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Thinking Musically: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture
Designed for undergraduates and general readers with little or no background in music, Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures--including the Americas, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Europe--and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the
world. Thinking Musically explores the importance of musical instruments and discusses the fundamental elements of music--including rhythm, pitch in melodic and harmonic relationships, and form--and examines how they vary in different musical traditions. The author considers the effects of cultural
factors such as gender and ethnicity on the perception, interpretation, and performance of music, as well as the forces of nationalism, cultural encounters, and westernization.
New to the Second Edition
*Revised to bring the book up-to-date with current trends that are influencing music around the world, including the accelerating impact of technology (YouTube, MySpace, and digital downloading) and the increased effects of globalization
*Increased consideration of the pressures exerted by gender and mass media on the form, content, and performance of music
*Expanded discussion of fieldwork (in Chapter 7 and throughout the book)
*Includes additional photographs, expanded CD tracks, and new activities
Thinking Musically is the cornerstone of the Global Music Series ; each case study in the series uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure--covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Thinking Musically can be used with case studies in any
combination to provide a rich exploration of world musical cultures, or it can be used independently as a short introduction to world music or music appreciation. Thinking Musically includes two 80-minute CDs--corresponding with activities found throughout the text--that feature selections from a
wide variety of musical cultures.
world. Thinking Musically explores the importance of musical instruments and discusses the fundamental elements of music--including rhythm, pitch in melodic and harmonic relationships, and form--and examines how they vary in different musical traditions. The author considers the effects of cultural
factors such as gender and ethnicity on the perception, interpretation, and performance of music, as well as the forces of nationalism, cultural encounters, and westernization.
New to the Second Edition
*Revised to bring the book up-to-date with current trends that are influencing music around the world, including the accelerating impact of technology (YouTube, MySpace, and digital downloading) and the increased effects of globalization
*Increased consideration of the pressures exerted by gender and mass media on the form, content, and performance of music
*Expanded discussion of fieldwork (in Chapter 7 and throughout the book)
*Includes additional photographs, expanded CD tracks, and new activities
Thinking Musically is the cornerstone of the Global Music Series ; each case study in the series uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure--covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. Thinking Musically can be used with case studies in any
combination to provide a rich exploration of world musical cultures, or it can be used independently as a short introduction to world music or music appreciation. Thinking Musically includes two 80-minute CDs--corresponding with activities found throughout the text--that feature selections from a
wide variety of musical cultures.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 18, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 21, 2018
It's time to prepare for another semester of teaching. I read Thinking Musically as part of my annual revisions to a module I teach on music analysis to students who, for the most part, have very little experience playing or thinking critically about music. This is always a challenge, and I usually feel inadequate. I think I'm not alone, because when I read music survey textbooks, I find that the sections that introduce basic musical terms (scale, meter, harmony, and so forth) tend to be the weakest parts of otherwise good books.
Bonnie Wade's overview of the basics of musical structure, context, and meaning is stronger than most. She draws from examples from all over the world (usually found in other volumes of her Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture series) to illustrate her points, and it's helpful to have such a wide variety of case studies to look at, even if there isn't sufficient space in this book to really dig into any of those genres (this book is meant to be an introduction to the rest of the books in the series; the intention is that the reader/student will move from this book to one or more of the in-depth regional volumes).
Along the way, Wade also includes suggestions for activities, in-class and individual, to help deepen students' understanding of concepts. Among these activities, I found several that will work really well for my classroom context. I look forward to incorporating them into my teaching this fall.
The writing style in the book is fairly accessible to an undergrad-level reader, though it's sometimes rather dense with names of ethnomusicologists. All of this is completely familiar to me, but I wonder if students would get lost or bored in parts. In general, I don't think I would assign this book as reading for students in any class. I find it more useful as a teacher's guide, material that I can adapt to my own lessons and style--and that's perfectly fine, no criticism against the book.
One criticism, however, is the number of typos in the book, which surprised me, given that it's the third edition. Every book has some typos, of course, but there were a few in this one that actually made the sentences very hard to understand.
There's no perfect way to structure an overview like this, but Wade's framework works well. I particularly like that she always keeps the big picture in mind, rather than getting lost in the minute details (which is always a tempting pitfall in teaching this material). She always brings the reader back to the fact that music is not a thing so much as something that people do in real life.
Bonnie Wade's overview of the basics of musical structure, context, and meaning is stronger than most. She draws from examples from all over the world (usually found in other volumes of her Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture series) to illustrate her points, and it's helpful to have such a wide variety of case studies to look at, even if there isn't sufficient space in this book to really dig into any of those genres (this book is meant to be an introduction to the rest of the books in the series; the intention is that the reader/student will move from this book to one or more of the in-depth regional volumes).
Along the way, Wade also includes suggestions for activities, in-class and individual, to help deepen students' understanding of concepts. Among these activities, I found several that will work really well for my classroom context. I look forward to incorporating them into my teaching this fall.
The writing style in the book is fairly accessible to an undergrad-level reader, though it's sometimes rather dense with names of ethnomusicologists. All of this is completely familiar to me, but I wonder if students would get lost or bored in parts. In general, I don't think I would assign this book as reading for students in any class. I find it more useful as a teacher's guide, material that I can adapt to my own lessons and style--and that's perfectly fine, no criticism against the book.
One criticism, however, is the number of typos in the book, which surprised me, given that it's the third edition. Every book has some typos, of course, but there were a few in this one that actually made the sentences very hard to understand.
There's no perfect way to structure an overview like this, but Wade's framework works well. I particularly like that she always keeps the big picture in mind, rather than getting lost in the minute details (which is always a tempting pitfall in teaching this material). She always brings the reader back to the fact that music is not a thing so much as something that people do in real life.
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June 9, 2025Read for school (textbook)
Didn’t enjoy much tbh
Didn’t enjoy much tbh
February 20, 2020
A book on everything music related, hence all aspects are badly presented.
February 20, 2012
I REALLY enjoyed this book. It ranges from all aspects of ethnomusicology, from understanding music from the perspective of instruments, pitch and rhythm. It also took very thought-provoking examples from many different cultures to illustrate concepts. Its also very hands-on, accompanied by a CD that she refers to throughout the book, as well as activities for the reader. This is a manual for the ambitious to-be ethnomusicologist.
January 29, 2014
Very nice book about the differences in how music is expressed, performed, written, and structured in various world cultures. Particularly interesting were the sections describing representations of time, pitch, rhythm, etc. Academic bent, but accessible.
July 9, 2015
Describes the elements of music, but takes it out of the typical euro-centric, classical music context. Prepares you for experiencing music from a variety of cultures and traditions.
March 29, 2022
This was required reading for a World Music class and I really enjoyed reading it. The author had a fun way of teaching us about music from different cultures.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews