Songcatchers: In Search of the World's Music

by Mickey Hart, K.M. Kostyal

For 30 years now, Mickey Hart has been on a quest!51;to search out and record the wealth of different musics in the world, many of them little known. He’s also been fascinated by the recordists who came before him, themselves pioneers in the sound-capturing field, and the extraordinary technological developments that have made their work possible. Songcatchers looks at our universal appreciation of music and the reasons why, over the past century, technology and curiosity have carried the shamanic chants of Siberia, the dying folk music of isolated European villages, and the ecstatic gamelan sounds of Bali to music lovers all over the world. The personal tales of the songcatchers are full of romance, derring-do, and some of them were scholars, others adventurists, and a few full-fledged spies. The machines that made their work possible progressed from the early treadle-powered phonographs that allowed sound waves to imprint wax cylinders to magnetic tape that captured sound in iron oxide particles to the digital domain of today. Hart ventures across time and continents in following the songcatchers and their machines, and throughout it all he celebrates music and its ability to transcend the mundane and transport the human spirit.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Travel

192 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifull book content wise and aestheticaly. It was interrestingly layed out ADD syle with these extra detail sections interspersed in the middle of the main content of the chapters, which kept the dense nonfiction moving along swiftly with all the glossy pictures like a Discovery Channel TV special. Really interresting topic about the history of sound recording and ethnomusicology. Mickey Hart's enthusiasm and expertise on the two subjects made the reading an Indiana Jones travel adventure and a religious heart opening.

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book. A deep dive into the history of ethnomusicology, tracking the progress made in recording indigenous people around the world, their music and stories and the like. Mickey also talks about some of his own efforts with Tibetan monks and inmates in San Quentin. A fun read.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Songcatchers: In Search of the World's Music by Mickey Hart and K.M. Kostyal (National Geographic 2003) (780.9). Wow! Who'd a thunk it? A member of the Grateful Dead (my favorite band!) has written a book that was published by the National Geographic Society - and in 2003! How did I manage to miss that? The book is a combination field guide/ story collection, but more importantly, it's an official nod of approval in Mickey's direction from a hugely influential source as to the quality of his knowledge into "the art and magic of drumming." Well done! My rating: 6/10, finished 5/10/11.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a concise history of music and recorded sound, focusing on field recording, and is interwoven with Mickey's experiences and passion for live music. While I enjoyed the content, I found the layout kind of distracting. There are four pages essays in the middle of some chapters that cut in mid-sentence. Other than that, "Songcatchers" is quite informative and had me looking forward to checking out some of the books listed in the Further Reading section at the end. I thank Frank for recognizing it as something right up my alley and giving me a copy.

[Ayne Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A “songcatcher” refers to someone who collects traditional music that may have otherwise been lost to history (for example, recording Native American songs or the traditional roots music of the Appalachian mountains). This book, written by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, follows the story of several songcatchers in different times and places and elaborates on their lives, their work, and their valued place in cultural history.