Music, Language, and the Brain

I bought Dr. Patel's book because of my lifelong love of music, and interest in how we learn, remember, and communicate music. As a non-musician, but sometime writer, I also have the same deep interests in language.

This work is intended for the scholar, interested in learning about current research in acquisition of both language and music. In his introduction Dr. Patel clearly states that "...this book is written to be accessible to individuals with primary training in either music or language studies." This is an accurate description of the work. The book is densely annotated, an asset to scholars and researchers. The form of annotation, however, is a hindrance to fluid reading of the thesis of the work.

I had a particular interest in finding Dr. Patel's comments on
memory for language and music. Although there is a complete index
to this work, the word "memory" does not appear in it. Neither does
the topic of Memory appear in the book's well-outlined structure. The work is entirely about acquisition of language and music, and the neurological research which has identified those processes.

As a (retired) psychologist I found the book understandable, but do
not recommend it for lay persons to read, no matter how strong
their interest in music or language.

Merle Fischlowitz, Ph.D.