Author:Howard Goodall,Howard Goodall
*** Accompanies BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3 ***
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 specialised and complex.
In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall does away with stuffy biographies, unhelpful labels and tired terminology. Instead he leads us through the story of music as it happened, idea by idea, so that each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original force. He focuses on what changed when and why, picking out the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the little-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. 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. Howard Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavour and a groundbreaking map of our musical journey.
A lively zip through some 45 milennia
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesGoodall is an engaging and erudite guide and this work is both accessible and illuminating
—— Caroline Jowett , Daily ExpressGreat length but still leavened with lively wit
—— Sameer Rahim , Telegraph[Goodall] knows his stuff, and tells it well
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianHighly knowledgeable, and a brilliant communicator, Goodall has an infectious enthusiasm and is genuinely respectful of all forms of music
—— Good Book GuideNow comes Howard Goodall and all of everyone's prayers are answered ... He is sharply witty and entirely on the ball, but he never acts the smart ass and, most importantly, he obviously has deep knowledge of what he is talking about ... I prophesy that it will not only win prizes but change lives
—— Rupert Christiansen , Daily TelegraphThe Story of Music is a lively zip through some 45 millennia … jumping back and forth between classical, folk and pop
—— Christopher Hart , Sunday TimesAn accessible guide to roughly 42,000 years of music in just over 300 pages that manages neither to sacfrifice precise detail nor pugnacious opinion ... Goodall is unfailingly acute ... a clever, engaging read
—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on SundayHe starts right at the beginning, with 25,000-year-old bone flutes ... It's a huge brief, made huger by Goodall's alertness to new thinking in scholarly circles, and his fondness for interesting asides ... a racily written, learned and often shrewdly insightful book
—— Ivan Hewett , Daily Telegraph (Review)A roller-coaster ride, which Goodall tells with verve... a racily written, learned and often shrewdly insightful book
—— Ivan Hewett , Daily TelegraphAn accessible guide to roughly 42,000 years of music in just over 300 pages … The Story of Music is a clever, engaging read
—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on SundayHoward Goodall’s beautifully clear and compelling account is both a hymn to human endeavour and a groundbreaking map of man’s musical journey
—— Wiltshire NewsGoodall's distinguisihing gift is his ability to explain the mechanics of music instead of gliding hastily over them. He is fearless in unknotting those medieval mysteries of oranum and isorhythms, as well as chords, triads, fugues, keys, equal temperament, atonality, dodecaphony and blues
—— Fiona Maddocks , SpectatorThere is a Jumpin’ Jack Flash liveliness in Goodall’s approach
—— Iain Finlayson , The TimesA clear and compelling account which is a hymn to human endeavor and a groundbreaking musical journey
—— Kirkham & FyldeFascinating – as well as illuminating on how music works
—— The LadyWho better to demystify the origins of music and trace the evolution of this most universal of artistic disciplines?
—— Neil Norman , ExpressAt his best, Goodall has a facility for lively shorthand…
—— Adam Mars-Jones , GuardianRod Stewart reveals all in a hilarious and, at times, moving book…A brilliant read—you’ll be hooked.
—— Best[Rod] has warm good humour and a nice line in self-deprecation...He wears it well—and tells it even better.
—— Daily MailBy some distance the most entertaining of last year’s...rock star memoirs.
—— Uncut OnlineThis book takes readers on an adventure, that is at times deeply moving, through the life of one of the UK's greatest singers.
—— Hello! onlineRuthlessly entertaining
—— telegraph.co.uk