MINDY PETERSON, NCTM

Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels

Intro

It is New Year’s week, a time to celebrate the year that’s ending and look forward to the year to come. If you’ve listened to this podcast for long, you know that, along with music, I am passionate about holistic health and well-being. Wellness is a topic many of us turn our minds to as we wrap up the holiday season and look ahead to a fresh new year – and contemplate what changes we may want to make in a new year.

So I was thrilled when I looked back at this show’s most-listened-to episode in 2025 that was not released in 2025. That episode was an interview with best-selling author, neuroscientist, and cognitive psychologist Dr. Daniel Levitin on his newest book. He wrote the book as a direct result of seeing a large and growing body of high-quality science supporting music’s role in healing, but realizing this information was not trickling down to the average layperson.

Lucky for us, Dr. Levitin took it upon himself to curate the scientific evidence for music’s impact on brain health, a vast range of physical conditions, and overall wellness in this book.

Whether you or a loved have a condition and you’d like to learn what healing application music may offer, or if you’re interested in prevention, epigenetics, and optimizing your health moving forward, today’s re-run episode is for you.

As I celebrate the New Year holiday with my family, I thank YOU for joining me on this life-enhancing journey through the Enhance Life with Music community, and wish you a 2026 of increased vibrance and flourishing.

Summary

In this episode, we’re joined by the renowned Dr. Daniel Levitin, neuroscientist, musician, and bestselling author. We dive into his brand-new book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine. Dr. Levitin reveals why he wrote the book, how he chose the title, his definition of music, and this new book’s relationship to his earlier best-selling book, This is Your Brain on Music. Discover the fascinating science behind music’s power to boost healing and wellness, regardless of where you are in your health journey.

Guest

When people hear that I’m a podcaster and what my podcast is about, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “Have you heard about that book, This is Your Brain on Music?” YES, I’ve heard of it and I love it! It was published almost 20 years ago; its author has written four MORE bestselling books, and just released a new book TODAY called, I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine. I’m thrilled to have the author with me today, Dr. Daniel Levitin, to tell us about this new book. Dr. Levitin is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist, and musician. He is Founding Dean of Arts & Humanities at Minerva University in San Francisco, and Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Neuroscience at McGill University. As a musician, he has performed with Bobby McFerrin, Rosanne Cash, Sting, Renée Fleming, Neil Young. He has produced and consulted on albums by Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Joni Mitchell.

Notes

We discuss:

• Dr. Levitin’s new book: What is it about and what prompted him to write it?
• How he came up with the title, and the meaning behind it.
• The neuroanatomy of music; why is music so effective and powerful?
• Music’s benefits for amateur vs. professional musicians.
• If music is so healthy, why do we see so many professional musicians with substance abuse and mental health issues?
• How late is too late to reap the brain benefits of music?
• Some of Mindy’s favorite quotes from the book:
  • “We may think of science and art as standing in opposition to one another, but they are bound by a common objective. Science seeks to find truth in the natural world; art seeks to find truth in the emotional world. Medicine fits some-where in between, bridging science, art, and the emotions that move us toward the will to survive, to heal, to take our medicine, exercise, and put in motion all those things that keep us healthy.” (Daniel Levitin, PhD, FRSC in I Heard There Was A Secret Chord)
  • “For all of its seeming precision, the practice of medicine is both a science and an art… In medicine, every case is different; no two cases of a disease or injury present in exactly the same way. Good medicine relies on clinical judgment, refined through the same sort of trial-and-error and creative problem-solving that artists and scientists use.” (Daniel Levitin, PhD, FRSC in I Heard There Was A Secret Chord)
  • [David played for Saul in biblical times.] “It is a recent feature of Western society that we have separated these two, healing and music. We tend to see healing as the province of doctors, and music as entertainment. Perhaps it is time to reunite two of the most intimate parts of our lives. Scientific advances in the past ten years have provided a rational basis for this reunification, opening a dialogue between health care workers, health insurance companies, and all the rest of us. The research allows us to take what had been speculation, anecdote, and observations untethered from evidence, and join them in equal partnership with prescription drugs, surgeries, medical procedures, psychotherapy, and various forms of treatment that are mainstream and evidence-based.” (Daniel Levitin, PhD, FRSC in I Heard There Was A Secret Chord)
  • “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord will show you what we know, how it can be explained, and how we can harness the potential of music for healing and for staving off disease in the first place; for relieving pain; for helping us look forward and reimagine our lives.” (Daniel Levitin, PhD, FRSC in I Heard There Was A Secret Chord)

