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A review by gvenezia
How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond by John Powell
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.