What is music? How is it constructed? How is it consumed? Why do you enjoy it at all? In Music: A Very Short plays Introduction, Nicholas Cook invites us to really think about music and the role it plays in our lives and our ears. Drawing on a number of accessible examples, the author prompts us to call on our own musical experiences in order to think more critically about the roles of the performers and the listener, about music as a commodity and an experience, what it means to understand music, and the values we ascribe to it.
This very short introduction, written with both humor and flair, begins with a sampling of music as human activity and then goes on to consider the slippery phenomenon of how music has become an object of thought. Covering not only Western and classical music, Cook touches on all types from rock to Indonesian music and beyond. Incorporating musical forms from every continent, Music will make enjoyable reading for beginner and expert alike.

This "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 the Spice Girls 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.

Publisher:

USA Oxford University Press

ISBN:

9780192853820

Publication date:

June 2000

Length:

178mm

Width:

113mm

Thickness:

9mm

Weight:

136g

Edition:

illustrated edition

Pages:

160

Illustrations:

Illustrated

Readership:

General

Prescribed at:

UNISA 2012

Subject / Course:

MHS1501

Illustrated:

Illustrated

• Musical Values
• Back to Beethoven
• A State of Crisis?
• An Imaginary Object
• A Matter of Representation
• Music and the Academy
• Music and Gender