• 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
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (499 ratings)

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How Music Works  By  cover art

How Music Works

By: John Powell
Narrated by: Walter Dixon
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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)

What listeners say about How Music Works

Average customer ratings
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    2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I expected meatier content. It was interesting to learn about the vibration cycles that constitute sounds or notes, but after that the author did not seem to have much to say. Lots of attempts at "humor" which I felt were only there to increase the word count (because the jokes were not funny.) Sorry to leave a crummy review, but I was very disappointed.

Good narration. Kept me listening long after the content went missing.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Avuncular tour of all aspects of music

Simplified, yet detailed explanations of Music Theory, lightened with occasional British humor. The overall tone of the lecture is to encourage the listener to further exploration and a greater appreciation of all kinds of music.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Informative

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great info brought in an easy way

John Powell and the narrator Walter Dixon do a great job explaining the physics and other mysteries of music. I had so much fun listening to this. If you want to understand why music is music, this is a great book to start.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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increased my knowledge of music

Any additional comments?

I'm not a musician, but was interested in learning the theory of music. This book delivered brilliantly.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A good companion book for college music students..

Would you consider the audio edition of How Music Works to be better than the print version?

depends on the reader/listener. I am the kind of person who focuses best while driving, so audio books are great.

What did you like best about this story?

It covers a lot of basic information on sound and music in a straight-forward, easy-to-understand manner with enough humor to keep it from being dry.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Film???? no

Any additional comments?

YES - the writer should have a music theorist edit the terminology. There is a difference between a note (what we see on paper) and a pitch (what we hear). the author confuses these. There are a few other discrepancies which might hinder other music theory teachers from adopting this book.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

That's how it works!

What did you love best about How Music Works?

Easly explained diference between ordinary music listener and those with perfect pitch, why some sounds match together and others not. How acients tuned their instruments and why it was standardized just in 1939. It's must have! for everyone who like to play or just learn to play an instrument.

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

Yes, it was.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Very good

Actually I liked it read by an American with intermittent blurbs read by the British author. It was really neat. I learned a lot and had fun listening. Highly recommended! The narration is wonderful. Add a little multi media with some music thrown in, and you have a winner! Loved it.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • ez
  • 12-05-13

excellent material - so so narrator

If you could sum up How Music Works in three words, what would they be?

Interesting explanation of many musical concepts. Music was a "magical talent" to me until I listened to this book.

First I didn't get the humor, but quickly got used to the British humor and started enjoying the book.

I thought the narrator was annoying and that, unfortunately, didn't change much till the end of the book.

What did you like best about this story?

the material is excellent

What aspect of Walter Dixon’s performance would you have changed?

Wrong narrator. Pauses too often without a need. The most unnecessary pauses are often between "the" and what comes after it. Why do you need to say "the pitch"???

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