Piano Technique • Piano Repertoire • Music Theory • Music Cognition
Music Cognition
Music Cognition is the field that covers everything having to do with how we think about. It includes studies such as neuroscience, philosophy, ethnomusicology, music therapy, and music theory.
The Routledge Companion to Music Cognition. This is one of the best resources out there right now on Music Cognition, especially since it’s such a new field. You can dig into the subject as deeply as you’d like, as each section begins with a general idea of the topic, provides further readings for ideas you may not be familiar with, and then dives profoundly into each topic. The editor is also one of my professors, and he is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about everything in the field (which is vast), and his words exude that passion. I highly recommend this as an introduction to the field, if you’re interested.
Routledge | Amazon | AbeBooks (UK)
The Oxford Handbook of Music and Emotion. If you’re at all interested in how music interacts with our emotions, definitely check this one out. The book is arranged topically: multi-disciplinary perspectives (including psychology, philosophy, sociology, and more), how we measure emotion and music, emotion and music making, emotion and music listening, personality and development, and applications. If you’re new to reading scientific studies, it’s also a great introduction to understanding the benefits and detriments to different experimental methods.
Adam Neely’s Youtube Channel. Adam Neely is a bassist with degrees in Jazz Composition from Berklee (BM) and the Manhattan School of Music (MM). While his channel includes discussions on music theory, bass lessons, and music history, my favorite videos are the ones focused on the way our brains process music. Each video is a well-researched essay but in a less formal and more fun environment. I binge-watched his channel when I discovered it; he’s that entertaining, and I’ve gotten a lot more resources via his research as a musician. He also includes Q&A’s that cover everything about music in general.