From our first social bonding as infants to the funeral rites that mark our passing, music plays an important role in our lives, bringing us closer to one another. InThe Music between Us, philosopher Kathleen Marie Higgins investigates this role, examining the features of human perception that enable musics uncanny ability to provoke, despite its myriad forms across continents and throughout centuries, the sense of a shared human experience. Drawing on disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, musicology, linguistics, and anthropology, Higginss richly researched study showcases the ways music is used in rituals, education, work, healing, and as a source of security andperhaps most importantlyjoy. By participating so integrally in such meaningful facets of society, Higgins argues, music situates itself as one of the most fundamental bridges between people, a truly cross-cultural form of communication that can create solidarity across political divides. Moving beyond the well-worn takes on musics universality,The Music between Usprovides a new understanding of what it means to be musical and, in turn, human.
