La mente musicale

Oxford Psychology

by John A. Sloboda

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 literature on the subject. The topics covered will be of interest to psychologists, as windows onto a human cognitive skill of some complexity that is only now beginning to receive the attention devoted to such skills as language. They are also relevant to musicians who are seeking to understand the psychological bases of their skills. The author does not simply review existing research, but takes a critical look at what has been achieved in the subject, introducing such topics as composition and musical skill in non-literate cultures. He draws freely on his own knowledge and experience as a practising musician, as well as a psychologist, to provide an overview that is scholarly and also accessible to the general reader.

Genres: Music, Psychology, Nonfiction, Neuroscience

434 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 1985

Reviews

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in May 1998.

This is a really excellent book for anyone interested in how the mind perceives and understands music. As the author points out, most of the literature in this area is either written by psychologists who are not musicians, or by musicians with no background in psychology. John Sloboda is unusual in being both a musician and a psychologist, teaching the piano as well as being a professor of psychology. The fact that he is involved in both fields means that he avoids the trap of missing the parts of the musical experience which are important to the musician that the psychologists often fall into - particularly when they are devising experiments. He can also avoid the complementary trap of devising explanations of musical phenomena which are psychologically discredited which musicians often fall into.

The book covers current research in just about every area you could imagine, from musical education to composing and improvising to pitch, rhythm and musical structure perception and understanding. Sloboda also suggests areas where more research is needed.

This is a thought provoking book, and one to which I am sure I will return again and again.

[Andrew Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about 30 years old (depending on what printing you get). Nonetheless, it serves as an excellent primer on the importance of music in human thinking. Sloboda summarized a lot of research and musicology in this book. Thus, it's a nice starting point for working through what we've learned since "The Musical Mind" was published.

[Tara Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

John is truly the father of music psychology for a reason. Yes, the research at present time is outdated. but the knowledge and curiousity of Sloboda inspired many. For me personally, his indepth description of the relationships between language's structure and music's structure mixed with perception so interesting. he deeply applies chomsky's language theory to music's dimensions. e.g. I loved his example of composers writing meter based on expectations of the listener's grasp on consistancy. When not following the "rules of music", rhythm is similiar to language that when there isnt a consistancy it causes extreme ambiguity. I loved the point of music being different as well -- music is unique in the fact composers can both follow and not follow "the rules" but the listener's perception is still their own, and such ambiguity is apart of the expressive and perceptual differences of music. I also loved reading the differences in performance, and how it affects musicians; alongside musical ability as a whole. As always, I love Sloboda and his work makes me think deeply.

[Marco Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sloboda has put together a comprehensive outline of psychological aspects (mainly cognitive) that apply to the perception and production of music. With his academic background and his experience as practicing musician, his description is at the same time critically scientific and musical. The structure of the book is well organised, and the chapter topics lead well into the next.
A certain degree of musical understanding is required to follow his excursion (e.g. building arguments on the concept of circle of fifths without explicitly explaining it), but that shouldn’t put anyone off reading this rather recent, yet still relevant book.
If your goal is to make connections between psychology and music, then this book will certainly help you on your way.

[Christopher Heckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so much a book to read straight through. I really only read chapters 2, 4, and 5.

[robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the original edition of this book is from about 1983, it's an excellent introduction to approaches to cognitive science and music--even if you're not into cognitive science, the way Sloboda looks at the brain looking at music should prove interesting to anyone who thinks about music as a profession.

[Wilson Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livro interessante do Sloboda, mas é um tanto técnico. Se você não tem um aprofundamento musical, fica difícil compreender muitas passagens (e olha que estudei música e ainda assim "patinei" em muitos momentos do livro).

[Ashley McAulay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good for anyone that wants to understand more about the psychological side of music, a lot of musicology aspect too.

[Maya]

Refenced in Why We Like Music: Ear, Emotion, Evolution by Silvia Benicivelli (p. 78).

[Lorenzo Bovitutti]

Challenging read, high content density.
A re-reading is mandatory.
I found the last chapter particularly fascinating, with a serious essay on the role of music for human societies, from their origin to the present day.