Theme and Variations: Musical Notes by a Neurologist

The book for anyone who wonders why people play and listen to music, and how our brains hear it. Part neuroscience, part memoir, this book makes the latest insights into how the brain processes music accessible to a wide range of readers -no scientific background necessary.Through his own experience, the author, a neuroscientist and musician, shows how he came to understand the importance of musician his life and in the lives of others.Playing and listening to music early in life can help shape the developing brain and, at all ages, increase brainpower, even in non-musical realms. When used with the guidance of modern science, music can be an adjunctive, risk-free therapy for a wide range of human conditions. In essence, an important human language available to everyone, music is an affirmative medium that stimulates us to imagine and embrace our fullest potential.