Is our response to music hard-wired or culturally determined? Is the reaction to rhythm and melody universal or influenced by environment?
A 2009 World Science Festival session titled "Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus" explores these topics with the help of some experts: This Is Your Brain On Music author and McGill scientist Daniel Levitin, legendary musician Bobby McFerrin, and neuroscientists Jamshed Bharucha and Lawrence Parsons.
In this clip, watch Bobby McFerrin demonstrate the common language of the pentatonic scale.
You can view the entire discussion here: http://bit.ly/bobbymcferrinpentatonicscale