Music On The Brain Chapter 1 Summary

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The fourth chapter, “Music on the Brain: Imagery and Imagination,” covers imagery as it resides in individuals. Sacks brings up his own parents to demonstrate that not every person has equal potential to posses imagery. In this sense, he basically says his father did and his mother did not. But musicians and those skilled within the field, were very talented at this trait. He begins talking about composers and examines how they interpret music. Beethoven’s creative process is used as an example because he is deaf. Due to the fact that he was not able to experience external music, he was forced to be more abstract and use his imagination. Sacks personal relationship is best described as a gift that few are given. He is able to hear music play …show more content…

Sometimes music and melodies can get stuck in our heads for hours to days on end until eventually, they fade away. Earworms are described as “cognitively infectious musical agents.” They are a special type of music that is specifically made to stick in people's brain. Sacks brings up one of his good friends, Nick Younes and explains how the song “Love and Marriage” got stuck in his head for around 10 days until it eventually left his mind. He also mentions Mark Twain's story, “A Literary Nightmare” in which a man gets a repetitive jingle stuck in his mind and starts infecting all the people around him. Sacks is astounded by this topic, but he can't figure out whether it's the simple repetition or something else. He goes on to discuss how the iPod's we use are basically daylong concerts and they change our environments, which make them so entertaining. He draws the conclusion that these catchy tunes our brains remember are neurologically irresistible. I found this chapter very interesting. Not only because it made sense, but more due to the fact that I have experienced this numerous times throughout my life. These facts and stories are opening my eyes wider and wider to the influence of

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