Twenty years ago, the publication of "This Is Your Brain on Music" by Daniel J. Levitin revolutionized the field of music cognition, transforming it from a niche area to a legitimate subject of neuroscience. The book's impact was profound, not just in the academic community but also in the general public's perception of music. It sparked a surge of interest in the field, attracting brilliant individuals who might not have otherwise considered a career in music cognition. This influx of talent has led to a significant increase in the number of scholars working at the intersection of music and mind, with robust programs in labs around the world. The book's influence has also ensured that scholars in other fields learn about the topic, bringing new methods, perspectives, and communities into contact with the field's ideas and spurring development that never could have happened without this breadth of voices.
The book's impact is evident in the way it has shaped our understanding of music. For example, research has shown that music is not just an activity that builds cognitive skills, but also an activity that builds social connection. Toddlers who move in sync with a researcher are more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors, such as helping the researcher pick up dropped objects. This suggests that music is not just a sequence of sounds, but a profoundly social activity.
The book's influence has also been felt in the field of cross-cultural research. Until the elevated profile of music science attracted more involvement from anthropologists, the understanding of musical delight was largely attributed to biological properties. However, recent research has found that members of the Tsimane', a native Amazonian society in Bolivia, rate consonant and dissonant chords as equally pleasurable. This suggests that musical delight is not biologically endowed in the same way as previously thought.
The book's impact has also been felt in the way it has shaped our understanding of the role of culture and biology in music. The book has helped to challenge the 'nature versus nurture' framework, which is inadequate for understanding the complex interplay between culture and biology in music. The book has also helped to reveal the way in which music gives the lie to this false binary, providing a unique opportunity to illuminate the role of history and environment on perceptual experiences that feel quite individual.
The book's impact has also been felt in the way it has shaped my own research. As a researcher in the Princeton Music Cognition Lab, I have been able to peel back the everyday experience of imagining something while listening to music to identify a striking case of the collision between the individual and the collective. The book has helped me to find the collaborators and the funding necessary to execute complex cross-cultural studies that rely on new tools in machine learning.
In conclusion, the publication of "This Is Your Brain on Music" has had a profound impact on the field of music cognition, shaping our understanding of music and the role of culture and biology in music. The book's influence has been felt in the way it has attracted new talent to the field, shaped our understanding of music, and helped to reveal the complex interplay between culture and biology in music. The book's impact has also been felt in the way it has shaped my own research, helping me to find the collaborators and the funding necessary to execute complex cross-cultural studies that rely on new tools in machine learning.
