“The different aspects of the close relationship between science and music are discussed in this book. … this fourth edition of the book incorporates a number of recent results supporting hypotheses posited in earlier versions …. Credit can only be given to the author for creating such an engaging read.

… open questions which makes the reader want to come back for more. “This book … not only suitable for lay-readers, but can also act as a springboard for more technically minded readers wishing to pursue a thorough foray into the field. This book will be an asset to any scientific library.' (Soubhik Chakraborty, ACM Computing Reviews, November, 2009)

… While there are plenty of good books on the physics of music … Roederer’s classic is the best. 'This book deals with the physical systems and biological processes that interact with music, analyzing ‘what objective, physical properties of sound patterns are associated with what subjective, psychological sensations of music.’ … Roederer is well known for promoting music as a multidisciplinary subject. The possibility of musics in extraterrestrial civilizations.New research on consciousness and emotions.New results from tomographic imaging of brain function that confirm some speculations in previous editions.This new edition presents substantially updated coverage of psychoacoustics, including: A prior knowledge of physics, mathematics, neurobiology or psychology is not required to understand most of the book it is, however, assumed that the reader is familiar with music - in particular, with musical notation, musical scales and intervals, and some of the basics of musical instruments. Using the precise language of science, but without complicated mathematics, the author weaves a close mesh of the physics, psychophysics and neurobiology relevant to music. It analyzes what objective, physical properties of sound are associated with what subjective psychological sensations of music, and it describes how these sound patterns are actually generated in musical instruments, how they propagate through the environment, and how they are detected by the ear and interpreted in the brain. This book, a classic in its field, deals with the physical systems and physiological processes that intervene in music.

Meow musicality somewhere