An edited collection of papers which explore a large number of topics related to musical imagery. Musical imagery can be defined as our mental capacity for imagining sound in the absence of a directly-audible sound source, meaning that we can recall and re-experience or even invent new musical sound through our inner ear. The first part of the volume is focused on theoretical issues such as the history, epistemology, neurological bases, and cognitive models of musical imagery. The second part presents various applications of musical imagery in performance and composition, and provides the reader with a broad overview of the many musical activities which are concerned with musical imagery.;Musical imagery is a truly interdisciplinary subject, and it is the belief of the editors that a plurality of approaches, ranging from the introspective and philosophical to the experimental and computational, is the most fruitful strategy for exploring the subject of musical imagery.

A successor to the acclaimed 'Music and Emotion', The Handbook of Music and Emotion provides comprehensive coverage of the field, in all its breadth and depth. As well as summarizing what is currently known about music and emotion, it will also stimulate further research in promising directions that have been little studied.

Table of contents

Singing has been a characteristic behaviour of humanity across several millennia. Chorus America (2009) estimated that 42.6 million adults and children regularly sing in one of 270,000 choruses in the US, representing more than 1:5 households. Similarly, recent European-based data suggest that more than 37 million adults take part in group singing. The Oxford Handbook of Singing is a landmark text on this topic. It is a comprehensive resource for anyone who wishes to know more about the pluralistic nature of singing. In part, the narrative adopts a lifespan approach, pre-cradle to senescence, to illustrate that singing is a commonplace behaviour which is an essential characteristic of our humanity. In the overall design of the Handbook, the chapter contents have been clustered into eight main sections, embracing fifty-three chapters by seventy-two authors, drawn from across the world, with each chapter illustrating and illuminating a particular aspect of singing. Offering a multi-disciplinary perspective embracing the arts and humanities, physical, social and clinical sciences, the book will be valuable for a broad audience within those fields.

Can music really arouse emotions? If so, what emotions, and how? Why do listeners respond with different emotions to the same piece of music? Are emotions to music different from other emotions? Why do we respond to fictional events in art as if they were real, even though we know they're not? What is it that makes a performance of music emotionally expressive? Based on ground-breaking research, Musical Emotions Explained explores how music expresses and arouses emotions, and how it becomes an object of aesthetic judgments. Within the book, Juslin demonstrates how psychological mechanisms from our ancient past engage with meanings in music at multiple levels of the brain to evoke a broad variety of affective states - from startle responses to profound aesthetic emotions. He also explores why these mechanisms respond to music. Written by one of the leading researchers in the field, the book is richly illustrated with music examples from everyday life, and explains with clarity and rigour the manifold ways in which music may engage our emotions. Advance praise Musical Emotions Explained is a magnificent publication that has been painstakingly researched to illuminate the many, varied ways music can express and arouse emotions. It provides the most authoritative single authored text on the topic so far. As a highly readable and informative publication, it superbly unlocks the secrets of musical affect for experienced researchers through to lay readers alike. Gary E. McPherson, Ormond Chair of Music and Director, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australia Anyone who wants to understand more about the most essential quality of music - its ability to move us - needs to read this book. Juslin's writing is gripping and thoughtful as he takes us on a journey through the latest research on this most interesting intersection between science and art. Daniel J. Levitin, Author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs. Music Emotions Explained is a tour de force. In this extraordinary book, written with passion and humor, Patrik Juslin shares insights gleaned from decades of ground-breaking research. Breadth and depth are nicely balanced as grand, over-arching themes are richly supported by systematic and detailed research findings. This book will serve as an inviting introduction to students or interested laypersons but also as a touchstone to which professionals will return frequently for guidance and inspiration. Donald A. Hodges, Professor Emeritus, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA Patrik Juslin here deftly synthesizes several decades of psychological research, much of it his own, on how music both expresses emotion and moves us emotionally, in the course of developing an empirically grounded, evolutionarily based, philosophically informed theory of the phenomenon in question, doing so with style and wit. Musical Emotion Explained is wide ranging, engagingly written, full of arresting claims, and studded with telling anecdotes. It is a book that everyone who has ever marveled at the affective power of music should read. Jerrold Levinson, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland, USA Musical Emotions Explained is essential reading that sets the new gold standard resource for understanding the delicious pleasures of music experience. Using lucid, witty and compelling arguments, Patrik Juslin illustrates a set of core mechanisms that collectively account for music-evoked emotions. Scholars, general readers and musicians will be inspired by this landmark work, which will stimulate research for decades to come. Bill Thompson, Distinguished Professor, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia It goes without saying that Patrik Juslin is one of the world's top experts on the science of musical emotion. What this book reveals is that he is a hugely persuasive and accessible interlocutor. It really feels as though one is in conversation with a friend who is thinking issues and arguments through with the reader, step by step. Of course all the important literature is covered, but this is far from a dry literature review. Juslin's book should excite and stimulate layreaders and professional colleagues alike to deepen their understanding of what makes music emotional. John Sloboda, Research Professor, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London, UK The best comprehensive and critically explanatory tome to-date on one of the most fascinating and still poorly understood topics in music research, written by the foremost international expert on music and emotion. A treasure for decades to come. Michael Thaut, Professor of Music, Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Science, University of Toronto, Canada In Musical Emotions Explained, Patrik Juslin probes and proffers many psychological and philosophical concepts of musical emotions toward unpacking numerous mysteries surrounding the arousal and expression of musical affect. The results of his meticulous research have profound implications for experiencing, creating, valuing, and teaching music. Written with great care and passion, this brilliant book is a must-read for anyone who takes a serious interest in the nature and values of music in people's lives. David Elliott, Professor of Music and Music Education, New York University, USA Patrik Juslin has been at the forefront of research into music and emotion for more than 20 years. Adding to what is already an astonishing body of work, this hugely impressive monograph is the culmination of that remarkable programme of research. Witten in an accessible and engaging style, and covering a huge range of perspectives, this is a book that will undoubtedly become a classic in the psychology of music, an indispensable resource for researchers in the field, and a fascinating read for those who may be new to the topic. Eric Clarke FBA, Heather Professor of Music, University of Oxford, UK

