Download or read book How Music Works written by John Powell and published by Little, Brown Spark. This book was released on 2010-11-03 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Any readers whose love of music has somehow not led them to explore the technical side before will surely find the result a thoroughly accessible, and occasionally revelatory, primer."—Seattle Post-Intelligencer What makes a musical note different from any other sound? How can you tell if you have perfect pitch? Why do ten violins sound only twice as loud as one? Do your Bob Dylan albums sound better on CD vinyl? John Powell, a scientist and musician, answers these questions and many more in How Music Works, an intriguing and original guide to acoustics. In a clear and engaging voice, Powell leads you on a fascinating journey through the world of music, with lively discussions of the secrets behind harmony timbre, keys, chords, loudness, musical composition, and more. From how musical notes came to be (you can thank a group of stodgy men in 1939 London for that one), to how scales help you memorize songs, to how to make and oboe from a drinking straw, John Powell distills the science and psychology of music with wit and charm.

Download or read book How Music Works written by David Byrne and published by Crown. This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Updated with a new chapter on digital curation* How Music Works is David Byrne’s incisive and enthusiastic look at the musical art form, from its very inceptions to the influences that shape it, whether acoustical, economic, social or technological. Utilizing his incomparable career and inspired collaborations with Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and many others, Byrne taps deeply into his lifetime of knowledge to explore the panoptic elements of music, how it shapes the human experience, and reveals the impetus behind how we create, consume, distribute, and enjoy the songs, symphonies, and rhythms that provide the backbeat of life. Byrne’s magnum opus uncovers ever-new and thrilling realizations about the redemptive liberation that music brings us all.

Download or read book The Music Instinct written by Philip Ball and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-02 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Bach fugues to Indonesian gamelan, from nursery rhymes to rock, music has cast its light into every corner of human culture. But why music excites such deep passions, and how we make sense of musical sound at all, are questions that have until recently remained unanswered. Now in The Music Instinct, award-winning writer Philip Ball provides the first comprehensive, accessible survey of what is known--and still unknown--about how music works its magic, and why, as much as eating and sleeping, it seems indispensable to humanity. Deftly weaving together the latest findings in brain science with history, mathematics, and philosophy, The Music Instinct not only deepens our appreciation of the music we love, but shows that we would not be ourselves without it. The Sunday Times hailed it as "a wonderful account of why music matters," with Ball's "passion for music evident on every page."

Download or read book Music and How it Works written by DK and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-11-17 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a visual journey through the world of music and learn the science behind it, too. Budding music fans will love discovering musical geniuses of every era, from Mozart and classical music to Bowie and pop, as well as finding out how music is created and what links it all together. The book looks at music throughout history, beginning with the first known melody from the Fertile Crescent and covering modern music phenomena, from K Pop to hip-hop. Instruments and genres from across the world are featured, with "playlists" of key pieces encouraging kids to look up pieces to hear for themselves. STEAM spreads delve into the psychology and math behind music, from how it affects our mood to how it can improve our minds. Covering India's Ragas, Indonesia's Gamelan, Japan's city pop, and more, this book will help children discover a love of music.

Download or read book Switched on Pop written by Nate Sloan and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019-12-13 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pop music surrounds us - in our cars, over supermarket speakers, even when we are laid out at the dentist - but how often do we really hear what's playing? Switched on Pop is the book based on the eponymous podcast that has been hailed by NPR, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly for its witty and accessible analysis of Top 40 hits. Through close studies of sixteen modern classics, musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding shift pop from the background to the foreground, illuminating the essential musical concepts behind two decades of chart-topping songs. In 1939, Aaron Copland published What to Listen for in Music, the bestseller that made classical music approachable for generations of listeners. Eighty years later, Nate and Charlie update Copland's idea for a new audience and repertoire: 21st century pop, from Britney to Beyoncé, Outkast to Kendrick Lamar. Despite the importance of pop music in contemporary culture, most discourse only revolves around lyrics and celebrity. Switched on Pop gives readers the tools they need to interpret our modern soundtrack. Each chapter investigates a different song and artist, revealing musical insights such as how a single melodic motif follows Taylor Swift through every genre that she samples, André 3000 uses metric manipulation to get listeners to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee create harmonic ambiguity in "Despacito" that mirrors the patterns of global migration. Replete with engaging discussions and eye-catching illustrations, Switched on Pop brings to life the musical qualities that catapult songs into the pop pantheon. Readers will find themselves listening to familiar tracks in new waysand not just those from the Top 40. The timeless concepts that Nate and Charlie define can be applied to any musical style. From fanatics to skeptics, teenagers to octogenarians, non-musicians to professional composers, every music lover will discover something ear-opening in Switched on Pop.

