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Title: Listen-- Brief Fourth Edition by Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson, Vivian Kerman ISBN: 1-57259-422-5 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: December, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $61.10 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A good introductory text
Comment: I have had this book prescribed as a textbook for a music history and theory course. This is a good book for such a purpose, it covers much. (This review is on the third edition).
Unit I has 5 chapters covering the fundamentals of musical theory. Sound, time, pitch, structure, form and style. Unit II is a 4-chapter overview of early music, starting with the Middle Ages. Unit III covers the 18th century in 6 chapters, starting with Late Baroque. Unit IV focuses on the 19th century, starting with Beethoven and finishing with the Late Romantics in 5 chapters.
Unit V: The Twentieth Century, was my favourite section. The prelude chapter discusses the concepts of music and modernism. The next chapter covers the early 20th century, then there is a chapter on alternatives to modernism, and the fourth chapter covers the late 20the century. Chapter 24 focuses on music in America: Jazz.
The book is organised around listening samples. These are available on a set of a 6 accompanying CDs. I liked the samples chosen. The late 20th century chapter, for example, discussed works by Ligeti, Berio, Varese, Cage, Crumb, Leon, Gubaidulina and Reich.
An alternative to "Listen" is Music: An appreciation" by Roger Kamien. It seems to me to have a bit more on artistic context, whilst at the same time covering more topics at slightly more depth.
However, "Listen" is well organised (always a good sign), and richly illustrated. Historical events are touched upon, and there is some reference to other art forms in context with the music of the time. I would recommend it as an introductory text even if you don't need to read it for school. Of course a book like this can cover topics only to a limited depth.
Rating: 4
Summary: You Will Find It More and More Interesting
Comment: With the accompanied 6 CDs, Joseph Kerman has written one of the most interesting and comprehensive introductory music text. Not so much a memory-and-fact type of textbook, Kerman's uncanny ability to describe music experience has made this a success. Students do not need musicianship prerequisite to read this book. From ancient to modern, the book gives a broad overview of some of the masterpieces with insights and explanations. Excellent reading. (Note: The 6 CD set mentioned in this review is sold separately, and is not included in the price of the book. -Ed.)
Rating: 5
Summary: comprehensive history of Western music
Comment: This book makes learning about music interesting and fun. It begins talking about basic structures of music (rhythm, harmony, tonality, etc.) but mostly follows the history of recorded music starting from the Middle Ages through Baroque to Jazz. It does a good job relating the development of music to other artistic developments of the time, like painting and architecture. With the CD you can listen right along and learn a lot of interesting things about music a novice like me had never thought about before.
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Title: Music in Western Civilization by Paul Henry Lang ISBN: 0393040747 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 1997 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Listen Brief by Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson ISBN: 0312256361 Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $98.70 |
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Title: A History of Western Music, Sixth Edition by Donald J. Grout, Claude V. Palisca ISBN: 0393975274 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: December, 2000 List Price(USD): $69.60 |
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Title: What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland, Alan Rich, William Schuman ISBN: 0451528670 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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Title: Beethoven by Maynard Solomon ISBN: 0825672686 Publisher: Schirmer Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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