Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste

The mystery of why music moves people gets a stimulating survey in this expansive treatise. Musicologist and composer Gasser, who headed Pandora Radio’s Music Genome Project, investigates how music’s objective properties underlie subjective preferences in a deep dredge that covers the physics of sonic vibrations; principles of melody, harmony, and rhythm; the science of how the brain processes music and connects it with emotions; sociological theories of musical preferences, class, and fan subcultures; and a disquisition on biology and “the conceptual link between pluripotent stem cells and [musical] theme and variation.” Woven in are analyses of musical genres—pop, rock, jazz, hip-hop, electronica, world music, and classical—with exegeses of representative scored examples. (An ability to read music will help in understanding these sections.) Gasser’s writing is passionate and generally accessible, though he sometimes stumbles over the inherent difficulty of conveying music through musicology. (A discussion of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” notes the “unusually small ambitus (range)—only a 5th (B-F-sharp), with most of it limited to the top 3rd (D-F-sharp)” before suggesting “there may just be something about that simple, bayou groove that keeps its fans... coming back.”) The book is a sprawl, but serious music lovers will find much fascinating science and lore to browse. (Apr. )