Review of 'How Music Work's by John Powell

How Music Works by John Powell
Pages: 264
Publisher: Particular books.
ISBN: 978-1-846-14315-1

Review Rating 5*







‘How Music Works ‘ in an informative and informal look at how music has the power to move us as deeply as it does.

It covers a wide range of topics around this theme and includes discussions on Perfect Pitch, the distinction between notes and noise, how instruments differ in sound from one another, how we measure loudness, harmony, scales, the effects of major and minor scales on mood, rhythm, making music and listening to music.  As can be seen, pretty comprehensive stuff.

The ideas are laid out very clearly and you are left marvelling at certain aspects of music you never fully appreciated and fascinated by the impact it has upon our moods and the reasons behind this.

I initially enjoyed the authors relaxed, informal style of writing, but I have to admit by the end I wish he’d miss out the jokes and cut to the chase.  There is being informal and then there is being just plain silly!  This is only a minor niggle though and doesn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book.

There are plenty of diagrams and photos to illustrate the various points raised and you are never left guessing at the more complex issues explored.  The author also suggests plenty of musical examples you can look up which demonstrate the points he is raising.  There is also a ‘fiddly details’ section at the end where the more detailed parts are explained in greater depth.

You don’t have to play or read music to get something out of this book, in fact you will get plenty from this as just a music fan who enjoys listening to music.  There is loads here for musician and music listener alike.

Overall this made for an interesting and informative read and if you enjoy this then I can also recommend ‘Musicophilia’ by Oliver sacks.  All in all, this is well worth a read.