Daniel Levitin

Daniel earned his B.A. from Stanford in Cognitive Science, his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology with a Ph.D. minor in Music Technology from the University of Oregon, and completed post-doctoral training at Stanford University Medical School and UC Berkeley in Neuroimaging and Perception. As a cognitive neuroscientist specializing in music perception and cognition, Daniel is attributed with fundamentally changing the way that scientists think about auditory memory. As a musician, he has been awarded 17 gold and platinum records and has produced and consulted on albums by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Santana, and The Grateful Dead.

Daniel has written immensely throughout his career, both in scientific journals, audio magazines, and trade journals such as Grammy, Billboard, Audio, and others. In a Los Angeles Times review of his book, This Is Your Brain on Music, Levitin is described as a “deft and patient explainer of the basics for the non-scientist as well as the non-musician…By tracing music’s deep ties to memory, Levitin helps quantify some of music’s magic without breaking its spell.” Daniel’s last book, Successful Aging, is a powerful new approach to aging joyously and has been named, “…an essential book for the rest of your life” by author Daniel H. Pink. His newest book, I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine, released in August 2024.

Outside of his academic and musical career, Daniel has also worked as a joke writer and stand-up comedian. His material has appeared on the Late Night Show with Jay Leno, he performed at the Democratic National Convention in 1984 with Robin Williams, and he was a finalist at the 1989 National Lampoon Standup Comedy Competition.