The music instinct
Subtitle: how music works and why we can't do without it
By: Philip Ball
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 452
ISBN-13: 9780199754274
Subjects: Music; Music and science; Philosophy and aesthetics
Other titles: How music works and why we can't do without it
Description: The Music Instinct Philip Ball provides the first comprehensive, accessible survey of what is known--and what is still unknown--about how music works its magic, and why, as much as eating and sleeping, it seems indispensable to humanity. --from publisher description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [425]-442) and index.
Table of contents: title: Prelude : the harmonious universe : an introduction; title: Overture : why we sing : what is music and where does it comes from?; title: Staccato : the atoms of music : what are musical notes and how do we decide which to use?; title: Andante : what's in a tune? : do melodies follow rules, and if so, which?; title: Legato : keeping it together : How do we decode the sound?; title: Tutti: all together now : how do we use more than one note at a time?; title: Con moto: slave to the rhythm : what gives music its pulse?; title: Pizzicato : the colour of music : why do instruments sound different, and how does that affect the music?; title: Misterioso : all in the mind : which bits of the brain do we use for music?; title: Appassionato : light my fire : how does music convey and elicit emotion?; title: Capriccioso : going in and out of style : what are musical styles? : is music about notes, or patterns, or textures?; title: Parlando : why music talks to us : is music a language? or is it closer to the non-verbal arts?; title: Serioso : the meaning of music : what are composers and musicians trying to say? : can music in itself say anything at all?; title: Coda : the condition of music.