This is not my first time reading Daniel J. Levitin, nor his research and ideas on the impact of music. This really highlights Daniel's interest in how music impacts us, but also how he arrived at coming up with his experiments and his thought process behind why he was researching music, and his insights along the way. Absolutely fascinating. There is so much more to be investigated, but Daniel really takes us on a deep dive into different musical talents, different ailments of the human body, and how our bodies respond to, and break new norms. I love music. I am firmly in the camp that it can heal and mend what words, medicine, and people can't. I am excited to see where some of this research is going and what may be over the horizon for new ways to reach people, and I appreciate Daniels way of helping us to understand the different approaches along the way. Highly highly highly recommend.

Not only is this book written by Daniel J. Levitin, but it's also narrated by him as well. He's fascinating to listen to and not dry or overly scholarly. You can tell he really loves his subject and it comes across that way.

*I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

Fascinating topic for a book/audiobook. When listening, I always want to hear the music too, of course, but Daniel Levitin definitely makes the music come alive!

Getting this behind the scenes look at how music is made and the history of where it's been was enlightening for me.

Confession time, I have read this author before and liked his work so much, I have his books, in hardcover, on my Keepers bookcase. If you are a book lover, you know that bookshelf space is at a premium and to dedicate space to multiple hardcovers is high praise indeed.

So, when I saw this was offered on NetGalley as an audio book, it was a no-brainer request. I was a bit nervous, as this was my first ever ALC I have ever requested and received from NetGalley and not being a tech-y person, I wasn't sure how it would go, but it worked just fine.

Also, it was narrated by the author, which if you listen to audio books at all, you know can be a dicey proposition. However, the narration was literally pitch-perfect. He is a performer, so his voice was perfectly modulated the entire time. I didn't have to fiddle with the volume or rewind because I missed something due to not hearing it.

What he was discussing was fascinating (music and the science behind how it can heal/help the brain) and I admit, I rewound multiple times because I wanted to hear what he said again. This is one I will need to procure in hardcover for myself for my Keepers shelf, no doubt about it.

Another thing that I thought was special was when he was discussing a person he knew in the book, SHE was the one to narrate the information from her point of view. So incredibly thoughtful and it made what they both said about the topic have a much stronger impact then if he had spoken for her. I love that she was able to have her own voice.

This audiobook brought me out of my audiobook slump and has sparked renewed interest in his other works. I have loaned one of my copies of his other books to a friend who also loves music and I will be picking up another one of his books that was sitting in my "rainy day" pile soon. Possibly even tonight, lol.

5, I highly recommend all of his works and especially this one, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia/Recorded Books for an ALC of this book to listen to and review.

This was an interesting read about what makes music such a large part of memories. The author self narrates the audio book and I could listen to him forever. The information was given in a way that was easy to understand and I found myself saying oh yeah a lot. This was so interesting and I'm glad I picked it up.

I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine (audible)
by Daniel J. Levitin
Read by the author this audible book is a marvel of presentation, and eloquence. The author allows the reader to really understand the experiments and science in the theory.
Levitin uses music everyday. He is a musician and and scientist. Not only does he play, but preforms with some famous Musicians because of his research. The ideas and theory he presents in sync and concise. He provides antidotal, and professional research to prove the advocacy of the theory, really stating what needs to be researched, and what has already be proven. The idea that music make interpersonal connections, from artist to listener, listener to listener, artist to artist. Its amazing how much could be improved if we could just find the right sequences of music to heal many neurological, social, and economic problems. Many of the uses are sorely needed. I would recommend this book to educators to see what is already known, and the importance's of music in the world.

Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for the audiobook ARC!

As someone whose first degree was an Associates in Music with an emphasis on Music Therapy, this book was very appealing to me. Add to that the fact that I think the title is one of the most perfect and sublime book titles I've ever seen, and I was very anxious to listen to this book. And it didn't let me down. The author goes through some of the main tenets of music therapy in great detail, but in a way that is very understandable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in music therapy, music in general, or anyone looking for an alternative to traditional medicine.

3.5 stars
I learned a lot in this book. I already have experienced personal benefits of music therapy , but learning about actual specific examples was validating and awesome. I’m excited for the future of music therapy. I do feel this book did at times get a bit more complex and detailed than it had to. This made it loose my interest a few times. If i had been reading an ebook or physical book I might have skimmed these sections but with the audio that wasn’t practical. I will say the audiobook is actually a better format for this book though, because the author can hum and play certain musical sequences that emphasize points he is making. This really added to my understanding and I really enjoyed his narration. I received an advanced readers copy from netgalley, but my review is unbiased

Theres some overlap in this book with Oliver Sacks’ Musicophilia in its coverage of how neurologically atypical folks process and can be helped by music. The chapter on the neuroanatomy of music, as well as all the writing about ways in which listening to and playing music can help heal the sick (e.g., Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s sufferers), stave off cognitive decline, and increase our health were compelling enough for me to immediately want to build a new habit around it.

My favorite bits were: a great breakdown of Ella Fitzgerald’s amazing live performance (in Berlin) of Mac the Knife, how the default mode of the brain works with music (listening and performance), and how our selves both are constituted and dissolved by experiential fusion.

I was lost and tuned out on the bit about chords and fifths and so on. I needed a better understanding of music theory to get that part.

