The Shortest History Of Music (from Bone Flutes To Synthesizers, Hildegard Of Bingen To Beyoncé – 5,000 Years Of Instrument And Song)

Description

By (author) Ford, Andrew

Short /annotation:
From prehistoric songwriting to digital recording, discover the history of the world’s favorite art form

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No other art is as popular—or pervasive—as music. With just a few clicks, anyone can cue up (and critique) Chopin or Cher, The Bangles or The Beatles—even the brand-new Beyoncé. But things weren’t always this way.In this brisk, breakneck history under 300 pages, award-winning composer, author, and broadcaster Andrew Ford replays the dramatic evolution of music, from early oral songs to the first orchestras (and their wealthy patrons) and from the emergence of recording technology to the multibillion-dollar industry we know today. The Shortest History of Music explores the immense influence of religion, politics, and the economy on world music, what led humans to make music in the first place, and why—in every era—we are irresistibly drawn to listen to it.The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.

Table of contents:
IntroductionThe Tradition of Music: from Prehistory to the presentMusic and Notation: Blueprints for Building in Sound from 1400 BCE to the presentMusic for Sale: Paying the Piper from 1000 BCE to the presentMusic and Modernism: Reinventing the Art from 1150 to the presentRecording Music: from 1900 to the presentEpilogue: What Is Music?Further ReadingAcknowledgmentsImage CreditsIndexAbout the Author

Review quote:
“This entertaining contribution to the Shortest History series . . . makes a compelling and informative case for the power and necessity of music.”

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“Offers readers an intriguing summary of the vast history of music and invites further exploration.”

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“A breezy, highly informative and insightful overview.”

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“Lively, lucid, and richly informative. If you’re new to the history of music, there’s no better place to start. If you’re an old hand at it, you’ll still find plenty to think about.”

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“A wonderful read. . . . As erudite as it is enjoyable; as riveting as it is revelatory. Andrew Ford’s history of music may be short, but it is deep. With the lightest of touches, he has excavated many layers of human history and global culture. . . . A highly readable (and persuasive) thesis of what music is, why it exists, and how we couldn’t survive without it. Indispensable.”

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“I know of few other writers, if any, who could have told this intimidatingly vast story with the breezy readability and boundless expertise that Andrew Ford brings to it. From Monteverdi to Charlie Parker to Beyoncé, Ford connects dots that range across centuries and circle the globe. Never pedagogical, always witty and engaging, he has gotten to the heart of why music is an eternal part of our lives.”

Review quote:
“The Shortest History of Music is astonishing! It is a richly detailed and informed deep dive into the nature and practice of music across many cultures and much human history by a composer, thinker and writer who has been immersed in exploring and creating music for many years. And it’s addictive: I keep reading and rereading passages, relishing delicious details and illuminating insights, conveyed with clarity and wit. At a time when so many ‘musics’ are accessible on our devices but their context diluted or missing, this is an essential overview.”

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“Brilliantly readable and bursting with insight, wit and wisdom. Ford is a master storyteller.”

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“There is something undeniably impressive about both Ford’s compressed marshaling of such varied material and his desire to make connections sing across different musical cultures.”

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“Impressively engaging given