Download or read book The Piano Works of Claude Debussy written by E. Robert Schmitz and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2014-05-05 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part biography, part criticism, and part analysis, this fascinating study of one of music's greatest geniuses is above all an authoritative commentary on the entire corpus of Debussy's work for solo piano. Includes 21 illustrations.

Download or read book How Music Really Works written by Wayne Chase and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 889 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Bible in Music written by Siobhán Dowling Long and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-09-03 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There have been numerous publications in the last decades on the Bible in literature, film, and art. But until now, no reference work has yet appeared on the Bible as it appears in Western music. In The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More, scholars Siobhán Dowling Long and John F. A. Sawyer correct this gap in Biblical reference literature, providing for the first time a convenient guide to musical interpretations of the Bible. Alongside examples of classical music from the Middle Ages through modern times, Dowling Long and Sawyer also bring attention to the Bible’s impact on popular culture with numerous entries on hymns, spirituals, musicals, film music, and contemporary popular music. Each entry contains essential information about the original context of the work (date, composer, etc.) and, where relevant, its afterlife in literature, film, politics, and liturgy. It includes an index of biblical references and an index of biblical names, as well as a detailed timeline that brings to the fore key events, works, and publications, placing them in their historical context. There is also a bibliography, a glossary of technical terms, and an index of artists, authors, and composers. The Bible in Music will fascinate anyone familiar with the Bible, but it is also designed to encourage choirs, musicians, musicologists, lecturers, teachers, and students of music and religious education to discover and perform some less well-known pieces, as well as helping them to listen to familiar music with a fresh awareness of what it is about.

Download or read book Improvise for Real written by David Reed and published by . This book was released on 2013-02-27 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Improvise for Real is a step-by-step method that teaches you to improvise your own music through progressive exercises that anyone can do. You'll learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you. And you'll learn to express your own musical ideas exactly as you hear them in your mind. The method starts with very simple creative exercises that you can begin right away. As you progress, the method leads you on a guided tour through the entire world of modern harmony. You will be improvising your own original melodies from the very first day, and your knowledge will expand with each practice session as you explore and discover our musical system for yourself. Improvise for Real brings together creativity, ear training, music theory and physical technique into a single creative daily practice that will show you the entire path to improvisation mastery. You will learn to understand the sounds in the music all around you and to improvise with confidence over jazz standards, blues songs, pop music or any other style you would like to play. And you'll be jamming, enjoying yourself and creating your own music every step of the way. The method is open to all instruments and ability levels. The exercises are easy to understand and fun to practice. There is no sight reading required, and you don't need to know anything about music theory to begin. Already being used by both students and teachers in more than 20 countries, Improvise for Real is now considered by many people to be the definitive system for learning to improvise. If you have always dreamed of truly understanding music and being able to improvise with complete freedom on your instrument, this is the book for you

Download or read book Music for Life written by Fiona Maddocks and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does music reflect the key moments in our lives? How do we choose the works that inspire, delight, comfort or console? Fiona Maddocks selects 100 classical works from across nine centuries, arguing passionately, persuasively and at times obstinately for their inclusion, putting each work in its cultural and musical context, discussing omissions, suggesting alternatives and always putting the music first.

Download or read book The Violin Conspiracy written by Brendan Slocumb and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world—when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. “I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit: a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.

Download or read book Unintentional Music written by Lane Arye and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The last time you whistled a tune or hummed a song-why did you choose that one? You may not consider yourself a musical person, but your little act of unintended music may be the key to unlocking within you a wealth of unsuspected creativity-a kind of creativity that goes way beyond music, too. Lane Arye, PhD, a musician himself, focuses on the music that people do not intend to make. Using the highly regarded psychological model called Process Work, developed by Arnold Mindell, PhD, Arye has been teaching students around the world how to awaken their creativity, using music as the starting point, but including all art forms and ways of expression. The unintentional appears at moments when some hidden part of us, something beyond our usual awareness, suddenly tries to express itself. If we start paying attention to what is trying to happen rather than to what we think should happen, we open the door to self-discovery and creativity. Sometimes what we regard as "mistakes" in self-expression are in fact treasures. The book is rich with real-life stories, ideas, and practical techniques for unlocking creativity, which Arye dispenses with humor, insight, and enthusiasm.

