America's Musical Landscape

by Jean Ferris

America's Musical Landscape addresses the broad range of music in the United States from early periods to today. This comprehensive yet accessible text offers an elegant and readable introduction to the fundamentals of music, assuming no prior music experience for the student. Frequent connections to other arts, particularly the visual arts, add to the book's appeal and enhance understanding of core musical concepts. The sixth edition emphasizes vernacular over classical music and recent examples over early music, while offering generous coverage of the complete American musical landscape.

Genres: Music

448 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

About the author

After receiving her MA in Music History and Literature at Arizona State University, Jean Ferris taught Music History and Appreciation at ASU. In addition to her work at the University, she has been involved with the music community by serving as a church choir director, singing with the Phoenix Symphony Chorale, playing the organ, and touring to Japan with her high school handbell choir--the first handbell choir to perform in that country.

(This brief biography is from Jean's publisher, McGraw-Hill Higher Education)

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I had to purchase for an introductory music class, and I like how it broke the history of music down by covering the broad ranges of music that have tied generations together. It naturally focuses on music from the United States, but it does give context of how certain genres originated as a whole. A great book for a student who is new to musical history.

[Autobotfireflame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Wish there was more on country music.