Andrew Goldman

Andrew Goldman is an Assistant Professor of Music (Music Theory) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and Assistant Professor of Cognitive Science at the IU College of Arts and Sciences. He joined the faculty at Indiana University in 2020 after completing a postdoctoral position with the Music, Cognition, and the Brain Initiative at Western University and serving as a Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia University (2015-2018).

• Ph.D. from the Centre for Music and Science at the University of Cambridge (2015)
• Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia University (2015-2018)
• Postdoctoral Researcher with Music, Cognition, and the Brain Initiative at Western University
• Faculty member at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (2020-present)
• IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Program Fellow (2024-25)

Goldman's research sits at the intersection of scientific and humanistic scholarship on music, applying behavioral, perceptual, and neuroscientific methods to investigate music cognition. His primary focus has been on improvisation in music and dance, but he has also conducted significant work on musical form perception, embodiment in music, musical syntax, musical groove, and corpus studies. His theoretical work emphasizes developing appropriate questions for empirical music research, while his experimental work utilizes behavioral and EEG methodologies.

His recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward more sophisticated interdisciplinary approaches that bridge music theory with cognitive neuroscience. The research shows increasing emphasis on network neuroscience, embodied cognition, and methodological innovations for studying musical expertise. His work often examines how different types of musical training (particularly improvisational versus classical) shape cognitive processing of musical structures.

• Presidential Scholar in Society and Neuroscience at Columbia University
• IU Presidential Arts and Humanities Program Fellow (2024-25)

Goldman directs IU's Music and Mind Lab, which provides facilities for behavioral, perceptual, and neuroscientific (EEG) experiments. The lab serves as a collaborative space for students from Jacobs and across IU to conduct music cognition research and is the research home for his Cognitive Science Ph.D. students. His unique dual appointment enables him to bridge the gap between music theory and cognitive science, creating innovative research opportunities that integrate humanities perspectives with scientific methodology.