Why am I passionate about this?

My interest in how music makes sense was first piqued when, as a music student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, I met a blind child who, despite having learning difficulties, could reproduce the most complex music on the piano just by listening. Put simply, he had a better musical ear than I did, as a prize-winning student at a top conservatoire. Since that early experience, I have devoted my life to exploring just how music works (without the need for conceptual understanding) and how teachers can use the universality of music to promote social inclusion.


I wrote

Comparing Notes: How We Make Sense of Music

By Adam Ockelford,

Book cover of Comparing Notes: How We Make Sense of Music

What is my book about?

My book explains how music works: how it makes sense to us without the need for formal music education, howā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Emotion and Meaning in Music

Adam Ockelford Why did I love this book?

Reading this book for the first time had a profound influence on the way I think about music. It is the first of the seminal texts written by American musicologist Leonard Meyer in the second half of the twentieth century.

I admire how Meyer fuses psychological concepts with music theory to explain compellingly how music makes sense. Meyerā€™s writing is clear and accessible, and he uses plenty of musical examples to illustrate the sophisticated concepts that he introduces.

It is a must-read book for those who have ever wondered how music works, conveys meaning, and affects how we feel.

By Leonard B. Meyer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Emotion and Meaning in Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Altogether it is a book that should be required reading for any student of music, be he composer, performer, or theorist. It clears the air of many confused notions . . . and lays the groundwork for exhaustive study of the basic problem of music theory and aesthetics, the relationship between pattern and meaning."-David Kraehenbuehl, Journal of Music Theory "This is the best study of its kind to have come to the attention of this reviewer."-Jules Wolffers, The Christian Science Monitor

"It is not too much to say that his approach provides a basis for the meaningful discussion of emotionā€¦


Book cover of The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music

Adam Ockelford Why did I love this book?

Although this, John Slobodaā€™s first book, dates from 1985, its insights into music perception, performance, and appreciation remain relevant, and I would highly recommend those with an interest in music psychology devote some time to getting to grips with the ideas that are introducedā€”some of them for the first time.

Among the important topics that are covered are memory and learning, with clear implications for educators. It's definitely a book to have on your shelves!

By John A. Sloboda,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Musical Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What are the mental processes involved in listening to, performing, and composing music? What is involved in 'understanding' a piece of music? How are such skills acquired?

Questions such as these form the basis of the cognitive psychology of music. The author addresses these questions by surveying the growing experimental literature on the subject. The topics covered will be of interest to psychologists, as windows onto a human cognitive skill of some complexity that is only now beginning to receive the attention devoted to such skills as language. They are also relevant to musicians who are seeking to understand theā€¦


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Book cover of Norvel: An American Hero

Norvel by Kenneth F. Conklin,

NORVEL: An American Hero chronicles the remarkable life of Norvel Lee, a civil rights pioneer and Olympic athlete who challenged segregation in 1948 Virginia. Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains to working-class parents who valued education, Lee overcame Jim Crow laws and a speech impediment to achieve extraordinary success.

Heā€¦

Book cover of The Developmental Psychology of Music

Adam Ockelford Why did I love this book?

I would heartily recommend this book to those interested in how musical abilities develop through childhood.

Hargreavesā€™ text was the first to put the developmental psychology of music on the map, identifying it as an important area of study for the first time and setting the scene for a major area of research in music psychology that continues to this day.

I love the way that Hargreaves combines empirical findings with observations of his own children in action, which makes it an engaging read.

By David J. Hargreaves,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Developmental Psychology of Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book sets out the psychological basis of musical development in children and adults. The study has two major objectives: to review the research findings, theories and methodologies relevant to the developmental study of music; and to offer a framework within which these can be organised so as to pave the way for future research. It describes the relationship between thinking and music, and discusses the relationship between thinking and music in pre-schoolers and schoolchildren in areas such as singing, aesthetic appreciation, rhythmic and melodic development, and the acquisition of harmony and tonality. The book describes the development of musicalā€¦


Book cover of Musical Savants: Exceptional Skill in the Mentally Retarded

Adam Ockelford Why did I love this book?

Although the language in the title of this book may now sound dated, its content is certainly not. I regard it as a ā€˜classicā€™ text in the field of music psychology, which was taking off when Miller put pen to paper.

Musical Savants represents the first rigorous exploration of exceptional musical talent in children with learning difficulties. I particularly like how, through a series of carefully designed experiments, Miller shows the nature of exceptional musical talent and how this can co-exist with areas of cognitive deficit.

By Leon K. Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Musical Savants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Using the case study of "Eddie" as his framework, Professor Miller challenges the prevailing notion that musical savants are essentially phenomenal tape recorders and deals with the issue of "idiot savants" in a detailed, empirical investigation. Through "Eddie" the author discusses, in specific and in general, topics including the background and historical context of musical savants; other cases; data regarding the nature of the skills exhibited and the associated developmental deficits; and descriptions of a series of experiments used to define Eddie's talent. Finally, the author considers more general issues raised by savant behavior, particularly functions served by savant behavior,ā€¦


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Book cover of Return to Vienna: The Special Operations Executive and the Rebirth of Austria

Return to Vienna by Peter Dixon,

"Captain Charles Kennedy" parachuted into a moonlit Austrian forest and searched frantically for his lost radio set. His real name was Leo Hillman and he was a Jewish refugee from Vienna. He was going home. Men and women of Churchillā€™s secret Special Operations Executive worked to free Austria from Hitler'sā€¦

Book cover of Sweet Anticipation: Music and the Psychology of Expectation

Adam Ockelford Why did I love this book?

This is one of those rare textbooks that will make you smile with its delightful anecdotes that lighten what could so easily have become a dense academic treatise.

Huron writes in a warm, engaging way, producing an eminently readable book. He effortlessly shows how academic research findings affect the musical experience of ordinary listeners.

Sweet Anticipation serves as a great introduction to this important topic of how music makes sense and continues to move us, even after many repeated hearings of the same piece.

By David Huron,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sweet Anticipation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The psychological theory of expectation that David Huron proposes in Sweet Anticipation grew out of the author's experimental efforts to understand how music evokes emotions. These efforts evolved into a general theory of expectation that will prove informative to readers interested in cognitive science and evolutionary psychology as well as those interested in music. The book describes a set of psychological mechanisms and illustrates how these mechanisms work in the case of music. All examples of notated music can be heard on the Web.

Huron proposes that emotions evoked by expectation involve five functionally distinct response systems: reaction responses (whichā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Comparing Notes: How We Make Sense of Music

By Adam Ockelford,

Book cover of Comparing Notes: How We Make Sense of Music

What is my book about?

My book explains how music works: how it makes sense to us without the need for formal music education, how we are moved by it, and why it was central to our development as a social species. It argues that we are all musicalā€”irrespective of any other abilities, disabilities, or differences we may haveā€”and that musical abilities develop in early childhood like natural language. 

My book is a joyous celebration of one of humankindā€™s greatest achievements, which usually flows over us daily without a second thought.

Book cover of Emotion and Meaning in Music
Book cover of The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music
Book cover of The Developmental Psychology of Music

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