If you have not heard of or read this book, you should look into it. The book is entitled "This Is Your Brain on Music" and is written by Daniel J. Levitin of McGill University.

What I really liked about it is the manner in which it reads; complex and complicated stuff, this...but he presents it in a very open and approachable way...and in a way that just seems to make sense. It's definitely a book that gives pause (it was especially so for me when he cited various famous artists' tracks, many of whom are my favorites, and what happens when we hear such performances). At the same time, while he dissects a great deal about how we process music, the beauty of it (in my opinion) lies in the fact that the intrinisc mystery of how music affects us is still left intact.

In essence, the book discusses what happens in our brains when we hear music. Apart from that 'simple' explanation, he also speaks to the constituent parts of music itself, and how these all affect the Human Brain.

It's garnered some great reviews (and I think, quite deservedly so), and I would add my own 'thumbs up' on this one.

Here's hoping that you like it...

Mark
PS: Here are some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Your_Brain_On_Music

http://www.amazon.com/This-Your-Brain-Music-Obsession/dp/0525949690

http://books.google.com/books/about/This_Is_Your_Brain_on_Music.html?id=prV4UrZ2df0C