Music, consciousness, and the brain:music as shared experience of an embodied present
Oxford University Press eBooks July 28, 2011 DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199553792.003.0072 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 32 |
| Key points | Argues that the musical listening experience is one of shared subjectivity between listeners and performers, underpinned by innate bodily responses to musical gestures and the human mirror neuron system. Contends that music, unlike language, provides an intimately shared, embodied experience rather than communicating a specific message. |
Abstract
This chapter considers the neural basis of musical experience alongside theories of the embodied nature of consciousness. Drawing on previous theoretical work on the role of the human mirror neuron system in emotional responses to music, it proposes that the nature of the musical listening experience is of a shared subjectivity between individual listeners and performers, underpinned by innate bodily responses to musical gestures. Based on an outline of this broad theory, it offers a number of conclusions that include a reassessment of the ideas of ‘musical meaning’ and ‘musical communication’. It is argued that, while communication can be found in music, one of the attributes that distinguishes music from language is that music provides an intimately shared, embodied experience rather than communicating a specific message.