How Music Works

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

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

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

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.

Not as detailed as I'd like

Wish there was actually more music theory in here, as well as more actual music (there is a bit), given that this is an audiobook. As an amateur guitarist of several years, knowing the basics of chords and scales, I don't feel like I learnt very much about music, other than a few tidbits.

An informative book by an enthusiastic author.

The book does sound like a children's book sometimes. (Which is odd when the explanatory examples involve going to a bar for drinks.) But it is not, really, and I am very grateful to the author that he described all those things that I hear about a lot and kinda supposed to know, but did not really understand clearly.
The book covers a number of topics from the basics of "what is it" to the deep questions of "why is it like this". Totally worth listening if you are not a professional and interested in the topic.
I would say, it did not answer my question "how on earth all these pressure ripples create music?!". But it was an interesting listen anyway.
I cannot say anything against the narration here, the voice of the narrator is pleasant and the style is very professional. But I must say I would love to hear the book narrated by the author himself. John Powell recorded some comments for the main chapters, and they sound very engaging and more alive. I enjoyed the comments a lot. The demonstration of a drinking straw oboe is pure gold! )))