Good read for lovers of music, those who want to increase their healthspan, and for folks who love popular science

So much care, detail, and research went into I Heard There Was a Secret Chord. Daniel J. Levitin’s writing is meticulous and thorough as he writes from a scientific perspective on the health benefits of music by providing first hand experiences, and case study examples. I greatly enjoyed the audiobook, which Levitin narrates, and his passion and devotion to music as medicine radiates in his voice. This book challenged me as I normally do not read nonfiction in this genre, or have a background in medicine (note that this novel does contain medical terminology), but I enjoyed learning more about the neurological and psychological benefits of music.

I Heard There Was A Secret Chord is absolutely fascinating.

Levitin takes a deep dive into the wide-ranging effects music has on our brains, with a specific focus on medical benefits.

There are some mind-blowing studies that show the positive impact that simply listening to music can have on both individuals and groups.

Medically, music therapy can show positive effects on people suffering with Parkinson’s disease, ADHD, dimentia and even pain and depression.

I’d be lying if I said that some of the more technical scientific and musical references didn’t go over my head. But it didn’t matter. I learned lots and the research and execution of this book deserve all of the praise.

I Heard There Was a Secret Chord is simply put, about music. It is about how music is therapeutic and good for people. The author illustrates how music is beneficial to those with dementia and Alzheimer’s, those with cognitive injuries, those with pain, those who struggle with depression, those with Parkinson’s, etc. He shares how different cultures utilize music and he expresses the science and psychology behind music and the human brain’s reaction to it.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. I loved this book! As someone who works with people with dementia, I can truly account for how the brain just shifts once music is being played.

Taking the science and psychology of music and putting it into a book was genius. I will say there was quite a bit of medical jargon in this book, so some people if they aren’t in the medical field won’t understand it all. However, it won’t hinder your understanding of what the book is trying to say.

If you are a fan of music, like psychology or science, have a loved one with dementia, Parkinson’s, depression, or cognitive injuries, this is a book for you.

I liked that the overall idea this author is trying to share with this book is that, the music the YOU enjoy is the best healing music for YOU at a given time. And that some people are drawn to the melody, others the lyrics and still others the rhythm. The most intrigued chapter for me was about the 5 movement disorders and how they respond to music therapy. I would love to hear about more case studies and specific results that were achieved.
I already believed that music could be healing because I use it lift my mood and know others that do as well. I was already sold on the idea. I asked to review this audiobook because the aithor was doing a presentation at the Boston Science Museum with Livingston Taylor and I could not attend.

This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Daniel J. Levitin, Recorded Books, and NetGalley.

The narrator of this audiobook is the author, Daniel J. Levitin. Mr. Levitin was the perfect narrator for this text. He is excited about presenting this research and his excitement is communicated to the listening reader.

This was truly fascinating and interesting. This explains how music can measurably impact humans of all ages and abilities. This explains how music can reach patients suffering from a variety of ailments.

This includes information about Dr. Oliver Sacks and his studies about the impact of music on his patients. This was dramatized in the movie Awakenings starring Robin Williams & Robert DeNiro. I remember watching this movie in the theatre and how it felt like a miracle. This book is a bit more scientific but extends much of the hopeful feeling of the movie.

Much of the medical and even musical terminology is over my head. I'm much more into books than music and the only medical jargon I'm familiar with deals with my own rare disease or loved ones medical issues. Yet, I never felt lost in the text or confused.

The only thing I'd add is there's a chapter about 10% into the audiobook where the author discusses the octaves, scales and rhythmic timing used by various cultures. He states that Europeans have the least range in octave music scales primarily using the straight notes and the same with rhythmic timing. An example given in the text is that Jazz music is pentatonic with an added blue note the tritone. Compared to Arabic music which has added micro-notes between the scales. Western music uses a 2:1 & 3:1 rhythm compared to 'African' music which uses 5:3 or even 13:11 rhythm. He then says that the most rhythmic music in Western culture is swing jazz. The problem here is Jazz isn't inherently Western. It's Black American music heavily based on 'African' rhythmic timing. Its certainly ok to label it Western as long as its specified as Black Western. There also seems to be a touch of condescension when dealing with non-Western music. It is arguably more complex than Western music using the authors own measurements but this narrative seems unwilling to acknowledge that difference in complexity for no rational reason. I would provide quotes but I'm dealing with an audiobook and I could be misunderstanding but the tone the narration uses conveys a slight condescension of non-western music. It defines Arabic music as not having 48 scales but doesn't really explain exactly why this is believed by the generic 'some' and exactly why he doesn't believe this to be true scales and instead what is referred to as micro-notes in the text. I was listening/reading to review this book at the same time I was listening/reading Blacksound by Matthew D. Morrison. So, I was particularly attuned to this I'm sure unintended bias on the author's part. It did not deeply impact my enjoyment of the book but did make me side eye some of his conclusions.

Thank you to Daniel J. Levitin, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.

This audiobook was fascinating.

I think everyone has noticed how music can affect a mood. This audiobook provides the room and data for music as therapy for quite a variety of physical ailments. Whether discussing stuttering or Parkinson’s, music can have profound benefits.

It inspired me to spend more time listening to music and sharing music with others. It also provides more reasons to take music lessons.

I would highly recommend listening to this book since several times there is singing music notes that help explain a point.

Note: Be prepared to have Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah stuck in your head all of the time while enjoying this book.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the opportunity to enjoy this audiobook.