Wired for Music: A Search for Health and Joy Through the Science of Sound

A journalist and former cellist explores music as a source of joy, healing, and resilience in this captivating blend of science and memoir.

Music isn't just background noise or a series of torturous exercises we remember from piano lessons. It can double as an antidepressant, painkiller, sleeping pill, memory aid-and boost creativity and aid in the aging process. Though music has long been used by cultures around the world as a source of healing and energy, Western neuroscientists have only recently started calling it a "super stimulant for the brain." But here's the catch: We can listen to music every day and still miss out on its most potent effects.

Adriana Barton learned the hard way. She studied classical cello for nearly two decades, a punishing pursuit that left her emotionally and physically scarred. In Wired for Music, she sets out to discover what music is really for, sifting through discoveries from pioneering neuroscientists, medical studies, lessons from biology and anthropology, and Indigenous and local knowledge to get to the heart of music's healing power. In this digital age, many of us are not reaping the benefits of music. Fortunately, as Wired for Music shows, our species' age-old connection to rhythm and melody is wired within us.