Welcome to Litsy!

Everyone loves music. But what is it about music that makes it so universally beloved? Music is just abstract sound-a series of tones, rhythm, timbres. But then why does it have such a powerful affect on us?In this sweeping tour, Dr. Nolan Gasser-a pianist, composer, musicologist, and the chief architect of the Music Genome Project, which is what powers Pandora Radio-breaks down what musical taste is, where it comes from, and what our favorite songs say about us. Dr. Gasser delves into the science, biology, psychology, anthropology, and sociology that explains why humans are intrinsically musical beings. He explains how our brains are music-processing machines and why you may love Queen, but your friend loves Kiss, while another friend detests 70s rock 'n roll altogether. He sheds light on why babies are able to clap along to rhythmic patterns and reveals why different cultures from across the globe identify the same kinds of music as either happy, sad, or scary. Using easy-to-follow notated musical scores, Dr. Gasser teaches music fans how to become engaged listeners and provides them with the tools to enhance their musical preferences. Taking readers under the hood of their favorite genres-pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, world music, and classical-he covers favorite songs from Taylor Swift to Creedence Clearwater Revival to Kendrick Lamar, and Beethoven and through their work introduces readers to the principal musical parameters that are at play in the songs you hear that make you hum along or tap your foot. Why You Like It teaches you to follow the musical discourse happening within a song and empower your musical taste. You will never hear music the same way again.