Customer Reviews

Listen

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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. <i>(Note: The 6 CD set mentioned in this review is sold separately, and is not included in the price of the book. -Ed.)</i>

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.

This is the best general survey of music available. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to have a grasp of the periods and styles of Western music, even if they have little or no background in music. It also contains a sampling of world music. When used with the 6 CD supplement it will make anyone feel more "at home" with the history of music and open many windows for exploration.

We used this book in my IB Music class in high school, and I highly recommend it. The CDs are helpful, but you will find that even without them, it is a great asset. Most of the recordings are very standard, so you could easily find them online if you didn't want to buy the CDs and wanted to hear the "listening examples." It is very clear and includes good timelines which makes it easy to study.

I am a music major in college and own this book just because it is so user friendly.

I am an instructor of music history in a university adult education program, and I can't say how helpful the "Listen" curriculum has been in my lesson planning. The breadth and richness of this text, in addition to the multi-media possibilities, has saved me on many a day when I was desperate for last-minute teaching material.

This text is so beautifully and comprehensively presented, and the many accompanying resources are a life-saver for the busy professor. Thank you, Joseph Kerman and Gary Tomlinson!

Sarah Bruce Kelly
Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA

Didn't get the extra cds the first time so they sent a BRAND NEW book with, of course, the cds.

This is a great review textbook for musicians; wonderful as a teaching tool as well. Great resources online are offered. I actually used this to review my music history (as a Doctoral student).

Book was in almost perfect condition! (minor dent/bend on front cover that's barely noticable. Would have happened eventually to a paperback anyway.) Other than that it looks as brand new as it says it is! It arrived earlier rather than later and was a great deal! ($23.99 rather than $144 listed by my college.) I'm very happy with the buy! :)

Listen, is a college book. I've been using it to take music appreciation. This book has good examples and a cd. The terms will have to be memorized to understand the book. The explantions of those terms can be a bit dry but if you're willing to sit down and understand, then you will find this book a good learning material.