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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 Social Sciences Thought-Provoking

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All stars
Most relevant  
Great audiobook, the only thing missing is having clips of the pieces referenced. Otherwise it was informative and pleasantly witty.

Great but missing music

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Fantastic and insightful view of music development throughout the ages. At times controversial, always compelling.

outstanding and original

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A very interesting and surprisingly witty and entertaining audio book, easily as good as the television version.

Excellent

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Fascinating history even for those who don't play an instrument or read music. Perfectly explained.

Fascinating even for the non-musical

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A great detailed insight of how music has evolved over the centuries
since time began.

great insight

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Loved it, very interesting book. Surprised that Tchaikovsky barely gets mentioned but I'm sure the author had his reasons. This does not detract from a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

Great listen

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Narrator voice could of been slightly more interesting, but, as an academic study its interesting.

Very good

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I have listened to three such 'histories of classical music.' This is easily the best of the three. Highly recommended!

Startlingly informative!

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A very accessible and interesting account of the history of music. Would have liked to hear the pieces mentioned being played.

A charming overview

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I'm musical challenged in so many ways having just start to learn my first musical instrument in my 45th year. I decided I would like to catch up on why music is so embedded in our lives and I searched for 'the history of music' and got 'the story of music'. I found the book interesting from start to finish and I've made multiple notes of other books and biographies I will follow it up with. I listened to it with spotify open and as I needed to reference a piece of music I just added it to a playlist. Well written and at a decent pace throughout.

Exactly the book I wanted to hear

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