The Music Instinct: How Music Works and Why We Can't Do Without It - Hardcover

Ball, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199754276 ISBN 13: 9780199754274

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010

Synopsis

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."

About this title

About the Author

Philip Ball is a freelance writer and the author of numerous books, including Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres Cathedral and Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads To Another, which won the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books.

Reviews

This book basically concerns itself with music theory—pitch, timbre, melody, harmony, rhythm, musical styles—with the added boost of exploring music’s effect on its listeners, which at times can be as joyless as the deconstruction of humor. Still, Ball draws on enough current musical theory and cites enough good musical examples, across time and national borders, to offer engaging ideas: for example, that there is a deep syntax to music, that we listeners are far more musical than we ever knew (and in more complex ways), that context is essential in determining how we hear music, which explains why a listener from one country might not respond immediately to the music of another. The result is a book that could expand not only readers’ thinking about music’s effects but also their enjoyment and appreciation of music beyond their usual comfort zone. A helpful Web site of music samples is promised. --Alan Moores

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199754276
• ISBN 13: 9780199754274
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464