What We're Reading

World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature

Author: Daniel J. Levitin
Publisher: Dutton
$25.95 Cloth (354 P.)
ISBN: 9780525950738
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Reviewed by Marcia A. Lusted, Statusing

We all know that music affects us: love songs, religious music, patriotic music, commercial jingles…all of them play a part in the constant "sound track" of our lives. In his new book, The World in Six Songs, author Daniel Levitin takes it a step further by presenting a theory that there are just six types of songs, and these songs have helped shape the human brain and humanity itself since the very first men. As Levitin says, "the powerful mix of emotion and cultural evolution in our musical brains produced diversity, power, even history. And it has done it in six definable ways."

Levitin suggests that these six types of songs (and specifically songs, meant to be sung, and not music in general) have been a means for cultures and even our species to preserve itself, pass on valuable information, and help us understand who we are. Levitin divides songs into Songs of Friendship, Joy, Comfort, Knowledge, Religion, and Love, and shows how each developed to serve a specific need, and why they continue to be important today. By blending music, history, and science, Levitin attempts to show how all of these song types helped humans develop by addressing the needs for bonding and friendship that help build a society. From Vietnam-era protest songs like "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", to teaching songs like the "Alphabet Song", all of these song types not only serve a purpose (unity and protest, and education) but unite humans across the ages.

One of the best things about this book is how Levitin intersperses complicated science with popular culture and remarks from well-known singers and songwriters. His approach is casual and conversational rather than strictly academic: a nice blend for the casual reader who wants to understand the basics of the science without being overwhelmed. I especially liked his anecdote about a rainy day and how his brain immediately dredged up a selection of songs about rain, including several that he avoided so as not to get them stuck in his head for the rest of the week!

As a musician, I enjoyed Levitin's first book, This Is Your Brain on Music, and found this one equally interesting. It is well worth the read-which can be a little challenging when complicated science comes into play-- for the wealth of information and interesting ideas he presents. For those of us who can't imagine life without music, be it songs on the radio or our iPods, our own music-making on a piano or guitar, or a tune we hum quietly to ourselves, it's fascinating to imagine that we're just continuing a pattern created by our earliest ancestors. Perhaps it's only because of their development of music that we have even survived as a species.