Musicophilia

contours of melodies and, after birth, can distinguish between

The way music is used in the Ituri forest is paradigmatic of its function everywhere. The horns may not have awakened the trees, but their familiar sound must have reassured the pygmies that help was on the way, and so they were able to confront the future with confidence. Most of the music that pours out of Walkmans and stereos nowadays answers a

Music is such a private part of us, it touches us in so deep and vulnerable a place, that evasion of practice can seem quite reasonable: Why disturb what is sleeping so deeply? Why mess with a functional inertia?

neuroscientists monitored guitarists playing a short melody together,13 they found that patterns in the guitarists’ brain activity became synchronized. Similarly, studies of choir singers have shown that singing aligns performers’ heart rates.14 Music seems to create a sense of unity on a physiological level.