Book description
Music is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly complex.
In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall leads us through the story of music as…
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Why read it?
2 authors picked The Story of Music as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Howard Goodall is one of those authors who explains things incredibly clearly.
I found this book an eye-opener, a way into a deeper understanding of music, and a book to have by my side, to dip into whenever I needed to get an idea straight of understand a concept. Because he writes in such an accessible manner, the complexity of music becomes clearer. There are eye-opening facts, historical stories, and facts alongside well written and informative passages.
From Sammy's list on female musicians.
The Story of Music is a massive volume (despite its paperback size), and it has to be to cover the time frame indicated in the title.
Award-winning composer Howard Goodall tends to confine his observations to the world of classical music, but as needed, occasionally veers off into folk and popular veins. I was treated to a revelation that the popular blues rhythm, the shuffle, can be traced all the way back to the alleged children’s rhyme “Humpty Dumpty” that appeared during the English Civil War.
It made me think.
From Hal's list on music’s most famous back stories.
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