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quentin_r's review against another edition
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Fun, but may be confusing for people with no musical training.
ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
Picked this up at the library on a whim, and golly, but it turned out to be a winner. The author is very well-informed, and funny, which I wasn't expecting, so the book was both informative and a great pleasure to read, hence five stars (I can learn a lot from a great deal of books, but they aren't often as much fun along the way).
I learned some startling things, considering I'm a singer who's played piano since age 6 and composes musicals in my spare time. He's confirmed some of my suspicions, and completely flummoxed me in other ways, and it's all science-based and true, which is reassuring. (I'm not one of those people who thinks Science is only good for building useful appliances and technology but otherwise I should get angry at it and prefer the wisdom of Cousin Jeb from two towns over).
Did you know two flutes aren't twice as loud as one flute? I'd never thought to question that, but they aren't, not remotely, for a very clear reason. (Hypothetically two flutes could under the right conditions play their loudest at you and you'd hear nothing, but the right conditions are rare, like when the water molecules in your cup of water separate so you have frozen molecules below and boiling water above, which never happens).
It's just interesting information piles upon more interesting information, but in a jocular yet clear tone that can't fail to educate while entertaining. Perfection! I wonder if he's written anything else? I'll read it. I promise.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
I learned some startling things, considering I'm a singer who's played piano since age 6 and composes musicals in my spare time. He's confirmed some of my suspicions, and completely flummoxed me in other ways, and it's all science-based and true, which is reassuring. (I'm not one of those people who thinks Science is only good for building useful appliances and technology but otherwise I should get angry at it and prefer the wisdom of Cousin Jeb from two towns over).
Did you know two flutes aren't twice as loud as one flute? I'd never thought to question that, but they aren't, not remotely, for a very clear reason. (Hypothetically two flutes could under the right conditions play their loudest at you and you'd hear nothing, but the right conditions are rare, like when the water molecules in your cup of water separate so you have frozen molecules below and boiling water above, which never happens).
It's just interesting information piles upon more interesting information, but in a jocular yet clear tone that can't fail to educate while entertaining. Perfection! I wonder if he's written anything else? I'll read it. I promise.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
purelynicole's review against another edition
4.0
The author does a great job of injecting into a subject that can be very dry. I don't have a background in theory but found this book approachable and easy to read.
gvenezia's review against another edition
2.0
For some this book will work really well. Music is notoriously difficult to write about, especially when delving into its more mysterious, academic sides like auditory physics and music theory. Powell has managed to cover a good deal of introductory material with colorful analogies and frequent humor. Unfortunately for me, the humor is not my cup of tea. It just strikes me as unmotivated, corny non-sequiturs that all have the same flavor. You'd know whether it was your cup of tea in the first few pages, but for a sampling, here's a concocted example: "To demonstrate pitch relativity, try singing a note of a song you know, continue singing and then turn on the song. Does it sound right? Try with a few different songs. Well actually, maybe wait till no one else is home before trying this controversial musical experiment!"
As for the content: I knew the basics of auditory physics for string instruments, but I had no idea how wind instruments generated the equivalent sounds. I also didn't fully grasp the concept of loudness or how the human auditory system works. In these sections I could easily see the utility of Powell's analogies and conversational style. I got a lot out of these sections.
The music theory portions will be refresher to anyone that's studied an instrument for a few years or taken an intro music theory course. For anyone that's studied longer, the music theory explanations will likely be frustrating since Powell seems to take too much liberty in his gloss on some subjects. For example, he describes ties and legato markings as simply being easier to read, when in fact ties concern note duration and legato concerns articulation. He also says that the time signature's note value doesn't matter and can be exchanged for 2,4,8,16, or 32. While technically true, this is basically never true in practice as there are certain norms around which note values are useful based on common divisions, phrases, and pulses. It's like saying sentences can be any length. It's technically true, but how many book-length sentences can you think of? So even for those uninitiated in music theory, I'd hesitate to recommend Powell.
Overall, I learned some interesting facts about auditory physics, but I've encountered most of the book's info elsewhere in less frustrating and less corny form. Your mileage may vary.
As for the content: I knew the basics of auditory physics for string instruments, but I had no idea how wind instruments generated the equivalent sounds. I also didn't fully grasp the concept of loudness or how the human auditory system works. In these sections I could easily see the utility of Powell's analogies and conversational style. I got a lot out of these sections.
