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Music and How it Works: The Complete Guide for Kids
Take a visual journey through the world of music and learn the science behind it, too.
Budding music fans will love discovering musical geniuses of every era, from Mozart and classical music to Bowie and pop, as well as finding out how music is created and what links it all together.
The book looks at music throughout history, beginning with the first known melody from the Fertile Crescent and covering modern music phenomena, from K Pop to hip-hop. Instruments and genres from across the world are featured, with "playlists" of key pieces encouraging kids to look up pieces to hear for themselves. STEAM spreads delve into the psychology and math behind music, from how it affects our mood to how it can improve our minds.
Covering India's Ragas, Indonesia's Gamelan, Japan's city pop, and more, this book will help children discover a love of music.
Budding music fans will love discovering musical geniuses of every era, from Mozart and classical music to Bowie and pop, as well as finding out how music is created and what links it all together.
The book looks at music throughout history, beginning with the first known melody from the Fertile Crescent and covering modern music phenomena, from K Pop to hip-hop. Instruments and genres from across the world are featured, with "playlists" of key pieces encouraging kids to look up pieces to hear for themselves. STEAM spreads delve into the psychology and math behind music, from how it affects our mood to how it can improve our minds.
Covering India's Ragas, Indonesia's Gamelan, Japan's city pop, and more, this book will help children discover a love of music.
- GenresMusicNonfictionChildrens
96 pages, Hardcover
Published November 17, 2020
7 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
D.K. Publishing
9,125 books2,066 followersDorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.
Source: Wikipedia.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 8, 2021
I enjoyed this book tremendously because
1) I paired it with Spotify, so I could listen to the suggested music examples
2) I read this book soon after it was published so it felt current and up-to-date (one of the chapters was on K-Pop).
3) It covered so much- history, science, even instructions on writing a pop song.
4) It was INTERESTING! Did you know the first electronic music track was released in 1969?! "Popcorn" by G Kingsley (I am a Millennial, and am surprised to hear people travelled by airplanes in the 60's even though I know they sent men to the moon)
1) I paired it with Spotify, so I could listen to the suggested music examples
2) I read this book soon after it was published so it felt current and up-to-date (one of the chapters was on K-Pop).
3) It covered so much- history, science, even instructions on writing a pop song.
4) It was INTERESTING! Did you know the first electronic music track was released in 1969?! "Popcorn" by G Kingsley (I am a Millennial, and am surprised to hear people travelled by airplanes in the 60's even though I know they sent men to the moon)
October 2, 2021
It's DK, so this truly is a COMPLETE guide for kids!
Since it's hard to keep kids focused and interested, topics, such as Types of Music, are interspersed throughout the book. There is also information on the 7 Ingredients of Music - Rhythm, Dynamics, Melody, Harmony, Timbre, Texture, and Form; The Musical Alphabet, which is shown using a piano keyboard - Here, we see notes, sharps & flats, intervals, whole & half steps, and octaves.
The reader is also introduced to types of instruments, styles of music, The Math of Music, and much, much more!
Entries are accompanied by color illustrations & photos, informational bubbles, a timeline for each of the types of music, such as Folk, Country, Reggae, K-Pop, etc.
At the end of the book is a Glossary of Terms, as well as Markings and an Index.
Well Done!
Since it's hard to keep kids focused and interested, topics, such as Types of Music, are interspersed throughout the book. There is also information on the 7 Ingredients of Music - Rhythm, Dynamics, Melody, Harmony, Timbre, Texture, and Form; The Musical Alphabet, which is shown using a piano keyboard - Here, we see notes, sharps & flats, intervals, whole & half steps, and octaves.
The reader is also introduced to types of instruments, styles of music, The Math of Music, and much, much more!
Entries are accompanied by color illustrations & photos, informational bubbles, a timeline for each of the types of music, such as Folk, Country, Reggae, K-Pop, etc.
At the end of the book is a Glossary of Terms, as well as Markings and an Index.
Well Done!
January 21, 2024
In this book, you can learn about the mechanisms by which we can listen to and enjoy music, the types of instruments, the history of music, and more.
I took piano lessons when I was a child, but I have bitter memories of quitting mid-way because I often made mistakes and couldn't play well.
As an adult, I have wanted to try playing the ukulele, but I have never had a chance to play the instrument.
While reading this book, I wanted to try playing the instrument at home.
I took piano lessons when I was a child, but I have bitter memories of quitting mid-way because I often made mistakes and couldn't play well.
As an adult, I have wanted to try playing the ukulele, but I have never had a chance to play the instrument.
While reading this book, I wanted to try playing the instrument at home.
February 6, 2021
Calling all music teachers! Music and How it Works: The Complete Guide for Kids is an engaging, colorful, INCREDIBLY informational book of all things music! Captivated by these pages in this book (would we call this an anthology, perhaps?) which is equally gorgeous for coffee tables and libraries!
August 22, 2021
A really thorough and wonderful guide to music for kids.
January 13, 2025
This book will be a good musical teaching tool. Every two pages of this book focus on a different aspect of music such as reading music, opera, rhythm, reggae, and much more; there are bright colors and detailed blurbs on each page. The author is clearly trying to appeal to a younger generation as he includes many genres from rock and the blues to K-pop and electronic music. Personally, I would have left out some of these genres, but he does a good job of also including classical music, instruments of the orchestra, and essential elements of music. I could see the students I taught in inner city St. Louis enjoying looking at the information in this book on rap and hip hop and then also reading about classical music and seeing that you can enjoy both. I bought this book to help me in teaching my music class this year and think it will be a good tool. There are things in this book I will not use, but others that I will. I think it will be appealing to both my K-2 class and my 3-5 class.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews