Driving With Music: Cognitive-Behavioural Implications

Professor Warren Brodsky is Director of Music Psychology in the Department of the Arts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Beer-Sheva, Israel). After a short-lived career as a music performer, he completed an artist-degree (BMus) in orchestral Percussion, and majored in early childhood musical development leading to a Diploma and Certificate of Teaching (K-6) from the Rubin Academy of Music (Jerusalem, 1982). Warren trained as a music therapist at Hahnemann Medical University (Philadelphia, USA, 1984); during his 10 year clinical career he was registered (RMT), certified (CMT), and board-certified (MT-BC) in the USA, registered (RMTh) in the UK, and licensed as a Creative and Expressive Therapist in Israel. Warren completed his PhD in Psychology at Keele University (Staffordshire, UK, 1995) under the eminent music psychologist John A. Sloboda. At Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Dr Brodsky served two 2-year Post-Doctorial Fellowships (1996-2000). Among his research initiatives and projects are: Handclapping Songs As A Spontaneous Platform For Cognitive Development; Mental Representations Of Musical Notation; Positive Aging Among Symphony Orchestra Musicians; Functional Application Of Music In Automobile Branding; and The Effects Of Music On Driver Behavior And Vehicular Control.

• Automobility: Car Culture and Popular Music. Background Music in Everyday Life: The Listener and Effects of Music on Listeners. In-Car Audio Culture: The Benefits of Driving with Music. Contraindications to In-Care Music Listening. Ill-Effects of In-Care Music Listening. Implications, Countermeasures, and Applications: Music Alternative for Increased Driver Safety. Postscript. Appendix A: Road Movies. Appendix B: Car Movies. Appendix C: Car Games for Video and PC. Appendix D: The Ultimate List of Car Songs. Appendix E: 100 Greatest Car Songs. Appendix F: Driving Tracks. References. Index

"…a noteworthy step forward for research into a rich area for transport psychology and ergonomics. For audiophiles interested in transport research, I would recommend picking up this work as a thought-provoking collection of studies."—Ergonomics, May 2016"With this book, Brodsky takes us through all aspects of driving while listening to music, in a very informative and interesting manner.By reading this book you will get a nuanced, detailed, informative picture of driving with music, both the positive and the negative sides of it, plus potential ways to bypass the negative effects of driving with music, and enhance the positive effects."—Transport Reviews, August 2015"We see the motivation that inspired the book—promoting safer driving through careful selection of music and its volume… Based on his research, that of many others, and on reports from several insurance companies, Brodsky presents a list of recommendations for using music to improve safety…The book ends with a call for recognition that driving with music can be beneficial, but this needs to be understood in terms of sensible musical selection and appropriate operation of the audio system."—Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, October 2016"Overall, the scope of the book is impressive and Driving with music: Cognitive-behavioural implications offers much for those researching in the social and applied psychology of music to think about. It is clear that "cars and music" is both an area of great importance and also an area ripe and ready for additional research. Therefore, this book will serve as a useful foundation for future research. As Brodsky states: "as long as automobiles are accessible to consumers, drivers will always be cruising down some roadway with their favourite playlist of tracks blasting out of the cabin speakers in full volume, as the croon away in the best of karaoke style" (p. 36), making it important that we understand our relationship with music in the car."—Amanda Krause, Curtin University, Australia