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Title:
How music works : the science and psychology of beautiful sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and beyond / John Powell.
Author:
Powell, John, 1955-
Publication Information:
New York, NY : Little, Brown, 2010.
Call Number:
ML3805 .P69 2010
Abstract:
John Powell, a scientist and musician, answers questions about harmony, timbre, keys, chords, loudness, musical composition, and many more in this intriguing and original guide to acoustics.
Edition:
1st U.S. ed.
ISBN:
9780316098304
Physical Description:
vi, 264 p. : ill., music ; 22 cm. + 1 sound disc (digital ; 4 3/4 in.)
Contents:
So, what is music, anyway? -- What is perfect pitch and do I have it? -- Notes and noises -- Xylophones and saxophones : same notes but different sounds -- Instrumental break -- How loud is loud? -- Harmony and cacophony -- Weighing up scales -- The self-confident major and the emotional minor -- I got rhythm -- Making music -- Listening to music -- Fiddly details. Naming and identifying intervals ; Using the Decibel system ; Tuning an instrument to the pentatonic scale ; Calculating equal temperament ; The notes of the major keys.

Acconpanying CD: How to get different sounds from a guitar string -- Can you guess what this instrument is? -- Why some notes clash and others get along together -- Different ways to accompany a tune -- Ancient and modern scales -- 3,000-year-old music : ancient harp tuning -- The horrible out-of-tune bamboo whistle -- Confident majors and emotional minors -- How to bring tears to the eyes of the audience -- The magnificent drinking-straw oboe.
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