Many of us think that music exists in the ether – that while it defies definition, we know it when we hear it. But the truth is that we only hear it when we know it. Music isn’t music until our minds make it so. Just like music has the power to connect people, to change minds, to incite violence and tame beasts, to give us energy or heal our pain, our minds have the ability to turn noise into this panacea. How? This talk demonstrates just how ethereal and magical music is, that there is no right way to listen or play, and that extracting meaning from sound is one of the greatest gifts that natural selection has given us. Based on the podcast Cadence - what music tells us about the mind, neuroscientist and opera singer Dr. Indre Viskontas demonstrates how music makes us better. Image: Book Cover