The Musical Mind

By John A. Sloboda,

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

Book description

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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Musical Mind as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Although this, John Sloboda’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 introduced—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!

From Adam's list on explaining how music works.

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