Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

Book, 2007

Premise - Famous neurologist Oliver Sacks has written another book full of fascinating neurological studies. This time each patient has a unique relationship with music, whether as an impairment or an extreme talent. Using these cases with abnormalities as examples, Sacks presents greater discussions about how music operates within the human mind, and how it is an essential part of human nature.

Review - I love my local library's annual tradition "10 to try." It really forces you to push your reading boundaries. As part of 2020's list, one category was "Read a Book About Music." I, a musician, thought "Wonderful! That should be fun and easy!" And yet, I found it surprisingly difficult to pick something. I did a lot of googling of "books about music" and nothing, NOTHING spoke to me as something I wanted to go out of my way to read. I went through my entire (lengthy) list of books I have been wanting to read and nothing related to music. Do I not care about music as much as I thought??

Ultimately I circled back to one of the most popular suggestions for books about music, Musicophilia, the moment I realized it was written by Oliver Sacks, the author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, a phenomenal read. I like music, I like neurology, I like Oliver Sacks - I had found my book!

Yet I was so, SO bored throughout. Perhaps it was the narrow definition of music. Due to Dr. Sacks’ own taste, as well as perhaps his age and prestige, music in this book was almost exclusive to classical orchestras and operas. Mozart and Bach were use incessantly as examples, and there was an underlying assumption that this is the most intellectually stimulating genre of music. I felt a sort of tunnel vision, particularly in music in a global, more anthropological sense. The book was also written in 2007 and yet had no acknowledgment of contemporary music. No Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, or the Beatles. The only acknowledgment I recall towards “catchier” music was in relation to the chapter on earworms, when he discussed the phenomenon of getting commercial jingles stuck in one’s head. In the chapter on musical hallucinations, there was also the examples of Christmas songs and nursery rhymes. The book could have easily been written in the early 20^th century and I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Which brings me to my next point about music and emotion. While Dr. Sacks seemed to have an infinite supply of patients who were fond of, or perhaps very enthused by, composers such as Bach. But the majority of people find a much stronger emotional attachment and nostalgia for contemporary music. The section that I perhaps enjoyed the most, “Music and Emotion”, was not until the very end of the book, after I had already lost my enthusiasm for the text. Many of the earlier chapters were strictly neurological, or even physiological (i.e. the pianist who lost his hand and still felt his phantom fingers). The section on music and emotion, such as music and depression, was far too short for my own taste. It was in sharp contrast to my reaction to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, which I found to be full of emotion, soul, passion, and connections to non-scientific literary theory. How is it, that in a book about music, there was LESS reference to Dionysian theory than his books prior?

Ironically, there were many cases that I found fascinating outside of its relation to music. What I loved in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat were stories of profound impairment to memory or perception that evoked strong empathy, as well as bewilderment of how life could be so different. An impairment to one’s perception of music, while horrific to think about, doesn’t seem to be as pervasive, functionally, as these other tales. For many, however, if their perceptions to music have been altered, so has their perception more generally. There were many cases where Dr. Sacks would give a very holistic picture of the patient’s life and its profound abnormalities, and then make a quick tie-in to music somewhere in the chapter. For example, there was a chapter about Williams’ Syndrome, which is essentially the opposite of autism. A rare neurocognitive disease, it results in highly sociable and communicative behavior, yet very limited ability to recognize shapes and patterns in space. Music plays an indirect role in this chapter, as many patients (though not all) with Williams’ Syndrome are very musically talented. I found myself more intrigued by the abnormalities in social relations or memory, rather than by musical abilities.

So what explains my lack of interest? Was it a dryly written book? Was the narrator of the audiobook sound too pretentious? Am I really just not all that interested in music? I love music. In fact I love listening to music so much that I stopped listening to the audiobook constantly on my commute so I could return to listening to music – music, however, that I connect with an emotional level far more than an intellectual one.

Perhaps that just means I’m the opposite of Freud. As Dr. Sacks mentions in this book, Freud disliked music because he didn’t understand the emotions it caused. His fascination with psychology was so intellectual, so logical and theory-based, that emotions without a clearly definable psychological basis were not only disliked by Freud, but actively resisted. I feel music in my bones without any intellectual mediation, as Dr. Sacks does himself. Dr. Sacks personal appreciation for music, despite his narrowly defined taste, is clear throughout. And I respect that. (39/100)

Quote - “Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It has no power to represent anything particular or external, but it has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.”

What to read for - I always find it touching when someone writing case studies takes the time to talk about their own experiences with the matter. Every time Dr. Sacks discussed his own relationship with music, or own spouts of depression, personal experiences, etc., I felt like the tales were a little less dry and a little more meaningful.

If you liked this book, I'd recommend The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat!

Written by Oliver Sacks
Published by Knopf