How Music Works
by David Byrne
Buy on AmazonHow Music Works is a non-fiction book by David Byrne, an American musician, composer, and writer best known for his work with the group Talking Heads. He discusses the form and influence of music in a non-linear narrative fashion, using a variety of experiences from his career to create something part autobiography and part music theory. The book was published through McSweeney's on September 12, 2012, and was named as one of Amazon.com's "Best Books of the Month" in that same month. It has received mainly positive reviews.
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"Or, as Byrne puts it, “how music might be molded before it gets to us, what determines if it gets to us at all, and what factors external to the music itself can make it resonate for us."
Best Music Books of 2012 · themarginalian.org
"I learned how profoundly music is shaped by the spaces it's performed in. As a musician, this was a thrilling revelation."
By the Book: Ed Helms Snafu · nytimes.com