Economist Special Cover Story: Music and Evolution

Let there be no doubt that a global music education, engagement and service zeitgeist is well underway. It gives me the chills actually.

Anyway, if best selling books by Daniel Levitan, Oliver Sacks and others hadn’t already signaled that scientists (neuro, social, evolutionary, etc) are fully engaged in the quest to articulate why music is powerful and important as well, The Economist piece will put that to rest.

It’s time to open, strengthen and expand a new channel of civic engagement through music – music volunteerism, music mentoring, music service. This is as much about social justice, youth and community development as it is about arts education. Please support the Music National Service Initiative. Thank you.

One tasty morsel from the Economist: The average American teenager spends 1½-2½ hours a day—an eighth of his waking life—listening to music.

And here’s what my Dad said in an when I flipped him the article:

Your link doesn’t seem to work but I had seen the piece in the Economist. 

I must say that until now I had applied my masturbatory music metaphors to George Winston, (and occasionally Keith Jarret), but I see now that it casts a much broader net.

Notwithstanding the piece’s distracting allusion to such solitary activity, as between humanity’s two most basic drives; the competitive survival of our selves and the necessarily collaborative survival of our species, it is especially fitting for you and MNSI, that this article places music’s Darwinian role squarely within the latter. xo, dad

(is my dad cool or what?)