Connect/Other Resources

• Dr. Levitin’s website and linktree
• I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine
• Dr. Levitin’s other books (including This is Your Brain on Music)

Other episodes we mentioned or that you may enjoy:

• Ep. 4: Music Rewires the Brain (Maegan Morrow, Gabby Giffords’ music therapist)
• Ep. 96: Restoring function and quality of life for those with Multiple Sclerosis; with Betsy Hartman, MT-BC
• Ep.39: Parkinson’s Disease Interventions with Music; “Music provides structure for movement.” Marion Haase, M.M.
• Ep. 148: Applying music’s healing powers to the challenge of eating disorders, with Annie Heiderscheit,PhD, MT-BC, LMFT
• Ep. 150: Chronic pain relief and management through music; with Nancy Jackson, PhD, MT-BC
• Ep. 143: Harness the Power of Music to Stay Sober, with author Tim Ringgold, MT-BC
• View all episodes related to Science & Health

In-Episode Promo

MUD/WTR: I was never a coffee drinker until about 3 years ago, after my sister coaxed me into trying espresso. I have to admit, I loved that caffeine boost and the strong flavor of espresso! But I saw that people who drank it every day didn’t even feel that caffeine boost anymore – and they felt horrible and got headaches if they DIDN’T have their morning caffeine. So I let myself have espresso a few days a week, and went in search of a morning beverage for the rest of the days – something that would still boost my mental clarity and energy. I was thrilled when I discovered MUD/WTR – it was created by an artist and dad who used to be addicted to coffee. He started to blend mushrooms like lion’s mane, cordyceps, resihi, and chaga with super foods and spices. I’ve become a huge fan of the “Original Masala Chai,” a blend that supports gut health and immune function along with energy and focus. Try it yourself – and get 20% off your first order – at mudwtr.com/ENHANCELIFE.

Coda

Dr. Levitin shares the background of his song, There is Delight:

Closing Words

And that is a little bit of Dr. Levitin’s “There is Delight.” You can listen to the full song, including that piano solo, with the YouTube video in the show notes. Thank you so much to Dr. Levitin for his research and for translating and disseminating to us laypeople the many compelling studies on music’s healing power. There is a link to his book, I Heard There Was A Secret Chord, in the show notes, as well as links to his other books (including This is Your Brain on Music).

I want give a quick shout-out to Dr. Sheetal Ajmani. Dr. Ajmani is a physician and fellow podcaster who recently had me as a guest on her show, Essential Self-Care, to discuss the power of music as a self-care tool.

You can always connect with me on email (mindy@mpetersonmusic.com), Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for joining me today. Until next time, may your life be enhanced with music.

If you enjoyed this episode, then please:

1. Follow us in your podcast app: This is FREE and conveniently delivers each new episode to your device when it releases, so you don’t have to search for it.
   
2. Share us with others: If you know of someone who would enjoy this episode, please share it with them! It’s easy to do right in your podcast listening app. Just tap the Share feature for options to share by text, email, or social media (or share this page).
   
3. Rate & review our show: This fuels our creative energy, and also helps others find the show!

Note: We occasionally use affiliate links for products and services we whole-heartedly believe in. We may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, for purchases made through these links. This helps support the free content we provide.