# Quote — Daniel Levitin, The World in Six Songs

> Human process music using both absolute and relational processing... we attend to the actual pitches and duration we hear in music, as well as their relative values. This dual mode of processing is rare among species... These modes of processing and the brain mechanisms that gave rise to them were necessary for the development of language, music, poetry, and art.

- Author: [Daniel Levitin](https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin.md)
- Book: [The World in Six Songs](https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-world-in-six-songs.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Levitin#The_World_in_Six_Songs_(2008)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-world-in-six-songs/human-process-music

## More from this book

> The point of art is to emphasize some elements at the expense of others.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-world-in-six-songs/the-point-of-art.md)

> The six types of song that have shaped human nature—friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion, and love songs—I've come to think are obvious...

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-world-in-six-songs/the-six-types.md)

> We may have had music before we had a word for it.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-world-in-six-songs/we-may-have.md)