The Story of Music tells the story from Babylon to the Beatles: How Music Has Shaped Civilization. The book starts 40,000 years ago and gives you a tour through the history of music and how it shaped Civilization. I thought that this book went more in depth than any other history of music I had ever read, despite it only being about 200 pages of actual text. (There is also a section of photographs and a lot of supplemental materials and song lists in the back)
I also liked that this wasn’t written like your typical history book, it was easy to read and full of a lot of great information. If you’re just interested in learning more about music or if you might have to do some research for a paper, then this is the book for you.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
Music is an intrinsic part of everyday life, and yet the history of its development from single notes to multi-layered orchestration can seem bewilderingly complex.
In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation—harmony, notation, sung theater, the orchestra, dance music, recording—strikes us with its original force. Along the way, he also gives refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it works: what scales are all about, why some chords sound discordant, and what all post-war pop songs have in common.
The story of music is the story of our urge to invent, connect, rebel—and entertain. Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavor and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.