How Music Works

The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond

By: John Powell

Narrated by: Walter Dixon

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2010 John Powell (P)2010 Gildan Media Corp

Critic reviews

"Powell conveys the material with enough humor and cocktail party facts to keep the book light and fun." ( Publisher's Weekly)

Informative

I definitely learned a few things, even though I've been studying music for years. I would definitely recommend.

Perfect for every level of musician

this book is witty and knowledgeable. it's a great way to help gain, Improve and to glean information that will help you on your musical journey. The wit of the author aids in ensuring the learning process is enjoyable.

Enlightening, but...

Although the author tries to give layman an over view of music and how it works, if you don't know anything (or practically anything) this book is not for you. This book should be read, not listened to. This is the kind of book where you have to read some concepts over and over, and you also have to do some practice on your own (even though there is some demonstration at the end of each chapter, but it feels too theoretical).
When I purchased this book, I thought I was going to learn about psychology of music, or even some concepts of music therapy, but this book is not about that. This book gets very technical at some points, and some dumb at others. I feel a little disappointed.

Intresting gets better the more you listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book to someone who really wants to gain as much information about music and sounds as they can or if you are just learning to play or read music. Some of the technical info I could do without

Have you listened to any of Walter Dixon’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never have. But I do like his style

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No because there are some chapters worth listing to a couple of times

Any additional comments?

This is a good book for a person who is really into every aspect of music, reading playing, composing, listening, and the technical aspect of sound. Warning you will not learn everything but you pick up enough to make it worth the listen.

Very Interesting and educational for all.

What made the experience of listening to How Music Works the most enjoyable?

It was lively and as an amateur musician, I found it to be very informative.

Any additional comments?

Explains many musical ideas in sound and theory.

Entertaining presentation of technical information

I loved both the author and the narrator. This could be very dry material but I was on the edge of my seat all the way through the fiddly details. I also laughed heartily with the clever humor liberally dispersed throughout. It actually made music understandable, and the thoroughness was awesome. The extras from the author demonstrating some points made in the text were also an excellent addition. Thank you!

Answers for the mysteries of Music

Thanks for the Fun information buffet on sounds, music, with great why and how explanations. The author served dessert at the end of each chapter with musical examples.

Great background info for a beginning musician

I am just starting guitar lessons and the info in this audio is amazing. I knew some of it, but not the background. I've recommended it to several other friends who are music students.

A Shade of Gray

Rather lifeless narration, as others have said. His voice is quiet and tedious. I also felt for much of the book that this company had discovered a man incapable of humor. Wasn't there a Saturday Night Live sketch about a disease where people were incapable of finding anything funny...He tells these jokes like he has no idea what a joke is. There is very little change in voice. The information was pretty interesting though, somewhat basic. But it will teach you to tune a pentatonic harp, and I learned enough that I felt my money was well spent. I'd have listened to it all in a few days if I could have kept my head up for more than two hours straight through the narration. Though he seemed more subtle and understated than stodgy by the end, when I'd adjusted to him.

Huckleberry Jeeves

This was mostly an entertaining and educational explanation of what it says on the label: How music works. I enjoyed it and learned a lot.

As for the narrator, what were they thinking? If you made a recording of Huckleberry Finn would you cast actors with posh English accents? No, because that would sound stupid wouldn’t it? Similarly, in this book, the author uses many English expressions about going to pubs and eating chips with gravy, and these sound ridiculous out of the mouth of the American narrator.

Whenever I wasn’t distracted by this conspicuous miscasting, I was enjoying the audiobook.