In 2006, scientist Richard Dawkins published a blockbuster bestseller, The God Delusion. This atheist manifesto sparked a furious reaction from believers, who have responded with numerous books of their own. By pitting science against religion, however, this debate overlooks what science can tell us about religion. According to evolutionary psychologist Matt J. Rossano, what science reveals is that religion made us human. In Supernatural Selection, Rossano presents an evolutionary history of religion. Neither an apologist for religion nor a religion-basher, he draws together evidence from a wide range of disciplines to show the valuable--even essential--adaptive purpose served by systematic belief in the supernatural. The roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years, when our ancestors developed the motor control to engage in social rituals--that is, to sing and dance together. Then, about 70,000 years ago, a global ecological crisis drove humanity to the edge of extinction. It forced the survivors to create new strategies for survival, and religious rituals were foremost among them. Fundamentally, Rossano writes, religion is a way for humans to relate to each other and the world around them--and, in the grim struggles of prehistory, it offered significant survival and reproductive advantages. It emerged as our ancestors' first health care system, and a critical part of that health care system was social support. Religious groups tended to be far more cohesive, which gave them a competitive advantage over non-religious groups, and enabled them to conquer the globe. Rather than focusing on one aspect of religion, as many theorists do, Rossano offers an all-encompassing approach that is rich with surprises, insights, and provocative conclusions.

Research indicates that aural skills are vital in developing musical expertise, yet the precise nature of those skills and the emphasis placed upon them in educational contexts merit closer attention and exploration. This book assesses the relevance of aural in a university music degree and as a preparation for the professional career of a classical musician. By way of the discussion of four empirical studies, two main areas are investigated: firstly, the relationship between university music students’ aural ability and their overall success on a music degree programme, and, secondly, the views of music students and professional musicians about aural and its relevance to their career are analysed. The subject is investigated particularly in the light of the current socio-educational background of the past fifty years, which has greatly influenced the participation of music and the study and development of musicianship. Many related issues are touched upon as part of the research for this project, and these emerge as relevant topics in the discussion of aural. Apart from students’ and musicians’ views on training and singing, aspects considered include the role of improvisation, memorisation and notation, examinations, absolute pitch and the affinity with language, all of which have a part to play in the debate about the importance of aural.

Since the beginning of human civilization, music has been used as a device to control social behavior, where it has operated as much to promote solidarity within groups as hostility between competing groups. Music is an emotive manipulator that influences attitude, motivation and behavior at many levels and in many contexts. This volume is the first to address the social ramifications of music’s behaviorally manipulative effects, its morally questionable uses and control mechanisms, and its economic and artistic regulation through commercialization, thus highlighting not only music’s diverse uses at the social level but also the ever-fragile relationship between aesthetics and morality.

What is it that accounts for the differences between musical beginners, advanced music makers, and world class performers? Virtually everyone likes music and has the capacity to be musical in some way (despite what some may say about themselves). Yet far fewer people come to be so involved with it that they identify themselves as musicians, and fewer still become musicians of international class. Psychology for Musicians provides the basis for answering this question. Examining the processes that underlie the acquisition of musical skills, Lehmann, Sloboda, and Woody provide a concise, accessible, and up-to-date introduction to psychological research for musicians.