Dancing with the Muses:
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Reviews
"I heartily recommend "Dancing with the Muses: A Historical Approach to Basic Concepts of Music" to anybody with an interest in music. The book is designed to teach all the fundamental concepts in music while providing the rich historical context in which each of these concepts developed. It is lucid and accessible to even a high school audience, and does it all while being a slim 188 page book!"
--Shrikant Rangnekar, ShrikantRangnekar.wordpress.com
"The exemplary Chapter 3 on 'Scale' can be singled out for its clarity and structure.... The author... takes pains to explain and set up the three-stage chapter formation by which he will explicate the nature of the scale, including absorbing anthropological and historical data...
"With the framework of history or philosophy to bolster a topic, a chapter takes on added appeal, lending a layer of comprehension that bears out Johnson’s 'holistic view of cognition and emotion' in an approach that allows for the 'presentation of knowledge as much as possible in the form of stories.' In this regard we get, within Chapter 5 and 'Polyphony,' some fascinating sequence of events in which (in one side of two concerned schools of theoretical metaphysics) Plato’s philosophy of the Ideal finds transitional traction into the Gregorian chant, which developed into this many-voiced art of combining lines in a musical fabric. In the subsequent chapter, 'Tonality,' Renaissance art comes into the big picture....
"All taken into account, then, Dancing with the Muses is just about note-perfect as a concise teaching aid, a reference of essentials, and captivating chronicle that can turn a reader into a believer that the magic’s in the music — and its history, theory, and philosophy."
--Gordon Hauptfleisch, Blogcritics Books Editor
"a fascinating history of music which, alone, was worth the price for me. It is also a guide for the musician or music-lover who wants to understand key concepts like melody, rhythm, counterpoint and harmony. It really is superb.
"The writing style is engaging, with helpful metaphors and concrete examples throughout....the book has been a grand slam home run for me."
--Lance Moore (writing on HBL)
"a breath of fresh air... In essence, the book is an exposition of what music is, where it came from, how it works, and why we need it.... For the music lover, you are sure to discover a richness in music that you never knew existed.... although advanced musical concepts are covered, the general reader will gain tremendous value even if he or she skips the esoteric material"
--Lance Moore of doublelightmusic.com
“A friend gave me Dancing With The Muses for Christmas. I am enjoying it.... I like the discussion of the 'iterative' method of composition... The rationale for teaching Species Counterpoint first is compelling...
"A study of the 'Basic Concepts of Music' will be a great value for my class and for me. It will fill a lot of gaps and also give the students a good historical perspective of the actual development of music.”
--Glenn Martin, Music Faculty, Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
"I heartily recommend "Dancing with the Muses: A Historical Approach to Basic Concepts of Music" to anybody with an interest in music. The book is designed to teach all the fundamental concepts in music while providing the rich historical context in which each of these concepts developed. It is lucid and accessible to even a high school audience, and does it all while being a slim 188 page book!"
--Shrikant Rangnekar, ShrikantRangnekar.wordpress.com
"The exemplary Chapter 3 on 'Scale' can be singled out for its clarity and structure.... The author... takes pains to explain and set up the three-stage chapter formation by which he will explicate the nature of the scale, including absorbing anthropological and historical data...
"With the framework of history or philosophy to bolster a topic, a chapter takes on added appeal, lending a layer of comprehension that bears out Johnson’s 'holistic view of cognition and emotion' in an approach that allows for the 'presentation of knowledge as much as possible in the form of stories.' In this regard we get, within Chapter 5 and 'Polyphony,' some fascinating sequence of events in which (in one side of two concerned schools of theoretical metaphysics) Plato’s philosophy of the Ideal finds transitional traction into the Gregorian chant, which developed into this many-voiced art of combining lines in a musical fabric. In the subsequent chapter, 'Tonality,' Renaissance art comes into the big picture....
"All taken into account, then, Dancing with the Muses is just about note-perfect as a concise teaching aid, a reference of essentials, and captivating chronicle that can turn a reader into a believer that the magic’s in the music — and its history, theory, and philosophy."
--Gordon Hauptfleisch, Blogcritics Books Editor
"a fascinating history of music which, alone, was worth the price for me. It is also a guide for the musician or music-lover who wants to understand key concepts like melody, rhythm, counterpoint and harmony. It really is superb.
"The writing style is engaging, with helpful metaphors and concrete examples throughout....the book has been a grand slam home run for me."
--Lance Moore (writing on HBL)
"a breath of fresh air... In essence, the book is an exposition of what music is, where it came from, how it works, and why we need it.... For the music lover, you are sure to discover a richness in music that you never knew existed.... although advanced musical concepts are covered, the general reader will gain tremendous value even if he or she skips the esoteric material"
--Lance Moore of doublelightmusic.com
“A friend gave me Dancing With The Muses for Christmas. I am enjoying it.... I like the discussion of the 'iterative' method of composition... The rationale for teaching Species Counterpoint first is compelling...
"A study of the 'Basic Concepts of Music' will be a great value for my class and for me. It will fill a lot of gaps and also give the students a good historical perspective of the actual development of music.”
--Glenn Martin, Music Faculty, Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
Free Study Guide for Dancing with the Muses
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