Music: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, InspiringThe world teems with different kinds of music - traditional, folk, classical, jazz, rock, pop - and each type of music tends to come with its own way of thinking. Drawing on a wealth of accessible examples ranging from Beethoven to Chinese zither music, this Very Short Introduction considers the history of music and thinking about music, focussing on its social and cultural dimensions. Nicholas Cook balances the Western Classical traditions within the context of many other musicalcultures in today''s world, tracing the way in which their development since the eighteenth century has conditioned present-day thinking and practice both within and beyond the West. He also considers the nature of music as a real-time performance practice; the role of music in contexts of social and politicalaction; and the nature of musical thinking, including the roles played in it by instruments, notations, and creative imagination. In this new edition C