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How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond Audiobook
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(3.04) - 445 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
An Enthralling Investigation Into The Mysteries Of Music Have you ever wondered how off-key you are while singing in the shower? Or if your Bob Dylan albums really sound better on vinyl? Or why certain songs make you cry? Now, scientist and musician John Powell invites you on an entertaining journey through the world of music. Discover what distinguishes music from plain old noise, how scales help you memorize songs, what the humble recorder teaches you about timbre (assuming your suffering listeners don’t break it first), why anyone can learn to play a musical instrument, what the absurdly complicated names of classical music pieces actually mean, how musical notes came to be (hint: you can thank a group of stodgy men in 1939 London for that one), how to make an oboe from a drinking straw, and much more. With wit and charm, and in the simplest terms, Powell explains the science and psychology of music. Clever, informative, and deeply engaging, How Music Works takes the secrets of music away from the world of badly dressed academics and gives every one of us—whether we love to sing or play air guitar—the means to enhance our listening pleasure.
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"This book takes on a difficult task - survey all of music theory in a short volume for an audience of novices. Powell's shows superior taste in his choice of topics as well as his ability to simplify. The only complaint about the book comes from the occasionally clever comments. These comments are ostensibly intended to keep the reader believing he's an ordinary fellow, and not an egghead, but they come off as sounding rather condescending. Powell writes well enough that he does not have to resort to this."
— Michael (4 out of 5 stars)
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“By reading Powell’s book we can gain a more solid knowledge of the foundations of music and therefore be better able to appreciate it.”
— New York Journal of Books -
“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.”
— The Spectator -
“In this distinctive combination of scientific treatise and laugh-out-loud commentary, composer and physicist Powell…has carved out an intriguing niche by using humor to enliven what could have been an otherwise dry introduction to acoustics…readers…should glean some useful background for music study while simultaneously being entertained.”
— Library Journal
How Music Works Listener Reviews
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" Very engaged in the beginning, seriously slumped in the middle, but picked back up at the end. I learned quite a bit about music that I didn't know before so not a total loss. Still I was hoping for better. And the "humorous" tone got old very quickly even though I'm a fan of the dry British wit. This was not that. It felt more like your dad trying to tell jokes to your high school friends that were awkward and forced. "
— Bobby, 2/15/2014 -
" He's a scientist, a musician, and a funny guy. This makes John Powell the perfect guy to explain things like why 10 violins aren't 10 times louder than 1 violin, why certain notes sound good together, and how microphones work. For musically inclined, you'll get a nice little dose of science to explain all those eardrum waggling vibrations. For those who cannot read music, you'll learn how (and why) key signatures work. It is fun and interesting with a few illustrations along the way. "
— Garrett, 2/8/2014 -
" This is a very easy yet thoroughly informative read. I looked forward to reading it every night. The author is witty and engaging. He writes with authority and without condescension. I'd love to meet him - you get a great impression of the real John Powell through the text. "
— Anthea, 1/29/2014 -
" When the author is targeting his audience like a group of tourists who happened to have one hour free in between their other more exciting destinations, he is forgiven for trying to appear as intertwining and "down-to-earth" as possible. Trying to cajole the wavering attention and general apathy, he is mimicking the amusing circus master. Naturally this approach would stymie others who find such attention-grabbing performances and find them insupportably distracting. On such ground this book has failed this particular reader. "
— Qi, 1/18/2014 -
" Entertaining and informative approach to the history of music, and why Western music is approached the way it is today. The terminology used is simple, and explanations are given where needed. Excellent book for anyone even remotely interested in music, and for those who consider themselves to be experienced in music as well. "
— Arun, 1/10/2014 -
" love this..great voice, funny, and it made me understand things a lot better even without a background in music or science. imo, it was everything he intended it to be "
— jamie, 1/6/2014 -
" If you have a decent grasp of science and a love of music, then this book is for you! I really enjoyed how the author explained things in an easy-to-understand manner. "
— David, 12/29/2013 -
" This book followed a tv series with the same name. I loved reading this as it explains in fairly simple language how the complex science behind sounds and composing music really works. You will never listen to music in the same way again! "
— Azem, 10/29/2013 -
" I've always been interested in knowing more about the theory and physics behind music, and this book does a good job of explaining the basics and how the history of music motivated the standards and conventions of classical and modern Western music. "
— Chris, 7/8/2013 -
" This is a very good introduction to, um, how music works. The book's witty and up-beat writing style make it a pretty quick read. "
— Steve, 6/11/2013 -
" Interesting, I learned some useful info. "
— Kail, 3/23/2013 -
" Some things about music I knew, some things about music I didn't, some dry British humor. Fun. "
— Ken, 3/13/2013 -
" Fantastic. Super informative and got quite a few chuckles out of me. "
— Frank, 12/8/2012 -
" An interesting survey of how music appeals to us. Admittedly, I skimmed some of the technical bits but overall the author's amusing style makes music theory accessible. There's an included CD along with the book but I don't think it added much to the explanations. "
— jen8998, 11/25/2012 -
" A very fun book that was worth the read. I actually kind of preferred the voice of the author to the narrator in the few post chapter commentary but I can see why he chose to have someone else do it. Great review and contains plenty of fun moments when things get dry. "
— Dave, 6/16/2012 -
" hilarious writing redeemed this one but, overall, I think this is not quited advanced enough for musicians and too advanced for non-musicians. "
— Lucas, 2/10/2012 -
" Pretty interesting and explained in an easy to understand style. "
— Radu, 11/27/2011 -
" Clear and conscise introduction to the physics of music. "
— Carlos, 11/8/2011 -
" Knowing nothing about music theory before reading this I know understand why my little music generating app fails when it fails and succeeds when it succeeds. Time to code! "
— To'c, 6/10/2011 -
" An excellent job - the author presents quite a bit of information, well organized, clearly and with a minimum of jargon. Beyond that, he does it in a way that had me laughing aloud often enough for my wife to be curious about what I was reading. I'll be looking for anything else he's written. "
— James, 4/6/2011 -
" An interesting survey of how music appeals to us. Admittedly, I skimmed some of the technical bits but overall the author's amusing style makes music theory accessible. There's an included CD along with the book but I don't think it added much to the explanations. "
— jen8998, 1/15/2011 -
" It was really good, I got to discover how music really works and I got the deeper meaning of what music really is :P I love that it has a bonus c.d too :D "
— Angelica, 12/8/2010 -
" Fun and technical. At the same time. "
— Liz, 12/8/2010
About John Powell
John Powell holds a PhD in physics from Imperial College at London University. He has taught physics at the University of Nottingham and the University of Lulea in Sweden. In 2003, he earned a master's degree in music composition from the University of Sheffield in Great Britain. He is the author of How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond.
About Walter Dixon
Walter Dixon is a broadcast media veteran of more than twenty years’ experience with a background in theater and performing arts and voice work for commercials. After a career in public radio, he is now a full-time narrator with more than fifty audiobooks recorded in genres ranging from religion and politics to children’s stories.