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Bridge of Waves: What Music Is and How Listening to It Changes the World
Music is, in one sense, merely a series of fleeting vibrations that arise and subside. How could it be that something so insubstantial fills us, and calms us, and makes us weep? Because, says W. A. Mathieu, music bridges mind and heart, self and other, and affirms our place in the world. Everyone uses the bridge of music, from casual listeners to devoted professionals. Mathieu's delightful and trenchant prose asks you to question what music is, how it works, and how to understand its value in your life, in the life of your community, and in the evolution of the cosmos.
- GenresMusicNonfictionArt
296 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2010
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180 people want to read
About the author
William Allaudin Mathieu
6 books22 followersWilliam Allaudin Mathieu (born 1937) is a composer, pianist, choir director, music teacher, and author. He began studying piano at the age of six, and began recording his music and compositions in the 1970s on his record label, Cold Mountain Music. Mathieu has composed and recorded solo piano works, chamber pieces, choral music, and song cycles, and he has written four books on music, music theory, and how to live a musical life.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 17, 2024
Well, I don't think I've ever read a book where I saw my personal state about something -- in this case, listening to music (and consequently, because music is such a massive part of how I experience the world, my life philosophy) -- written out so clearly on the page -- as if Mathieu and I share insides. To his point, maybe we do -- the experience of music pulls us together, and maybe it's just that he's written it down. In any case, reading this book felt like a recognition in ways none of the pop-music books I read ever have -- finally, guys, we've found it!!!! My endlessly elusive book about emotion and music -- and it wasn't ever going to be a neurology one, duh, what was I thinking?
The book itself is pretty chaotic (thus, partially, what I'm saying about my personal state lol) -- the distinctions he makes in chapters and subheadings are loose, at best, and irrelevant at worst. That part doesn't really matter -- just go in expecting a wave, and you'll be hit with the parts that resonate. Think Gravity's Rainbow but an old white guy dreamily pontificating about music.
The old white guy part, absolutely, impacts the narrative -- despite Mathieu's (I think) best efforts, there's a definite preference for acoustic instrumental, often Western, music, but it's nowhere near as egregious as Robert Jourdain's (see review linked above). Any sensitivity towards cultures other than his own is influenced by his age, though. He says that anyone born before 1985 will 'never be able to understand computers' (excusez moi sir); it's a joke, but it's rooted in truth -- he hasn't quite kept up with the times, and certainly not the rhetoric fashion of leftist thought, but he's also pushing for a lot of the same ideas, so fundamentally, I was able to let it slide. Don't get mad at me if you're not; I get it.
But also, anyone who knows me personally knows I am presently obsessed with Woodstock 99 -- which I won't get into here, but short version: so much changes and so much stays the same, but increasingly, we are told not to get angry. Don't do it. Use your words. Don't raise your voice. Be polite. And, yes -- all those things. But anger is a fundamental human emotion, and the more we shove it down, the more..shit like Woodstock 99 happens.
Why do I bring this up, you ask? Because while I was waiting to meet my partner for dinner (which we would spend discussing Woodstock 99), I was reading this book, and just so happened to come across this passage:
"Intuitively [an imaginary guy listening to 'angry' music] knows his psyche needs to be tamed by this dark, loud, ancient, and perverse embrace. He is relying on the deep pulses, the complex rhythms, the power language, the perfect synch of the musicians, the mastery of the engineers, and the ear-splitting volume to somehow ricochet him from depression and violence to functional if brash behaviour in the real world. The music is his story, and to the extent to which we are all in the same American boat -- and even if we maintain a high level of individual choice, we pretty much are -- it is ours as well." (147)
Thanks for taking the words out of my literal mouth, Mathieu.
The book is littered with moments like this -- so viscerally true and so rooted in the emotional power of music that, after looking for so long for them!, I almost can't believe they've been articulated. Did this book need a better editor? Probably. But like I said, you could say the same thing about Gravity's Rainbow, and we all know how that story goes.
I may come back with some more quotes but for now: we found it, lads. I read my music & emotion book. I am finally content.
The book itself is pretty chaotic (thus, partially, what I'm saying about my personal state lol) -- the distinctions he makes in chapters and subheadings are loose, at best, and irrelevant at worst. That part doesn't really matter -- just go in expecting a wave, and you'll be hit with the parts that resonate. Think Gravity's Rainbow but an old white guy dreamily pontificating about music.
