a belief in yourself, certainly, for the first few years of musical training, it does not sound very good. you have to believe it has to amount to something. all of these things come together which complicates the search for a jeanne. >> i certainly lost a lot of hours in my life. >> how many hours a day would you -- would you say you play? >> it depends. it could be none, five minutes, four, five hours. when i am preparing for something, i still get pretty lost. i could sit there for two hours without looking up too much, thinking about where i am. >> before i go to question, i wonder if you could indulge us and play the intro to my favorite song of yours "crossway." >> i will try. it has been awhile.

♪ [applause] >> thank you. >> questions? >> thank you for that.

that was great. i have a question, two-sided. when you play a piece like that, when we feel -- hear music, we feel the emotion. why does music trigger in motion? what is going on? let me take that -- >> let me take that. that is an interesting question. that is really the big question in cognitive neuroscience. it is not at all sounds are music. we do not put on records of chickens clucking, waterfalls falling, some of us do, but the real music come from this arrangement of organized sound we call music. i have to say, we do not really know. the closest we have got is music appears to be metaphorical for movement and instruments sometimes sound like a mother singing, crying.

and the only thing we know for sure is that music is activating a lot of regions in the brain. i think the best explanation that i will propose now, tentatively, as it has to do with expectation and release. when we hear a piece of music, because it has a pulse, we almost always know when the next bibelot be, but we do not know what it will be. the job of the composer is to reward us by playing what we expect, but violating those expectations just often enough of the time to keep us interested. when the composer can violate those expectations in an interesting way and give us a resolution that we would have never predicted, then they have got us for life. the brain love learning new things, taught something, and music is, in effect, teaching us something. there is another way to finish

this phrase. that may get that burst of dopamine that goes -- yeah! >> earlier, you said that when we listen to music we activate a pleasure center in our brain. what is happening when we listen to music that we dislike? >> there is a structure called the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. that is activated when we hear music that we do not like. one of the people -- things that people report most that they hate most is when they hear music that they do not like and cannot change it. it is high on the list of most noxious stimulate. we find a subversive, the amygdala kicks in, and it makes you want to run and scream. like the 20th time you heard that brittany -- britney spears song.

>> you talked about going from a more intuitive style to more analytical, conscious. was that intuitive on its own? could you flesh that out a little bit? >> i think that was a bit of necessity. i was asked to put together a collection of my transcriptions in 1990. it was the first time that i had to sit down and transcribe all my music. until then, i had done it in my head. i learned things so fundamental that i did not know i was doing. sometimes i did not realize that there were extra beats, i would change the meter for two bars. in that process, i learned a lot. also, of teaching. when you start to teach, you have to think about what you're doing so you can explain it to somebody else in a meaningful way. i think it was that process of

having to write and transcribe music that made me aware that you can analyze something, to benefit, but one needs to be careful that the analytical side does not wipe out the initial impulse to write music. >> there is that famous story where a music ecologist told john lennon that he ended a song in an alien cadence, and he says, i did? this program is provided by the commonwealth club in forum. tonight we are presenting music. i am here with alex degrassi, a grammy award winning guitarist. we will continue with audience questions. >> you mentioned in your book, and right now, music has a pulse. i wonder what you think or know

happens in the brain when music is disjointed, bad. how about classical music? >> one of the things -- whether you know it or not, whether you are a musician or not -- your brain is trying to predict what is or to come next, just like in speech. if i was going to say, the pizza was too hot to sleep, your brain is surprised because it had a prediction of what was going to come. a skillful physician will break it up harmonically, totally, or rhythmically, and when it becomes hard to predict, it becomes a game. what is your feeling about that? you do a lot of rhythmic changes. >> one of the things that i do a fair amount of -- maybe the question is asking, for example

-- you have a piece of music, there is a rhythmic feel, maybe there is a break, a cadence, maybe it is played differently for a certain period. there is still a flow, as a musician, that you're looking for, to convey. sometimes it seems abstract. i would imagine the brain is also starting to calculate what that flow is. if i am playing along going -- 1, 2, 3, 4 -- >> the brain has to recalibrate. >> the brain is trying to figure it out. >> it is just like in gauging the audience. when i lower my voice like this, i am engaging you because you have to work harder to see what is going on. composers have a variety of tricks in the tool box, and that is one of them. >> thank you. i would like to acknowledge this

book, thank you for doing the research, putting into written form. the chapter that deals with anticipation, which you have been talking about, reflects a particularly western approach. the eastern, buddhist -- a different approach, the genre of music that i have been involved, developing some brain wave research with that -- seems to solicit other kinds of responses. have you looked at other types of music that gets into these spacesetween the tones, opens up that quantum field aspect? >> the question about other music is an interesting one. one thing i can say about music of other cultures, each of us is exquisitely attuned to the conventions and rules of our own culture, such that we can hear a

chord sequence, we can pretty much nail down what the motion is intended to be. but if i put on chinese opera, indigenous music of the ural mountains, i will probably not have a clue about it, and they will not have much of a clue about our music. things that we take for granted. major accord being happy, minor chords being said. it is the same as language. we understand the ones we are exposed to. there is a critical period during the first 12 years of life, one needs to be acculturated to those types of music. there are people in the field -- stay tuned -- we will have news about them soon. >> my question is how our brain remembers music. is it processed differently, stored differently than other types of memories?

i ask that because, i can remember songs that i sang in second grade but i cannot remember my teacher's name, my friends. >> a lot of that have that experience. women go to old age homes, some of the last member is preserved in the elderly, even with alzheimer's, other decay, they remember songs from their childhood when they cannot even remember their spouse's name, what year it is. music has thiese musically reinforcing views. in a good piece of music, you have the elements of rhythm, pitch, harmony, meter, articulation, timbre, all working together, so that you may not remember every note, but the ones you do remember inform the missing ones. it becomes a pattern of multiple queues.

that is one thing. the other thing we found interesting from girl imaging studies -- narrow imaging studies is when you are remembering a piece of music, it activates almost identical circuits as when you are hearing it. so much so when you compare the bring activation of someone in imagining music, remembering, to someone listening, it is virtually indistinguishable by looking at the brain scan. i wonder -- and brings up the question, how did it would you say your musical imagery is? when you imagine music, is it like a little tape playing in your head? >> yes, it is. and it works the other way, from the point of view from the composer, trying to compose something. i might be sitting on an airplane and i will remember some experience. let's say running with

anticipation, or something you saw. maybe you saw something spectacular, an illusion of light or something, and it creates an image. i will try to read something done quickly because i am trying to capture one that is. and of course, that stuff is very fleeting. the other thing, musicians who played the guitar, something with your fingers, they feel as if they are remembering in their fingers. oftentimes, you play a passage and you cannot think your way through it. your fingers have to play the way through it. muscle memory. from a scientific standpoint, if i were to scoop your brain out of your head, your fingers would not remember, but there is a motor cortex that remembers the sequence. there is a whole field that

studies the sequence, how one movement is remembered in a succession of a sequence. >> the process of creating, trying to start creating music is not that different for me that it is remembering music. it is revoking some kind of image or movement. -- evoking some kind of image or movement. >> can i ask, i am a musician, do you have any advice -- often have trouble losing -- moving away from my everyday and getting into music. do you have any recommendations on how to speed up that context switching? >> i am assuming that as a professional musician, he doesn't have to do with complicated problems.

>> you would not want me doing that. believe me. >> still, you have the context switch of being creative, non creative. >> that is true. sometimes you need something to wipe the slate clean. it could be taking a walk. these days, disconnecting. i have a studio. when i go there, is a place to work, i did not need to take my cell phone out there. having a physical location you can go to -- this is where i do this -- even just a quarter of your room. >> from a cognitive neuroscience standpoint, if you dedicate a place, if you are religious about it -- or clock 30 i am going to spend an hour -- 4:30 i'm going to spend an hour here or there.

that contextual aspect helps. inform is now wrapping up all of our events by asking our speakers, ourselves included, the following question. alex, what is your 60-second the idea to change the world? >> i think everybody should listen to music from other cultures. even daniel has said that, you know, we need to have that in printing when we are young to understand balinese monkey chants or something to put it into context. i travel a lot. i just came back from asia. i was given a lot of career in music, a lot of ethnic music -- a lot of korean music. even though you may not have a

cultural context, if you give it a little bit of a chance, it is an opportunity to open up your mind a little bit. when you do that, it may on sub -- some subconscious level give you a better understanding of why people are the way they are in different parts of the world and who they are. i think we should all be listening to each other's music and all try to play a little bit of music or sing. i think it is -- yeah. 60 seconds there? [applause] >> and you, daniel, what is your 60-second idea? >> as an educator and teacher, i think my 60-second idea to change the world is better education. if we could teach the next generation of kids to be critical thinkers, just not accept what they are told but to decide for themselves, to give them the tools to make informed decisions about what is right

and what is not, about what has been established and what is just here say, what really has a grounding in fact versus rumor, i think the world would be a much safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous place. [applause] >> let's get a big, final round of applause for this nice, informed foray into neuroscience and music with myself, daniel levinson, and the great guitarist and composer, alex degrassi. now, this meeting of in forum and the commonwealth club is adjourned. [applause] çççç>> want to welcome you .

of course, we have former mayor willie brown joining us. we have former supervisor sophie maxwell here as well. we have charlotte, a protocol officer. we have all the members of our board of supervisors, our current board. we have naomi's . harlon, kelly, the kids are here. naomi's mom is here bang today. thank you for being here as well. mrs. lee is here. [laughter] >> yeah. >> of all, today has been a very active day of the just wonderful announcements, of decisions being made that really reflected the values of the city. i have another one that reflects the value of this city, someone

that i have spent privileged to work with for so many years, one began her career as a special assistant, worked her way up as the purchaser, director of purchasing. before that, one of the most difficult task, kind of reminds me of my dpw day is, she had a difficult task of being the director of the taxicab administration. [laughter] so she has earned some strides there. going on to director of purchasing and becoming deputy city administrator. most recently, and acting city administrator. and now my nominee for city administrator for the next five years, naomi lelly. -- kellyl. [cheers and applause] ayman >> to first and foremost

to thank her family who have been part of her life. throughout this time, she even raised a family and keep harlon and kelly out of trouble. [laughter] but also, i want to especially thank the whole board of supervisors for just now voting unanimously to confirm her appointment. [ears and applause --years and applause] they have seen in her the leadership, integrity, putting forth that verse communities of san francisco first, all the time, making good decisions, working in our communities to lift up everybody and to find those rays of hope. she has never been about

herself. she has been about everybody else. whether it has been her family or helping several layers of, including me, adopt the right engine thct or keeping is very focused on what we need to do to make sure the city is administered well, she has been in there and she has done that. she is extremely qualified for this job. and she is one that i have interested for some time now to help me get out those jobs for people who are struggling, to find those business opportunities, people who did not have those opportunities, to focus on a community that had raised their voice to ask for help from this city for so many decades. she has been there. she has been there is part of the city family, but she has also been there as our own advocate, advocating for people to be a part of the city in some anyways. and it has been difficult.

it is the one we recognized during the month of february, black history month. it is appropriate at this time. and it is also appropriate that we recognize her appointment as part of a history of new appointments. because it is not lost on us that during the month that we celebrate black history, not only the history, but we celebrate soç much of opportuny that we haveçç in it the cityo join in with everybody else,çç african-american city administrator in the city. çççç[mççççcheersç çç] ÷-c8attorney for joining us as . çu!;ççit is the whole city ft recognizes the ra(ortance of

this. ççso,çççç withoutç furthe mu$ey know naomiç get to work right away. çzççwe all [laug&ter] the businessçç done it for everybody. fos0theççç moment,yçççi]ç the requirement of being sworn inç before this is fulfilled,t it is one that i fully enjoy t(ççdoingçç in the presencer willie brown and people who have helped naomi in her first career, her family and friends. it is my privilege to swear in ms. naomi kelly. raise your right hand and repeat after me. i --is a solemn lease where -- that i support and defend -- the

constitution of the united states and the constitution that against allçw3ççfáçççç ea domestic -- u!çthat iççç wir trueçççççç faith and alleo the constitution of theççççd çççstates and the constitutif çççsthte ofç california -- t çççsthisçw3 obalifornia -- t or purpose of evasion -- and that i will well and faithfully discharge --q which i am about to enter -- s i hold the office of -- ççóçççcity admi for theççç;ççóçç city andn ççç[cheers and applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, history in our city is being made again, welcome the new city administrator, naomi kelly. [applause] >> thank you. w3ççñrççthank you, mr. mayof supervisors, members of the community, colleagues, and friends. i am very pleased to deliver my first remarks as your new city administrator. [applause] t(çççççthis has beenççxd. earlier today,ç i am sure you heard t, downxdç proposition 8,çç and affirming judgeççç walker's decisiní. [applause]

in their ruling, the court started out that proposition 8 served no purpose and had no effect other than to lessen the statusç of gays and lesbians in çcalifornia. this really does not have come atç a battered time as we celebrate black history month çand the civil rights movement- i]and this cannot have come at a better time. as we celebrate meeting the first african-american city administrator in san francisco. [applause] as many of you know, i hold maya angelou's words to heart. members of the means rich tapestry, and all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value. special thanks to my husband. >> whoa. [laughter] [applause] he has >> been my biggest tavon, along with my mother, my sons, my family.

antiwhite to mayer brown, whose job potential in me when i was right -- and thank you to mayer brown, who saw potential in me right out of college. i would like to thank allçççu have assembdee hereççç raisee from the beginning of my career to this juncture. you supported me. you shared with me, you laugh with me, you stood by me. and because of you, and i am committedç long ago today whats right and defied the goodçq forç the city of san francisco. çtogether weç have plenty ofxk ahead of us, and i humbly ask for yourççç help and support. forxd now, i am honored, and i wouldçñr like to askççoku!cea joyous occasion. thank you, from the bottom of my heart. çççççñrxdççç[cheçççç zçthank you,vç ççmayor brow. ççç[applause]

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