Why am I passionate about this?

My mom was an excellent artist, and my father was an accomplished scientist, so I grew up with a passion and mission to combine these in my lifeā€™s work. I have played clarinet since 8, in classical, jazz, world, experimental, and sound healing, and have mastered a variety of visual storytelling arts (painting, sculpture, filmmaking, game development). My fascination with mind/body led me to neuroscience research and developing edtech for autism. These all integrated into writing my book and offering this inspiration to others. This book list has nurtured my deepest interests and propelled me to discover more of our human potential to experience sound, storytelling, and well-being.


I wrote...

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

By David Sonnenschein,

Book cover of Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

What is my book about?

My book delves deeply into the fascinating interplay between audio elements and cinematic storytelling. It uncovers the powerful role thatā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

David Sonnenschein Why did I love this book?

This book is one of the biggest influences in my life as a sound designer, musician, neuroscientist, and super curious researcher/creator. Danā€™s personal life trajectory mirrors my own love of music and science, and his writing style is so accessible and engaging.

He and I have met personally, signed each otherā€™s books, and are literally and figuratively on the same page. I also love his book, The World in Six Songs, a deep dive into how and why music affects us emotionally, culturally, and socially, which is very pertinent to sound design storytelling and portraying human nature from prehistoric to current pop culture.

By Daniel J. Levitin,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked This Is Your Brain on Music as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this groundbreaking union of art and science, rocker-turned-neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin explores the connection between music-its performance, its composition, how we listen to it, why we enjoy it-and the human brain.

Taking on prominent thinkers who argue that music is nothing more than an evolutionary accident, Levitin poses that music is fundamental to our species, perhaps even more so than language. Drawing on the latest research and on musical examples ranging from Mozart to Duke Ellington to Van Halen, he reveals:

* How composers produce some of the most pleasurable effects of listening to music by exploiting the wayā€¦


Book cover of The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music

David Sonnenschein Why did I love this book?

Even with my own years of experience as a musician and teaching sound design, I felt like an eager student basking in unexpected melodies of wisdom tales and humor behind the veil. Listening to Victor play his bass and tell his amazing, deep story is a truly spiritual journey that resonates to my core.

I got to meet him in person, and heā€™s the real deal. Heā€™s not only a top professional with multiple Grammy awards but also an extraordinary, intimate storyteller and educator with a profound message about listening and following your intuitive guidance. 

By Victor Wooten,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Music Lesson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes an inspiring parable of music, life, and the difference between playing all the right notes...and feeling them.

The Music Lesson is the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. Then, from nowhere it seemed, a teacher arrived. Part musical genius, part philosopher, part eccentric wise man, the teacher would guide the young musician on a spiritual journey, and teach him that the gifts we get from music mirror those from life, and every movement, phrase,ā€¦


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Book cover of Her Little Secret

Her Little Secret by Julia Stone,

If youā€™re intrigued by the psychology of relationships this is the novel for you.

Described as a modern-day Rebecca, this is a story of a bereaved manā€™s obsession with his deceased married lover, Michelle. Determined to find out all he can about Michelleā€™s life when she wasnā€™t with him,ā€¦

Book cover of Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World

David Sonnenschein Why did I love this book?

I am deeply engaged in the lifelong work of neuroscientist Nina Kraus in the area of sound and music. My background as a sound designer and neuroscientist resonates with Dr. Krausā€™ curiosity to unravel the mysteries of how we hear and make sense of the sonic world.

I really was blown away when she demonstrated how a famous rock melody created an electric signal in the brain of the listener, which was then transformed back into an audio signal that sounded exactly like the original melody. This book is full of hardcore explanations about the wondrous experience of the human brainā€™s interpretation of our world of sound, which I use for self-exploration and professional application in sound design.

By Nina Kraus,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Of Sound Mind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How sound leaves a fundamental imprint on who we are.

Making sense of sound is one of the hardest jobs we ask our brains to do. In Of Sound Mind, Nina Kraus examines the partnership of sound and brain, showing for the first time that the processing of sound drives many of the brain's core functions. Our hearing is always on--we can't close our ears the way we close our eyes--and yet we can ignore sounds that are unimportant. We don't just hear; we engage with sounds. Kraus explores what goes on in our brains when we hear a word--orā€¦


Book cover of Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

David Sonnenschein Why did I love this book?

Sacks is a supreme storyteller of remarkable human experiences in the world of music. The people of these extraordinary tales who are on the neurological edge of sonic perception (e.g., struck by lightning and immediately becoming an inspired pianist) give me such awe of what is possible, even miraculous.

Related from the perspective of a curious scientist, the mysteries are explained in a manner that resembles well-told science fictionā€¦ except they are real and relate to our own untapped capacities. Sacksā€™ extensive body of writing about the marvels of being human stands tall in my library.

By Oliver Sacks,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Musicophilia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Oliver Sacks has been hailed by the New York Times as `one of the great clinical writers of the twentieth century'. In this eagerly awaited new book, the subject of his uniquely literate scrutiny is music: our relationship with it, our facility for it, and what this most universal of passions says about us.

In chapters examining savants and synaesthetics, depressives and musical dreamers, Sacks succeeds not only in articulating the musical experience but in locating it in the human brain. He shows that music is not simply about sound, but also movement, visualization, and silence. He follows the experiencesā€¦


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Book cover of The Unlocked Path

The Unlocked Path by Janis Robinson Daly,

The Unlocked Path presents and embraces a "New Woman" of the early 20th century: educated, career-minded, independent. In 1897 Philadelphia, after witnessing her aunt's suicide, Eliza Edwards vows to find ways to help and heal. Rejecting her mother's wishes for her society debut, Eliza enters medical college at a timeā€¦

Book cover of Music, the Brain and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination

David Sonnenschein Why did I love this book?

Written in 1997, this was the first of many books (including the others on my list here) that united my experience in sound design, music, and neuroscience.

In an elegant and entertaining style, Jourdain embraces the theme from Pink Panther by Henry Mancini and illustrates the continuum of musical experience in tone, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, listening, and understanding while revealing the hows and whys our brains perceive, integrate and elicit emotion. 

I keep referring to this seminal work, which helped me write my own book, and I feel grateful for Jourdainā€™s groundbreaking entry into this field.

By Robert Jourdain,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Music, the Brain and Ecstasy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What makes a distant oboe's wail beautiful? Why do some kinds of music lift us to ecstasy, but not others? How can music make sense to an ear and brain evolved for detecting the approaching lion or tracking the unsuspecting gazelle? Lyrically interweaving discoveries from science, psychology, music theory, paleontology, and philosophy, Robert Jourdian brilliantly examines why music speaks to us in ways that words cannot, and why we form such powerful connections to it. In clear, understandable language, Jourdian expertly guides the reader through a continuum of musical experience: sound, tone, melody, harmony, rhythm, composition, performance, listening, understanding--and finallyā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

By David Sonnenschein,

Book cover of Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

What is my book about?

My book delves deeply into the fascinating interplay between audio elements and cinematic storytelling. It uncovers the powerful role that music, voice, and sound effects play in shaping emotions, building suspense, and conveying meaning in film. This book combines theoretical insights with hands-on advice, making it a valuable resource for sound designers, filmmakers, and anyone curious about the art of sound in media. 

By bridging the gap between theory and practice, my book shows readers how to use audio to craft immersive, memorable experiences that resonate within the minds of the audience. Whether youā€™re a seasoned professional or a beginner, this guide illuminates the path to mastering soundā€™s transformative potential in visual storytelling.

Book cover of This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
Book cover of The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music
Book cover of Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World

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Interested in music, aesthetics, and physiology?

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