Listening to Music [With CD (Audio)]

Title clearly says with CD, and the product description did not state that there may not be a CD.

I SAVED AROUND SIXTY DOLLARS BUYING IT ONLINE, AND BRAND NEW. AT THE BOOKSTORE THE WERE USED AND A LOT MORE EXPENSIVE.

When I signed up to take Music Appreciation I was a bit nervous. Though I have grown up around music and musicians, I have never enjoyed "music class." I was pleasantly surprised by the conversational and topical way this book was written. It is interesting and informative regardless of your level of music understanding or proficiency. I thoroughly enjoyed both the listening exercises and the composer biographies.

Wright's book is a great introduction to the Western tradition, and a fair introduction to the world's music as a whole. I know that there are cheaper alternatives out there, especially "The Vintage Guide to Classical Music," which I also recommend. But in this case, the CDs are worth the extra money. They correspond with the listening exercises in the book, and before long you really can tell an oboe from a french horn, a cello from a, well, a tuba, and so on. You learn to recognize and pay attention to meter, key, etc.... You really get on your way to understanding classical music, from which genuine appreciation can grow. He also gives a fairly solid introducion to music as a whole, not only the classical Western "art music" tradition, but jazz, blues, rock, world music, and so on. I can say that, to my knowledge, no other book out there does that. I don't think any introduction is needed before this book; it can be the first you ever read on music even if you have no background whatsoever. The book to follow up this is, IMO, Fred Plotkin's "Classical Music 101" and Copland's classic, "What to Listen For in Music." I learned a lot from this book and his course, which I failed when I was in college--evidently, attendance was mandatory after all! And I thought the teaching assistant having a crush on me would help.... Shame on me!

I took Craig Wright's class at Yale, from which he wrote the text. The listening exercises are great--not too difficult, more just to guide listening--and it really can help guide a musical novice to proficiency.

Craig Wright not only provides us with a nicely packaged history of music, composers, and culture, but also gives us a peak into the personal lives within the societies of these periods. Each chapter contains excellent listening exercises to be used with works on the included CD and there are excellent illustrations and photographs that "bring you back" to each age of music. I recommend it as a general reference source for accomplished musicians, and as a nice guide for all classical music fans.