Music On The Brain: It’S Not Just For The Birds

Music on the Brain The early 20th century Danish linguist Otto Jesperson wrote “In the beginning was the voice. Voice is sounding breath, the audible sign of life.” No matter how remote or isolated, there is no human culture that does not sing. The earliest songs were likely individualistic and improvisatory, an imitation of the sounds heard in nature, and while it is unknown when vocalization of meaningful, communicative sounds began, singing was no doubt a crucial step in the development of spoken language. Neuroscientist and Zuckerman Institute principal investigator Dr. Sarah Woolley’s research of song birds is helping decode how the brain interprets sound — and what happens during development when those sounds are disrupted. Join the Zuckerman Institute’s 2019 Artist-in-Residence jazz pianist/composer Helen Sung and Dr. Woolley for a special evening discussing her latest research highlighted by jazz music inspired “by the birds.” Music on the Brain is a collaboration between the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute. More Info below.