Customer Reviews

A History of Western Music (Eighth Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

i'm just a neuropsychologist who is interested in music - very interested, but not a formal student or teacher. I've studied clarinet, piano, recorder in some detail... I got this for an overview and general grounding, and also in the hopes of being able to obtain a good deal of detail when i wanted it. for the most part it does both, but, as to the latter - depth/detail - some things are covered in great detail and others in what i would call a cursory manner, with a couple sentences. In some cases, i myself know there is much more easily available, just from my lifetime of perusing liner notes, watching PBS or listening to NPR, the occasional book, and other ways of learning about music. Of course, the editors/writers had to pick and choose, but i just think some areas are under-represented; the book is already big so there would be little downside to it being even half again bigger. Maybe i just hoped for more because i already knew what was in there. My background is admittedly uneven.

My major complaint, however, which probably should prompt even more "points" knocked off the rating, is that there are accompanying materials - the written/graphic "anthology" and the "recorded" anthology, both of which i would like to get, but they are expensive and it is VERY (!!!!) difficult to determine exactly which of each of these really goes with the 8th edition i got. Everything seems to have different editions, and there are the "lite" version (something like 6 cds) and the "complete" version (like 15 cds or something), i think of both. the reason to be sure is that in the margin there are (very helpful) indications where in the written/graphic and in the recorded anthology you can find the score (written/graphic) or music (recorded) materials that are being discussed. If you pick a certain instance of this, then try to go where you might order the written or recorded anthology - guess what! - you do not immediately find anything that looks right. Not to mention that i believe on the Norton site the current edition of the history itself is - or was last month - the 7th edition. I just don't see the reason for all this chaos and confusion. Once they get it figured out and clear, i will be buying, because it is good material, but this is almost like dealing with Microsoft! Why not say, 8th edition history goes with 5th edition "lite" cds, or something - in a chart?

If someone actually has found out what to buy, or somehow bought the right thing by chance, you are probably giving this 5 stars (because i'm sure it's great), and probably you think i am nuts. If so, how about tipping me off - what are the specifics (name and edition#) for the complete written and recorded anthologies that go with the book, 8th edition?

JHW

A previous (I think 6th Edition) was my music history text book at Illinois State University in 75-78. Grout seems to be THE recognized author for college music majors. Some of the reviewers seem to have missed the historic connection of the Church (read hear the Catholic Church) and most music prior to the 17th Century. Like today, there was popular song, very little of which was written down, and there was serious music (read mostly Church music here).

It's still an excellent music resource and I consult the book regularly. Get a copy.

My biggest complaint is that it is not mentioned anywhere that the 'anthology' editions lag behind the main text, so that it is very difficult to determine which goes with which, especially if you are ordering older editions. Also, it seems that the author might be Catholic? In the 'chant' section, the text seems to go into way more detail on the structure and purpose of Catholic ceremony than is necessary to discuss the music. The text also frequently contains sentences like 'Plainchant is musical prayer, heightened speech that unifies the faithful through melody and rhythm in the articulation of devout thoughts'. In my opinion, it detracted from the text and made a difficult section more so by superfluous information.

Other than that, its pretty good, though the writing style was confusing to me at times.

This is an excellent book... and everyone who has this book, whom I have discussed it with, agrees wholeheartedly!

Although I bought this book for my college class, I like it. It provides a lot of helpful information, and it thoroughly explains how music has progressed over time. It is a textbook, so it's not an easy read.

This book was supposed to be a brand new book, and upon opening it, I found that the inside cover is damaged, which I could not have seen until I opened it, but now I can't return it. A new book is also supposed to have a student code to enable internet access for addition study aids. Mine can not be a new book because it is missing this code. I am thoroughly disgusted with Amazon for misleading me. I am a student who was trying to save some money on textbooks. I will think twice before I ever buy ANYTHING FROM AMAZON AGAIN! I think that they should take it back since there is no way that I could have known these things without opening the package.