Music

Music leads you to a greater understanding. Einstein said that relativity came to him through musical intuition- he was a great violinist, and was also Chair of the Princeton Orchestra. Bach had a phenomenal, and intuitive, understanding of mathematics too.

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

I genuinely believe that if music comes from your heart and soul, that people will hear that and will be able to connect with the truth of it. For a musician, that's really important- you have to be true to yourself and to the feelings you have when you make music.

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

Music allows us to express our soul and feelings in a way that's very difficult to replicate with words. I've spent more of my life playing music than I have speaking, and I find it a much more effective way of communicating my feelings and thoughts than words have ever been.

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

Music is woven into the fabric of the universe. As far back as Pythagoras and Kepler, scientists were writing about the fact that music was intrinsic in the planets… part of the harmonic series in sound. We also have a whole branch of knowledge called zoomusicology, which shows that an appreciation of music and sound is a part of nature, not just unique to humans.

British-Indian composer and musician known for world music and film scores

Without music, life would be hollow. Music is like food, we need it. It's essential. It's invisible, and doesn't require our attention, and so it gets threaded into our lives. Music becomes a strong part of our memories, our sense of self, and identity.

Georgian-British singer-songwriter known for "Nine Million Bicycles

Song writing is about finding a vision that sets the mood and state for the work and process. Then you need to put in the time and the good vibes to achieve that vision.

Georgian-British singer-songwriter known for "Nine Million Bicycles

Songs are like a cleanse for the nervous system. I was walking through London the other day, and my mind was full of my to-do list, work, and so much more. I put on She's Always a Woman by Billy Joel and I just suddenly felt psychologically lifted.

Georgian-British singer-songwriter known for "Nine Million Bicycles

I don't think of what I do solely as an expression of me and my life; it's more that I'm someone who loves what happens when a great song comes into my life. I become still. I see life as beautiful… majestic. I feel more like the song is doing something for me rather than me doing something to make the song… or to do to the song.

Georgian-British singer-songwriter known for "Nine Million Bicycles

Legendary artists are not one hit wonders. They have staying power, they've been there for years, decades, generations. Like Beyoncé. After we recorded 'If I Were A Boy', she sat down on the couch with me and was extremely loving, nice, and wanted to know about my family and how I feel about things.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

Music is definitely a form of communication, and it gives me a good feeling. If I'm hungry and sit at the piano to play, I'm not hungry anymore. I'll forget everything when I make music. I think when we listen to music, it allows us to feel things.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

For me, that's the foundation of songwriting: improvisation. In improvisation on instruments, I feel creation is going a new path with every note, somewhere you haven't been before. You discover things, you're the adventurer in music.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

Whenever I write a new song with somebody, it feels like the first time. I sometimes feel embarrassed, humiliated, like I don't know what I'm doing until we find a spark. You have to dare to go to this place where, even though you've done it before, it feels like you don't know what you're looking for until you find it.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

I usually start at the end. When you listen to a song for the first time, if there's something you remember from it the next day, that's where I can start writing the song. Whatever the takeaway is, that's the starting point for me.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

To me, writing a song is like a ball game. You bounce the ball back and forth until someone doesn't want to play anymore. When you make music, you want to make someone feel something. So if you write in collaboration, you can have a good reality check if you can make each other feel something with every new word, every new melody.

Grammy-nominated music producer and songwriter behind major pop hits

Music can help us heal and achieve therapeutic outcomes by tapping into various neurochemical circuits that influence mood and behaviour. Ours was the first lab to show that listening to music releases the brain's natural pain relievers—opioids. Relaxing music can modulate prolactin, a soothing, tranquilizing hormone. Music also releases dopamine which helps us to focus and motivates us to stay on task.

Neuroscientist & author of "This Is Your Brain on Music

We tend to remember the things in life that deliver the biggest emotional wallop. Music ties into memory in two ways. First, music itself can be tremendously impactful, so we remember it — and we also remember everything happening around us when we heard it. That makes them highly effective memory tags, because they're anchored to a very specific time and place.

Neuroscientist & author of "This Is Your Brain on Music