The Story of Music

This book accompanies the BBC2's major new TV series and The Story of Music in 50 Pieces on Radio 3. In his dynamic tour through 40,000 years of music, from prehistoric instruments to modern-day pop, Howard Goodall guides us through the story of music as it unfolded, idea by idea. Each musical innovation – harmony, notation, sung theatre, the orchestra, dance music, recording, broadcasting – strikes us with its original impact. He focuses on what changed, when, and why, highlighting the discoveries that revolutionised man-made sound and bringing to life musical visionaries from the lesser-known Pérotin to the colossus of Wagner. Along the way, he also provides refreshingly clear descriptions of what music is and how it functions: what scales are about, why some chords sound discordant, and what all post-war pop songs share in common.