The Power of Music

The award-winning creator of the acclaimed documentary "The Music

Instinct: Science & Song," explores the power of music and its

connection to the body, the brain, and the world of nature. Only

recently has science sought in earnest to understand and explain this

impact. One remarkable recent study, analyzing the cries of newborns,

shows that infants' cries contain common musical intervals, and children

tease each other in specific, singsong ways no matter where in the

world they live. Physics experiments show that sound waves can

physically change the structure of a material; musician and world-famous

conductor Daniel Barenboim believes musical sound vibrations physically

penetrate our bodies, shifting molecules as they do. The Power of Music

follows visionary researchers and accomplished musicians to the

crossroads of science and culture, to discover: how much of our

musicality is learned and how much is innate? Can examining the

biological foundations of music help scientists unravel the intricate

web of human cognition and brain function? Why is music virtually

universal across cultures and time-does it provide some evolutionary

advantage? Can music make people healthier? Might music contain organizing principles of harmonic vibration that underlie the cosmos

itself?