Written by a distinguished musicologist, this comprehensive history of musical instruments traces their evolution from prehistoric times in a fusion of music, anthropology, and fine arts. Includes 24 plates and 167 illustrations.

Scholars have long known that world music was not merely the globalized product of modern media, but rather that it connected religions, cultures, languages and nations throughout world history. The chapters in this History take readers to foundational historical moments – in Europe, Oceania, China, India, the Muslim world, North and South America – in search of the connections provided by a truly world music. Historically, world music emerged from ritual and religion, labor and life-cycles, which occupy chapters on Native American musicians, religious practices in India and Indonesia, and nationalism in Argentina and Portugal. The contributors critically examine music in cultural encounter and conflict, and as the critical core of scientific theories from the Arabic Middle Ages through the Enlightenment to postmodernism. Overall, the book contains the histories of the music of diverse cultures, which increasingly become the folk, popular and classical music of our own era.

The Cambridge History of Western Music Theory is the first comprehensive history of Western music theory to be published in the English language. A collaborative project by leading music theorists and historians, the volume traces the rich panorama of music-theoretical thought from the Ancient Greeks to the present day. Recognizing the variety and complexity of music theory as an historical subject, the volume has been organized within a flexible framework. Some chapters are defined chronologically within a restricted historical domain, whilst others are defined conceptually and span longer historical periods. Together the thirty-one chapters present a synthetic overview of the fascinating and complex subject that is historical music theory. Richly enhanced with illustrations, graphics, examples and cross-citations as well as being thoroughly indexed and supplemented by comprehensive bibliographies of the most important primary and secondary literature, this book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.

Reproduction of the original: A Complete History of Music by W.J Baltzell

New York Times bestselling Music Is History combines Questlove’s deep musical expertise with his curiosity about history, examining America over the past fifty years—now in paperback Focusing on the years 1971 to the present, Questlove finds the hidden connections in the American tapes, whether investigating how the blaxploitation era reshaped Black identity or considering the way disco took an assembly-line approach to Black genius. And these critical inquiries are complemented by his own memories as a music fan and the way his appetite for pop culture taught him about America. A history of the last half-century and an intimate conversation with one of music’s most influential and original voices, Music Is History is a singular look at contemporary America.

A global history of music for children, celebrating how and why we make music. Embark on a musical journey around the world to meet the diverse cast of composers, musicians, and performers who are famous for making the music we love. From Johann Sebastian Bach to Billie Eilish, Hildegard of Bingen to DJ Kool Herc, Wolfgang Mozart to Miriam Makeba, musicians come from many different times and places and introduce music from a wide variety of genres. Why do we make music? How does music affect our brains and emotions? These are just some of the fascinating questions addressed in A History of Music for Children, which looks at music’s transnational and boundary-breaking qualities. All over the world and throughout time, music has been recorded and passed down through different oral traditions and forms of notation. It has always been a powerful catalyst for change and connecting people. And what might the future of music hold? Exploring the technology used to listen to and create music, the authors imagine new possibilities such as computer-generated compositions and robot musicians. Woven into this absorbing narrative is a stellar cast of musicians, including Mozart and his sister Maria Anna, Clara Schumann, Maria Callas, Bob Dylan, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, David Bowie, Nina Simone, Charlie Parker, Kraftwerk, John Cage, Beyonce´, and Mali griot Toumani Diabaté, among others. This book even includes a playlist of songs that you can listen to as you read.