Customer Reviews

Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction (4th Edition)

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

 

 

This book is part of the Prentice Hall History of Music Series, which covers Western music from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, and also has a couple of non-Western music books.

At first glance I thought this book had the potential to be pretty specialized, but I forgot about the explosion of music in the U.S. during the 20th century. When you include "Classical" music, Jazz, Broadway, and Rock, you can imagine how diluted this book actually is.

Because of so little focus, I thought the strongest part of the book was the opening sections on music in the Colonial and Federal eras, including such composers as William Billings. Once the book approaches the 20th century, however, it really becomes too broad.

I really liked the bibliographical notes at the end of each chapter. Because Hitchcock is unable to say much of anything on each subject, the main value of this book is using as a launching point for further study. Hitchcock's bibliographical resources on where to find more information are valuable.

This book works well for the above purpose, but this book would not work well as a textbook at all, as some other books in this series have been used. Although it's not particularly engrossing, it can be used to complement your musical interests in music from the U.S.

Fantastic condition and I don't believe it has ever been read. The library cover makes it more durable, which is great with graduate school.