What are the mental processes involved in listening to, performing, and composing music? What is involved in 'understanding' a piece of music? How are such skills acquired?

Questions such as these form the basis of the cognitive psychology of music. The author addresses these questions by surveying the growing experimental literature on the subject. The topics covered will be of interest to psychologists, as windows onto a human cognitive skill of some complexity that is only now beginning to receive the attention devoted to such skills as language. They are also relevant to musicians who are seeking to understand the psychological bases of their skills.

The author does not simply review existing research, but takes a critical look at what has been achieved in the subject, introducing such topics as composition and musical skill in non-literate cultures. He draws freely on his own knowledge and experience as a practising musician, as well as a psychologist, to provide an overview that is scholarly and also accessible to the general reader.

Music as a cognitive skill; Music, language and meaning; The performance of music; Composition and improvisation; Listening to music; Musical learning and development; The musical mind in context: culture and biology; References; Indexes.

John A. Sloboda , Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Keele

`the clarity of Sloboda's writing and his numerous suggestions for further research will make his book essential reading for anyone, student or researcher, interested in how minds and music interact.' Nature

`this work is infused with informed observations of high interest to psychologists, musicians and teachers of music...Sloboda's research has been exemplary' Allan Shields in' Journal of the International Society

`Sloboda's book deserves loud applause, for its content, for its frankness in dealing with speculative issues largely ignored by other workers, and especially because it brings with it a new kind of approach.' New Scientist

`one of the most stimulating books it has been my lot to read' Classical Music

`as a vastly influential sourcebook ... even entirely non-academic music lovers should find plenty to interest them in Sloboda's lucid surveys of research into the ways performers read, master and memorise music, the way it is improvised and composed, how we hear and grasp it, what part it plays in personal development and, more broadly, in society and culture as a whole.' Bayan Northcott, BBC Music