Scan barcode
Reviews
This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says about You by Susan Rogers, Ogi Ogas
rballenger's review against another edition
3.0
Type of read: Lunch/Weekend Read.
What made me pick it up: I picked up 'This Is What It Sounds Like' as part of the TN READs April prompt of reading a book by or about a musician. Additionally, growing up as a musical theatre kid and church choir kid, 'This Is What It Sounds Like' felt like a good fit. And as a Minnesota girl, you know the connection to Prince caught my eye.
Overall rating: I want to start by saying it should come as no surprise that 'This Is What It Sounds Like' is more of an academic, learning book than a sit-down, relax, and get lost in the pages book. Rogers does a great job of setting up the expectation of the book by literally saying it's all about the science, soul, and secrets of why we interact with music the way we do. I read this one in smaller bits and pieces (I don't like to feel like anything I'm reading is moving past reading and into full-on lecture mode), and that was the perfect way, at least for me, to enjoy 'This Is...' It's not the book for everyone but Rogers has a wonderful way of explaining the science and emotional aspects behind sound. An interesting read!
Reader's Note: I enjoyed 'This Is...' as an audiobook and used the premade Spotify playlist to listen to the music as suggested by Rogers. I searched 'This Is What It Sounds Like' in my Spotify app and it was the first playlist to appear in the list. The songs are also in order as they appear in the book, super helpful!
What made me pick it up: I picked up 'This Is What It Sounds Like' as part of the TN READs April prompt of reading a book by or about a musician. Additionally, growing up as a musical theatre kid and church choir kid, 'This Is What It Sounds Like' felt like a good fit. And as a Minnesota girl, you know the connection to Prince caught my eye.
Overall rating: I want to start by saying it should come as no surprise that 'This Is What It Sounds Like' is more of an academic, learning book than a sit-down, relax, and get lost in the pages book. Rogers does a great job of setting up the expectation of the book by literally saying it's all about the science, soul, and secrets of why we interact with music the way we do. I read this one in smaller bits and pieces (I don't like to feel like anything I'm reading is moving past reading and into full-on lecture mode), and that was the perfect way, at least for me, to enjoy 'This Is...' It's not the book for everyone but Rogers has a wonderful way of explaining the science and emotional aspects behind sound. An interesting read!
Reader's Note: I enjoyed 'This Is...' as an audiobook and used the premade Spotify playlist to listen to the music as suggested by Rogers. I searched 'This Is What It Sounds Like' in my Spotify app and it was the first playlist to appear in the list. The songs are also in order as they appear in the book, super helpful!
lydie95's review
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
A fascinating insight into why we listen to the music we listen to. How everything from our prefrences for strong melody or certain Rythem patterns influences the sounds we are drawn to. I felt this book expand an already deep personal love for music. Although, I would have maybe liked a little more data for each of the chapters in regards to listener habits and examples to back this up. A cracking read all round!
laz_'s review
2.25
should’ve put the book down when she said she liked the stones better than the beatles
bluesky5283's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Fascinating and told in a way that I wanted to keep on reading.
nlkirch's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
When I first hear the name Susan Rogers, I think of her work with Prince. Having her name as an engineer on Purple Rain already lands her in the history books, even without writing a book of her own. However, a storied Audio Engineer is only one portion of Rogers’ varied career in music. Even after crafting Prince’s Vault, Rogers earned a doctorate in Behavioural Neuroscience from McGill University, which means her title is now Dr. Multi-Platinum Record Producer Susan Rogers. All of that culminates into This is What It Sounds Like, her treatise on why humans love music.
Together with her co-author, Ogi Ogas, Rogers breaks down music into 8 components. Authenticity, Realism, Novelty, Melody, Lyrics, Rhythm, Timbre, and Form & Function. Each of these components are broken down into binaries, the extremes, with examples for each. This is What It Sounds Like is the updated, cooler version of What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copeland. Adding neuroscience and factoids brings hard evidence to the music theory and musicology of Copland’s music appreciation classic. Rogers’ and Ogas’ playlist is more accessible to the modern listener and is not bogged down by anchoring itself to one genre. Furthermore, the music notation is replaced by an external website https://www.thisiswhatitsoundslike.com/ with streaming links and mini-games for ambitious readers.
In Rogers’ 8 components, we also see how she prioritizes music listeners over musicians. Rogers admits that she cannot play an instrument, but that is her strength. In Authenticity, Realism, and Novelty we get to the heart of music. Yes, these components are not specified in music scores, but any layperson can find it in their headphones. The other components take the standard musicology analysis terms and consolidate them into easily identifiable categories. Music Theory is not a prerequisite.
While Rogers incorporates scientific neuroscience, she avoids becoming dry or patronizing. Anecdotes from Rogers’ career provide levity in between the descriptions of experiments to demonstrate what happens to our brains when we listen. It is stressed that no one preference determines “good music.” Rogers uses her co-author Ogas to help showcase the range of listening styles. The goal is to be objective with the subjective. The differences exist, and how you respond to the components determines how you feel about the music. Your overall emotional reaction is the conclusion and is independent from the next person’s reaction. The next person could even have a rare experience of synesthesia or be unable to keep a beat or sing a melody. At the end of every section is a quick look at unique musical perceptions.
To wrap it all up, the vibrant cover (my edition is neon pink) attracts the eye to a book about music and the brain. We find the successor to Aaron Copeland’s music lectures. Vibrant pop cover, with vibrant pop samples for a vibrant pop generation. Audio engineers of any musical (or non-musical) background have a valuable window into the minds of listeners, straight from Dr. Multi-Platinum herself.
https://soundgirls.org/review-of-this-is-what-it-sounds-like/
https://soundgirls.org/review-of-this-is-what-it-sounds-like/
holly_keimig's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book for a different reason then I picked it up to read it. I thought it would give insights into why certain brains like certain music. Instead, it gave a framework for how we listen to music and absorb it and the different options that exist. There was a decent amount of autobiographical writing in the book as well, but I found Susan Rogers's life pretty interesting, so that part didn't both me like it did other reviewers. I listened to the audio book and couldn't figure out how to listen to all the songs while I was reading it, but have since figured it out and I highly recommend listening before you read each chapter like the authors suggest. There is a website where everything is collected in one spot if that helps (https://www.thisiswhatitsoundslike.com/). To someone that knows a ton about music, this book might not have brand new information. I did find myself wanting more of the brain science in places. I think it is a book that anyone can learn from, however. It was well-researched and written and a joy to listen to. Highly recommend checking this one out if you're interested in music or music production (or you just enjoy random non fiction deep dives on occasion like me).