Why read Musical Savants?

Book cover of Musical Savants: Exceptional Skill in the Mentally Retarded

Book description

Using the case study of "Eddie" as his framework, Professor Miller challenges the prevailing notion that musical savants are essentially phenomenal tape recorders and deals with the issue of "idiot savants" in a detailed, empirical investigation. Through "Eddie" the author discusses, in specific and in general, topics including the background…

Explore

Topics

Genres

Coming soon!

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Musical Savants as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Adam Ockelford

Author

Although the language in the title of this book may now sound dated, its content is certainly not. I regard it as a ‘classic’ text in the field of music psychology, which was taking off when Miller put pen to paper.

Musical Savants represents the first rigorous exploration of exceptional musical talent in children with learning difficulties. I particularly like how, through a series of carefully designed experiments, Miller shows the nature of exceptional musical talent and how this can co-exist with areas of cognitive deficit.

From Adam's list on The books that best explain how music works.