The Story of Music Audiobook By Howard Goodall cover art

The Story of Music

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The Story of Music

By: Howard Goodall
Narrated by: Howard Goodall
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About this listen

Accompanies BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3

Music is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly specialised and complex.

In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall does away with stuffy biographies, unhelpful labels and tired terminology. Instead he leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original force.

He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant and what all post-war pop songs have in common.

The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel – and entertain. Howard Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavour and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.

©2013 Howard Goodall (P)2013 Random House AudioGo History & Criticism Music Popular Culture Social Sciences
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Disappointing

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Since this was a book about music and it was an audio copy, AND a tv series exists, the book should have been illustrated with musical excerpts. How can one relate to theoretical information about the structure and development of music, without auditory examples? Very, very disappointing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Howard Goodall again?

No -

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