perfect pitch.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      3.5 stars In Musicophilia, the author, a neurologist, is looking at the effect music can have on the human brain. He covers different topics, such as musical hallucinations and “brainworms”, as well as how music can help people with various disorders such as Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, and many others. I don't play music, nor am I particularly musical, except for the fact that I enjoy listening to it. So, there was some musical terminology that I didn't quite know, but overall, this was very interesting. I plan to read more by Sacks.
    • 3/5
      Interesting stories of people with music hallucinations, musical amnesia, synesthesia, et cetera. Not nearly as good as Sacks has done in the past but good enough.
    • 3/5
      This was interesting, but I felt like it was kind of a rehash of a lot of things that were already in his other books or on Radiolab or something. I kind of skimmed it.
    • 4/5
      Probably my favourite of the many Oliver Sacks' books I've read throughout the years. Sacks is always fascinating, but in this book he is even more passionate and more personal than usual and as a result my usual Sacks afterglow (for some reason his books always leave me ridiculously happy and hopeful about the complexity and beauty of humanity [which is pretty much opposite to how I usually feel:]) was amplified ten times. Oliver Sacks is probably now officially one of my heroes: he's just so graceful and insightful and empathetic and fascinating all at once.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this, but not as much as I had expected. I thought it might get more into the depth of why we react to music the way we do, but it's more of a collection of cases where with an array of musical issues. A fascinating collection all the same.