The music theory portions will be refresher to anyone that's studied an instrument for a few years or taken an intro music theory course. For anyone that's studied longer, the music theory explanations will likely be frustrating since Powell seems to take too much liberty in his gloss on some subjects. For example, he describes ties and legato markings as simply being easier to read, when in fact ties concern note duration and legato concerns articulation. He also says that the time signature's note value doesn't matter and can be exchanged for 2,4,8,16, or 32. While technically true, this is basically never true in practice as there are certain norms around which note values are useful based on common divisions, phrases, and pulses. It's like saying sentences can be any length. It's technically true, but how many book-length sentences can you think of? So even for those uninitiated in music theory, I'd hesitate to recommend Powell.
Overall, I learned some interesting facts about auditory physics, but I've encountered most of the book's info elsewhere in less frustrating and less corny form. Your mileage may vary.
quigonchuy's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this one. Learned quite a bit. Especially interesting to anyone that plays or has played music, but really a good book for anyone that wants to learn more about music in general.
mrmin123's review against another edition
3.0
2014-09-11 thoughts (read 2014-08-06 to 2014-09-11; read review on my site)
The subtitle of the book, 'The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds,' prompted me to pick this book up in hopes that it would provide me an introductory lesson on the physical and psychological aspects of music and how it does its magic on us emotionally. The book certainly covers most, if not all, of what one might consider to be important aspects of music: instruments, harmony, loudness, major and minor keys, scales, rhythm, tempo, and more... but the book covers them all from the physics angle.
Granted, Powell has a PhD in physics so I'm sure that he knows what he's talking about when he talks about vibration frequencies and the sone system of loudness measurement. He also writes with a good amount of sarcastic and dry humor to keep things interesting despite all the physics talk. He also does a good job covering some of the basic tenants of music theory. At the end of the day, however, I can't get over the fact that he spends most of the book talking about how the decibel system works and how the sound waves add up to form patterns to make pleasing sounds, and a few pages at most to talk about how all those sound waves affect us psychologically and emotionally. To be honest, I'm not certain that he talked about it at all.
Given the confusion and contradictory claims on the effects of music on an individual's mood, neural development, and everything in between, maybe it's only fair that Powell didn't broach the topic. That field of discussion does seem to be soft science, at best. It's unfortunate, however, that Powell seems to skirt the issue completely and doesn't acknowledge or mention its existence. As someone who would argue that the emotional and psychological impact music has is the primary factor that makes it relevant to us as human beings, I find the omission to be quite unfortunate. As it stands, I feel like the only mention of people as "listeners of music", as opposed to biological systems that receive sound waves through convenient organs called ears, is in the last chapter of the book where he advises that they shouldn't spend over $3000 on home audio systems. Thanks for the pro tip, Dr. Powell.
If you want an introductory crash course in the physics of sound and music, as well as some music theory background, I suggest checking out this book. If you want to know more about the psychology of music, ignore the subtitle and move on.
7 out of 10
The subtitle of the book, 'The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds,' prompted me to pick this book up in hopes that it would provide me an introductory lesson on the physical and psychological aspects of music and how it does its magic on us emotionally. The book certainly covers most, if not all, of what one might consider to be important aspects of music: instruments, harmony, loudness, major and minor keys, scales, rhythm, tempo, and more... but the book covers them all from the physics angle.
Granted, Powell has a PhD in physics so I'm sure that he knows what he's talking about when he talks about vibration frequencies and the sone system of loudness measurement. He also writes with a good amount of sarcastic and dry humor to keep things interesting despite all the physics talk. He also does a good job covering some of the basic tenants of music theory. At the end of the day, however, I can't get over the fact that he spends most of the book talking about how the decibel system works and how the sound waves add up to form patterns to make pleasing sounds, and a few pages at most to talk about how all those sound waves affect us psychologically and emotionally. To be honest, I'm not certain that he talked about it at all.
Given the confusion and contradictory claims on the effects of music on an individual's mood, neural development, and everything in between, maybe it's only fair that Powell didn't broach the topic. That field of discussion does seem to be soft science, at best. It's unfortunate, however, that Powell seems to skirt the issue completely and doesn't acknowledge or mention its existence. As someone who would argue that the emotional and psychological impact music has is the primary factor that makes it relevant to us as human beings, I find the omission to be quite unfortunate. As it stands, I feel like the only mention of people as "listeners of music", as opposed to biological systems that receive sound waves through convenient organs called ears, is in the last chapter of the book where he advises that they shouldn't spend over $3000 on home audio systems. Thanks for the pro tip, Dr. Powell.
If you want an introductory crash course in the physics of sound and music, as well as some music theory background, I suggest checking out this book. If you want to know more about the psychology of music, ignore the subtitle and move on.
7 out of 10