Ear Cleaning: Notes for an Experimental Music Course

by R. Murray Schafer

Genres: Music

45 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1967

About the author

Raymond Murray Schafer (1933-2021) was a Canadian composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World (1977). He was the first recipient of the Jules Léger Prize in 1978.

Reviews

[Walt · Rating 5 out of 5]

While it has been many years since I read this book, it had a great influence on my musical thinking. The full title is "Ear cleaning:notes for an experimental music course". Schafer's book served as the textbook for my freshman music appreciation course. It did exactly what it set out to do: it opened my mind and my ears to a vast range of music, and probably set the course for my career in world music.

[Jerry Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting ideas and the introduction of music was really neat to see. I didn't really find it very interesting though, it was all very surface level (though that's expected for introductory lectures).

I do like Schafer's emphasis on the relationship between sound and the environment, and how physical space can have a huge impact on how music is expressed. It was also cool to see him draw connections to visual art, as connections between the humanities is always interesting.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, concise, important 'notebook' for music teachers and musicians to refresh ears. Enjoyed Schafer quoting Paul Klee here and there, which made me look into Klee's art from a musician perspective.