This book focuses on music of the Western tradition in a global context. Historical and cultural background are clearly explained, but the emphasis is on "active listening." A number of completely fresh pieces are integrated among the universally acknowledged masterpieces, and are all presented in fine performances, accompanied by illuminating and accessible Listening Guides.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
This book focuses on music of the Western tradition in a global context. Historical and cultural background are clearly explained, but the emphasis is on "active listening." A number of completely fresh pieces are integrated among the universally acknowledged masterpieces, and all are presented in fine performances, accompanied by illuminating and accessible Listening Guides.
From the Back Cover
Key Benefit: This book discusses music in an appealing way that lends itself to personal analysis and insights. Key Topics: This book focuses on the music of the Western tradition in a global context. It takes into account history, music as a reflection of society, and women in music. A number of completely fresh pieces are integrated among the universally acknowledged masterpieces, and all are presented in fine performances, accompanied by illuminating and accessible Listening Guides. Examines the often overlooked aspect of patronage and audiences.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not good for Music Appreciation text,
By Dr. Bizzy Bee "Dr. Bizzy Bee" (KS USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Understanding Music (4th Edition) (Paperback)
I've used this book for three years and am eager to trade it for something else. Why? 1) Musical examples are chosen seemingly because Yudkin got tired of the tried-and-true favorites (Bach Brandenburg Concerti are not on the student CD set, but the St. Matthew Passion is. As a result, the students may get to hear Bach Brandenburg Concerti in class but can't listen on their own). Same is true for Verdi: Otello is included, but not Rigoletto or La Traviata? 2) This text is written for the average music major (not stellar, just average), rather than a music appreciation student. He assumes much greater knowledge of instruments, timbre, texture, and familiarity with general musical terms than any introductory student will have. 3) An exasperating dilemma: many works on the instructor CD set are not on the student set, despite those being the better selections. Why not put the obscure works on the instructor CDs, and let students have access to really great works? For example, when he selected a recording of a madrigal, he picked one that has two females singing a verse, then two males singing a verse...nothing at all like 95% of all madrigals students would ever be likely to hear. The reason? He knows the performers on the CD! Students never get to hear real text painting as every "real" madrigal illustrates. It's hard to build on that when asking students to understand the concept of text painting.Anyway, I'm not Yudkin-bashing, but there are definitely problems with this text that need to be addressed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poor Glossary/Index, Very vague,
By
This review is from: Understanding Music (4th Edition) (Paperback)
This book is abysmal. I have used it this semester for an "Art of Listening to Music" course. The glossary is a whole 4 1/2 pages for a 500 page book; it includes maybe half of the vocab in the book. The index is even worse. It may have the term you are looking for, but the chances are it will not refer you to the context you want it in. I also found this book to be very vague over all. This could be for one of two reasons. First it's an introductory book, secondly I'm a math major and I demand very thorough proofs. However, neither of these reasons are an excuse for not defining a word that is only used in the musical world (Scherzo for example. The book uses it throughout, yet never says anything more then it means "to joke" in Italian. Yeah, thanks, very helpful) and continually using that word throughout the text. Horrible book, avoid at all costs, and if you have a class that uses it don't take it!
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Understanding Music minus CD's!,
This review is from: Understanding Music (Reprint) (5th Edition) (Paperback)
This book does not come with the CD's that most college students will need. I returned the book because it did not have the disks with it and was able to find a book locally thru my college book store that came with the 3CD student disk set for less money than I paid for it with out the disks thru Amazon.com
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