Sound of the Unconscious: Psychoanalysis as Music

Ludovica Grassi's book explores the importance of music in psychoanalysis, arguing that music is a basic working tool for the psyche. It explores music's symbolic status, structure, and way of operating compared to unconscious psychic functioning, revealing extraordinary similarities in mechanisms such as repetition, imitation, variation, intimacy, and the work of mourning, of the negative, and of nostalgia. Silence and absence are essential components of music as well as of psychic and symbolic functioning, and time and temporality are investigated as key elements in both music and symbolization and subjectivation processes. The book also explores the role of the words phonic kernel and of the voice as fundamental links to emotions, the body, the sexual, and the infantile, with promising implications for psychoanalytic work.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 142 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2021
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In her groundbreaking book, Ludovica Grassi delves into the profound significance of music in psychoanalysis, contending that music serves as a fundamental tool for the psyche, surpassing the confines of mere words. Grassi's exploration spans various perspectives, including ethnomusicology, evolutionary psychology, neurodevelopment, psychology, and psychoanalysis, unraveling the symbolic nature, structure, and operational mechanisms of music in comparison to unconscious psychic functioning. What emerges is a remarkable convergence of similarities, particularly in processes such as repetition, imitation, variation (transformation), intimacy, and the work of mourning, the negative, and nostalgia. Moreover, silence and absence assume essential roles within music and psychic functioning, as do time and temporality, which are intricately investigated within the book.

The exploration of the words' phonic kernel and the voice as fundamental connections to emotions, the body, sexuality, and infancy holds promising implications for psychoanalytic work. These interconnected elements find resonance in the natural and complex act of listening, which conveys a tri-dimensional and polyphonic dimension of the world, akin to the essence of music and psychoanalysis.

By illuminating the link between music and analysis in innovative and contemporary ways, The Sound of the Unconscious not only expands our understanding but also propels forward advancements in theory and clinical practice. This invaluable resource will captivate practicing and training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists alike, fostering a deeper appreciation for the therapeutic power of music in the realm of mental health.

Weight: 258g
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 31 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367645533