The old white guy part, absolutely, impacts the narrative -- despite Mathieu's (I think) best efforts, there's a definite preference for acoustic instrumental, often Western, music, but it's nowhere near as egregious as Robert Jourdain's (see review linked above). Any sensitivity towards cultures other than his own is influenced by his age, though. He says that anyone born before 1985 will 'never be able to understand computers' (excusez moi sir); it's a joke, but it's rooted in truth -- he hasn't quite kept up with the times, and certainly not the rhetoric fashion of leftist thought, but he's also pushing for a lot of the same ideas, so fundamentally, I was able to let it slide. Don't get mad at me if you're not; I get it.
But also, anyone who knows me personally knows I am presently obsessed with Woodstock 99 -- which I won't get into here, but short version: so much changes and so much stays the same, but increasingly, we are told not to get angry. Don't do it. Use your words. Don't raise your voice. Be polite. And, yes -- all those things. But anger is a fundamental human emotion, and the more we shove it down, the more..shit like Woodstock 99 happens.
Why do I bring this up, you ask? Because while I was waiting to meet my partner for dinner (which we would spend discussing Woodstock 99), I was reading this book, and just so happened to come across this passage:
"Intuitively [an imaginary guy listening to 'angry' music] knows his psyche needs to be tamed by this dark, loud, ancient, and perverse embrace. He is relying on the deep pulses, the complex rhythms, the power language, the perfect synch of the musicians, the mastery of the engineers, and the ear-splitting volume to somehow ricochet him from depression and violence to functional if brash behaviour in the real world. The music is his story, and to the extent to which we are all in the same American boat -- and even if we maintain a high level of individual choice, we pretty much are -- it is ours as well." (147)
Thanks for taking the words out of my literal mouth, Mathieu.
The book is littered with moments like this -- so viscerally true and so rooted in the emotional power of music that, after looking for so long for them!, I almost can't believe they've been articulated. Did this book need a better editor? Probably. But like I said, you could say the same thing about Gravity's Rainbow, and we all know how that story goes.
I may come back with some more quotes but for now: we found it, lads. I read my music & emotion book. I am finally content.
August 12, 2025
Mathieu's mission is quite a task: defining music and its effects is, at once, both so objective and so subjective. 'Bridge of Waves' begins its journey from within and captures the inherent rhythms and patterns that coarse through one's veins both literally and figuratively, and I rather enjoyed how discussion of pulse and harmony enhances our listening. And, crucially, the need for silence ('silent' as an anagram of 'listen'...) The mathematics and gravity of tonal harmony and how it influences mood and emotion particularly resonated in his earlier chapters. The importance, also, of Machaut (who I had to spotify), Bach and Mozart through to Mathieu's go-to C20 paragon, Miles Davis, were further highlights in his 'Music as Story' chapters. However, I did find his dwelling on the spiritual - the 'Zen Elevator' - dislocated the journey somewhat and I found myself wanting to return to the entymology of music's wonderful wordless language. Well written, notwithstanding the transatlantic ego seeping through on occasions, and an honest exposé of a world for which he cares most deeply. Glad I've read it. And glad to have returned to middle C...
February 11, 2020
Rara saggezza che non sempre si può trovare nelle scuole di musica.
Piacevole e interessantissima lettura.
Piacevole e interessantissima lettura.
April 5, 2013
This is an interesting and thought-provoking book on the art and philosophy of listening to music. It is not a treatise on music theory, composition, or other technical areas. I can't say that it's earth-shaking, but at least it encouraged me to get out and listen to live music. It's also an introduction to some new genres of music. I would recommend it if you not only love listening to music but also enjoy thinking about what you're hearing.
December 12, 2012
A well written book, and an interesting and refreshing read, despite the fact I did not agree with some of it. I found it a bit philosophical and possibly ‘new-age’, whereas I am generally more interested in the theoretical and scientific side of things when it comes to the relation between humans and music.
December 9, 2012
A few good quotes and interesting ideas, but mostly tedious mumbo-jumbo. If you're considering reading this, read David Byrne's "How Music Works" instead.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews