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Product Description
Product Description
This stimulating Very Short Introduction to music invites us to really think about music and the values and qualities we ascribe to it. The world teems with different kinds of music-traditional, folk, classical, jazz, rock, pop-and each type of music tends to come with its own way of thinking. Drawing on a wealth of accessible examples ranging from Beethoven to Chinese zither music, Nicholas Cook attempts to provide a framework for thinking about all music. By examining the personal, social, and cultural values that music embodies, the book reveals the shortcomings of traditional conceptions of music, and sketches a more inclusive approach emphasizing the role of performers and listeners.
About the Author
Nicholas Cook is Professor of Music and Dean of Arts at the University of Southampton. He has also taught in Hong Kong, Australia, and the USA.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
your own, something that went beyond questions of whether or not you had paid your copyright dues: bands were expected to write their own music and develop their own style. And above all, they were expected to come together naturally, rather than being put together by the entrepreneurs of the music business. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
your own, something that went beyond questions of whether or not you had paid your copyright dues: bands were expected to write their own music and develop their own style. And above all, they were expected to come together naturally, rather than being put together by the entrepreneurs of the music business. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This little book makes you think from page 1. It is brilliantly written and full of controversial ideas about music and musicians. Don't be put off by its small size, as it is packed with interesting suggestions and ideas. It should make you think about the meaning, importance and future of music.
A must.
A must.
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of the most enjoyable books I've read on any topic recently. A splendidly unaffected treatment of the development of music and music theory, with a sustained and powerful but non-aggressive critique of many traditional approaches to the teaching and interpretation of music in the west.
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book starts well, with a lively journey around musical styles, including a brief visit to the promised Chinese zither music. Cook correctly embraces far more than Western art music in his analysis.
However, it drops into a rather protracted midsection on composition- and reception-based models ... "we need both" ... you don't say! And then you're soon into an extraordinary chapter on Music and Gender, or more specifically, the sex act. So Beethoven's masculine style is aggressive thrusting, and Schubert's more feminine offering is gay. This is exactly the kind of highfalutin agenda-laden balderdash which fixes a great divide between the intelligentsia and ordinary folk, both middle and working class. Not ideal for A Very Short Introduction!
I would also question his summarising point that music is "not a phenomenon of the natural world but a human construction". Your average songbird may question this, not to mention any human who happens him/herself to be a phenomenon of the natural world. Hmm. Have another think for the second edition.
I hoped for something on melody, harmony, rhythm, around the world. And there was some, but other things predominated. An interesting book, but ultimately frustrating.
However, it drops into a rather protracted midsection on composition- and reception-based models ... "we need both" ... you don't say! And then you're soon into an extraordinary chapter on Music and Gender, or more specifically, the sex act. So Beethoven's masculine style is aggressive thrusting, and Schubert's more feminine offering is gay. This is exactly the kind of highfalutin agenda-laden balderdash which fixes a great divide between the intelligentsia and ordinary folk, both middle and working class. Not ideal for A Very Short Introduction!
I would also question his summarising point that music is "not a phenomenon of the natural world but a human construction". Your average songbird may question this, not to mention any human who happens him/herself to be a phenomenon of the natural world. Hmm. Have another think for the second edition.
I hoped for something on melody, harmony, rhythm, around the world. And there was some, but other things predominated. An interesting book, but ultimately frustrating.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Appears to have the wrong title
An interested, non-academic reader might expect a book called "Music: A very short introduction" to cover topics like the history of music, different genres, basic ideas from music... Read more
Published 5 months ago by muddy-funster
Kindle edition
The content of this book is generally good - the approach is interesting and thought-provoking. There is one serious error: the author asserts that tablature can only be used to... Read more
Published 6 months ago by P. W. Skerratt
Music: a muddled introduction
The style of writing and the language used are extremely distracting and make it very difficult to read. Read more
Published on 19 May 2010 by H. Sellers
Music theory
'Critical theory omits music at its peril', warns one of its founders, Theodor Adorno (quoted by Nicholas Cook at the end of this VSI). Read more
Published on 16 May 2010 by Jon Chambers
MC review
Excellent thought provoking book.
Relativly easy to read.
Recommended to any musician trying to work out the place of their music in the world.
Relativly easy to read.
Recommended to any musician trying to work out the place of their music in the world.
Published on 14 Jun 2009 by Malcolm Craven
Essential Reading!
This book is a fabulous piece of writing, as one would expect from such an esteemed professor as Nick Cook. Read more
Published on 13 April 2009 by Mr. E. P. Moore
This book is about what music means to poeple.
Music - A Very Short Introduction by Nicholas Cook is an extremely interesting and thought provoking publication that all musicians and especially music educators should add to... Read more
Published on 21 April 2001
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