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How Music Works: A listener's guide to harmony, keys, broken chords, perfect pitch and the secrets of a good tune
·What is the difference between a musical note and any other sort of sound?
·What is harmony, and why does it sound good?
·Why is it easy to tell the difference between a flute and a clarinet even if they are playing exactly the same note?
·Why do ten violins sound only twice as loud as one?
·What is perfect pitch, and do I have it?
Discover the answers to these and many other questions in John Powell's charming, straight-talking and ear-opening guide to what music is and how exactly it works. Written by a composer with a PhD in physics, How Music Works is a unique and entertaining guide. Opening up the world of acoustics and the science of music to deepen our appreciation and understanding of what we listen to, How Music Works covers subjects from the difference between how we hear a musical note and any other kind of sound, to a brief history of the scale system, why a run of arpeggios sounds 'romantic' and why a flute sounds different to a clarinet. The perfect book for players and listeners alike.
·What is harmony, and why does it sound good?
·Why is it easy to tell the difference between a flute and a clarinet even if they are playing exactly the same note?
·Why do ten violins sound only twice as loud as one?
·What is perfect pitch, and do I have it?
Discover the answers to these and many other questions in John Powell's charming, straight-talking and ear-opening guide to what music is and how exactly it works. Written by a composer with a PhD in physics, How Music Works is a unique and entertaining guide. Opening up the world of acoustics and the science of music to deepen our appreciation and understanding of what we listen to, How Music Works covers subjects from the difference between how we hear a musical note and any other kind of sound, to a brief history of the scale system, why a run of arpeggios sounds 'romantic' and why a flute sounds different to a clarinet. The perfect book for players and listeners alike.
ebook
Published August 26, 2010
About the author
John Powell
15 booksLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is an English composer and conductor, best known for his scores to motion pictures. After studying at London's Trinity College of Music, Powell rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, in addition to his live-action collaborations with directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. His 2010 score for the film How to Train Your Dragon earned him his first Academy Award nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards. He was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions, and collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio, including Harry Gregson-Williams and Zimmer himself.
Source: Wikipedia.
John Powell (born 18 September 1963) is an English composer and conductor, best known for his scores to motion pictures. After studying at London's Trinity College of Music, Powell rose to fame in the late 1990s and 2000s, scoring numerous animated films, in addition to his live-action collaborations with directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass. He has been based in Los Angeles since 1997 and has composed the scores to over fifty feature films. His 2010 score for the film How to Train Your Dragon earned him his first Academy Award nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards. He was a member of Hans Zimmer's music studio, Remote Control Productions, and collaborated frequently with other composers from the studio, including Harry Gregson-Williams and Zimmer himself.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
September 17, 2025
The slowest ever reader here - hello, hi.
As a MASSIVE John Powell fan, I was really excited to hear what he had share, and he didn't disappoint! I genuinely really enjoyed learning about the history of music (way more than I thought I would not going to lie...).
I did, in all honesty get quite lost though when it came to the technical itty bitty bits. But I have literally no music theory knowledge, so of course it would be overwhelming!
Side note: This is the first book I've read in a long time, so no matter the outcome, thanks for inspiring me to pick up a book John!
Anyway, back to deciphering classical music and what the names actually mean...
As a MASSIVE John Powell fan, I was really excited to hear what he had share, and he didn't disappoint! I genuinely really enjoyed learning about the history of music (way more than I thought I would not going to lie...).
I did, in all honesty get quite lost though when it came to the technical itty bitty bits. But I have literally no music theory knowledge, so of course it would be overwhelming!
Side note: This is the first book I've read in a long time, so no matter the outcome, thanks for inspiring me to pick up a book John!
Anyway, back to deciphering classical music and what the names actually mean...
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review