Daniel Levitin

Award-winning author and neuroscientist exploring the astonishing curative powers of music

Bestselling author Daniel Levitin describes his life’s work as exploring “what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about music, and what both can teach us about ourselves.” His compelling work combines neuroscience, music theory, and psychology insights, offering a scientific and personal exploration of why music holds such profound meaning in human life.

As a cognitive neuroscientist specializing in music perception and cognition, Levitin is widely credited with fundamentally changing how scientists think about the interconnection between music, the brain, productivity, creativity and health. He is the bestselling author of five books: This Is Your Brain on Music, The World in Six Songs, The Organized Mind, A Field Guide to Lies, and Successful Aging.

His newest book, I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music As Medicine, explores the curative powers of music, showing us how and why it is one of the most potent therapies today.

Levitin earned his B.A. in Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science at Stanford and went on to earn his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, researching complex auditory patterns and pattern processing in expert and non-expert populations. He completed post-doctoral training at Stanford University Medical School and UC Berkeley in neuroimaging and perception.

Levitin has taught at Stanford, Dartmouth, and Berkeley, and he is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at Minerva University, and James McGill Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University.

In I Heard There Was a Secret Chord, Levitin draws upon numerous studies on music and the brain to demonstrate how music can contribute to the treatment of a host of ailments, from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, to cognitive injury, depression, and pain.

Levitin has produced and consulted on albums by artists Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Joni Mitchell and on the films Good Will Hunting and Pulp Fiction and been awarded 17 gold and platinum records. As a musician (tenor saxophone, guitar, bass, and vocals), he has performed with Mel Tormé, David Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Sting, and Bobby McFerrin.

Since his start as a music journalist, Levitin has published more than 300 articles in publications including Science, Nature, PNAS, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The Wall Street Journal. His research has been featured over 1800 times in the popular press.  He is a frequent guest on NPR and CBC Radio and has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, and CNN. His TED talk has more than 8 million views.