48 quotes
Music changed more between 1963 and 1969 than it has in the 37 years since, with the Beatles among the architects of that change.
Anyone who wants to understand human nature, the interaction between brain and culture, between evolution and society, has to take a close look at the role that music has held in the lives of humans.
The World in Six Songs (2008)
And it has only been in the last hundred years or so that the ties between musical sound and human movement have been minimized.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
An organized mind leads effortlessly to good decision-making.
The Organized Mind (2014)
Music moves us because it serves as a metaphor for emotional life. It has peaks and valleys of tension and release. It mimics the dynamics of our emotional life.
Music, or any art form... has to strike the right balance between simplicity and complexity.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
This is the mode of thinking where your most creative acts are likely to occur and where problem solving is apt to occur.
Talks at Google (2014)
Fondness for stories is just one of many artifacts, side effects of the way our brains work.
The Organized Mind (2014)
The spiritual and emotional aspects of art are perhaps their most important qualities.
The World in Six Songs (2008)
Musical novelty attracts attention and overcomes boredom, increasing memorability.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
The point of art is to emphasize some elements at the expense of others.
The World in Six Songs (2008)
The six types of song that have shaped human nature—friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love songs—I've come to think are obvious...
The World in Six Songs (2008)
The brain is very good at self-delusion.
Talks at Google (2014)
By now, those children would have grown into positions of influence, and they would be grateful to us instead of hating us.
The Organized Mind (2014)
Creative brains became more attractive during centuries of sexual selection because they could solve a wider range of unanticipatable problems.
The World in Six Songs (2008)
As a tool for the activation of specific thoughts, music is as good as language. The combination of the two—as best exemplified in the love song—is the best courtship of all.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
Miller and his colleague Marty Haselton at UCLA have shown that creativity trumps wealth, at least in human females.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
Music may be the activity that prepared our pre-human ancestors for speech communication and for the very cognitive, representational flexibility necessary to become humans.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
Consonant intervals and dissonant intervals are processed via separate mechanisms in the auditory cortex.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)
The coming together of rhythm and melody bridges our cerebellum and our cerebral cortex.
This is Your Brain on Music (2006)