Isacoff on music and the mind

"We do not “need” music to survive, yet rarely do we meet anyone who claims not to love it. Music has the power to unite, entertain, move, and comfort us. However, our relationship with music is full of mystery. From where does something so abstract and seemingly non-essential for human life draw its power? What can listening—an act both simple and complex—teach us about how our brains work? And what is current scientific research revealing about the therapeutic power of music to treat long-term degenerative diseases?"