Download or read book How Music Works written by Rolf Bader and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-04-07 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we understand culture and shape its future? How do we cross the bridge between culture as ideas and feelings and physical, cultural objects, all this within the endless variety and complexity of modern and traditional societies? This book proposes a Physical Culture Theory, taking culture as a self-organizing impulse pattern of electric forces. Bridging the gap to consciousness, the Physical Culture Theory proposes that consciousness content, what we think, hear, feel, or see is also just this: spatio-temporal electric fields. Music is a perfect candidate to elaborate on such a Physical Culture Theory. Music is all three, musical instrument acoustics, music psychology, and music ethnology. They emerge into living musical systems like all life is self-organization. Therefore the Physical Culture Theory knows no split between nature and nurture, hard and soft sciences, brains and musical instruments. It formulates mathematically complex systems as Physical Models rather than Artificial Intelligence. It includes ethical rules for maintaining life and finds culture and arts to be Human Rights. Enlarging these ideas and mathematical methods into all fields of culture, ecology, economy, or the like will be the task for the next decades to come.

Download or read book Music Works written by Kathie Barrs and published by Folens Limited. This book was released on 1994 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Music education in the classroom with children from five to nine years.

Download or read book The Way Music Works written by Gretchen Menn and published by . This book was released on 2019-12 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (String Letter Publishing). Includes 12 basic lessons + 3 hours of video! Acoustic Guitar contributing writer Getchen Menn teaches twelve lessons on the basics of music theory. You'll find everything guitarists need to know to identify the notes on the staff and where they fall on the fretboard, understand rhythmic notation, build scales and chords, and more the tools that make it easier to learn and understand music! Melodically Speaking: * Name the pitches on the fretboard and staff * Build and play major and minor scales * Understand key signatures Rhythmic Concepts: * Interpret basic note and rest values * Decode time signatures * Feel triplets * Play rhythms in context * Harmonic Concepts: * Identify intervals * Build triads * Construct seventh chords * Create chord progressions. Videos are accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded.

Download or read book The Da Capo Catalog Of Classical Music Compositions written by Jerzy Chwialkowski and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 1996-03-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Da Capo Catalog of Classical Music Compositions exhaustively lists the works of 132 major composers, from Vivaldi and Bach to Webern and Cage. A classical music lover's dream, it is the only source containing all the essential information about classical compositions within the convenient covers of one volume. Designed for listeners, readers, collectors, and connoisseurs alike, this catalog will be as indispensable an investment as a philatelic catalog is to the postage stamp collector. This catalog will tell you at a glance: which works would complete your collection of Dvorák's string quartets; which Gershwin songs appeared in which of his shows; in which Mozart opera the aria "Il mio tesoro" appears; at what age Brahms composed his first symphony; whether Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.14 is the "Moonlight" or the "Waldstein"; and how many symphonies Borodin composed. The Da Capo Catalog of Classical Music Compositions relies on the most authoritative sources. Easy to use and difficult to put down, it will delight anyone frustrated by the inadequacy and inconsistency of existing reference works. The first book of its kind, it will undoubtedly become a well-appreciated companion on your journeys through musical history.

Download or read book Bach s Major Vocal Works written by Markus Rathey and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Every year, Johann Sebastian Bach's major vocal works are performed to mark liturgical milestones in the Christian calendar. Written by a renowned Bach scholar, this concise and accessible book provides an introduction to the music and cultural contexts of the composer's most beloved masterpieces, including the Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, and St. John Passion. In addition to providing historical information, each chapter highlights significant aspects--such as the theology of love--of a particular piece. This penetrating volume is the first to treat the vocal works as a whole, showing how the compositions were embedded in their original performative context within the liturgy as well as discussing Bach's musical style, from the detailed level of individual movements to the overarching aspects of each work. Published in the approach to Easter when many of these vocal works are performed, this outstanding volume will appeal to casual concertgoers and scholars alike." -- Publisher's description