How Music Heals: Daniel Levitin on the Neuroscience of Sound

Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast

Dive into the world of music and neuroscience with Daniel Levitin on this week’s Gig Gab! Join him and Dave Hamilton as they unpack Dan’s upcoming book, “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine”, releasing August 27th. Discover the intricacies of the Default Mode Network, and how music impacts everything from opioid release to temporary cognitive effects. Uncover the neurological roots of our musical preferences, balancing expectation with surprise, and hear Dan’s insights on the fascinating “Levitin Effect” where we inherently remember songs in their correct key.

As they chat, you’ll hear stories of Dan playing with legends like Victor Wooten and Bobby McFerrin, and insights on grabbing gigs through connections, like the time David Byrne invited him to play Brian Eno’s guitar parts. From the festival stages of Helsinki to intimate venues in Los Angeles, Dan’s musical journey is a testament to the show’s catchphrase, “Always Be Performing.” Tune in for a masterclass in blending science and music, and get inspired to keep performing no matter where your musical path takes you.

• 00:00:00 Gig Gab 444 – Monday, August 26th, 2024
  • August 26th: National Spark The World Day
  • Guest Co-host: Daniel Levitin, cognitive neuroscientist, musician, record producer, and the author of four NYT best-selling books.
• 00:02:21 Dan’s new book “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord” releases August 27th
• 00:04:25 The Default Mode Network = your Mind Wandering Mode
  • We “Pay” for attention with oxygenated glucose
  • Mozart doesn’t make you smarter, sitting in a windowless room makes you dumber (temporarily)
• 00:11:01 Parkinson’s Disease and Music as a treatment
• 00:12:00 Music to release opioids or cortisol…depending upon whether you like it or not
• 00:14:24 Everybody Wants Some … Except Manuel Noriega
• 00:17:25 The Musicological Angle … Is there a neurological basis for aesthetics?
  • We tend to like music that’s slightly surprising
  • Perfectly balancing expectation with surprise (of all kinds)
  • King Crimson… or Shoenberg
• 00:20:57 Modulations
• 00:22:38 “Playing as often as I want to”
  • Playing a festival in Helsinki with Victor Wooten
  • For the Book Tour
    • Livingston Taylor in Boston
    • Bob Weir in San Francisco
  • Recently with Bobby McFerrin in Berkely, California
  • The Deductions (band) in Los Angeles
    • Gary Novak on Drums
    • Dean Parks on Guitar
• 00:27:00 What instruments do you play?
  • On “Turnaround”, Dan played all the instruments except bass on two songs (Victor Wooten, Elliot Randall, and Steve Bailey helped out!)
• 00:30:25 How do you get gigs?
  • David Byrne invited Dan to play Brian Eno’s parts for a gig
• 00:34:33 Parthenon Huxley with ELO: “Don’t Punish The People Who Showed Up”
• 00:39:05 You’re allowed to make adjustments during the show!
  • BFSD
• 00:41:15 Trying to hit that falsetto after a long day
• 00:47:06 People tend to remember songs in the correct key, aka The Levitin Effect
  • Turns out we all kinda have decent relative pitch
• 00:51:25 Check out The Musical Accompaniment to “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord”…and its playlists:
  • Apple Music I Heard There Was a Secret Chord playlist
  • Spotify I Heard There Was a Secret Chord playlist
  • YouTube playlist
• 00:52:11 Gig Gab 444 Outtro
  • Contact Daniel Levitin
    • DanielLevitin.com
  • Contact Gig Gab!
    • @GigGabPodcast on Instagram
    • [e-mail]
    • Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

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