What is the main message of How Music Works?

The main message of How Music Works is exploring the art and science behind music creation and consumption.

Who is the author of How Music Works?

The author of How Music Works is David Byrne.

Science

How Music Works Book Summary - How Music Works Book explained in key points

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How Music Works summary

Name: How Music Works
Rating: 4.5 (124 reviews)
Author: David Byrne

David Byrne

How circumstance and creativity collide in tune

4.5 (124 ratings)

20 mins

Brief summary

How Music Works by David Byrne explores the creative process and cultural significance of music, from the evolution of instruments to the business side of the industry.

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Culture

Table of Contents

How Music Works
Summary of 10 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 10

What’s in it for me? Learn how music works from a true master.

Many rock stars have written books about their careers, but never before has a rock star said that he would explain How Music Works.

Yet these blinks do just that. From writing songs to producing records, from the age of Neanderthals to the latest hits, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes peek at the world of music.

You’ll discover why the sounds of traffic influence how birds sing and how the music we create is similarly influenced by our surroundings.

You’ll also find out why some clubs become vibrant music scenes while others remain in obscurity.

Finally, you’ll read about the societal power of music, including how it can even help lower crime rates and lift young people out of devastating poverty.

It’s our surroundings, not just our emotions and skills, that determine the kind of music we make.

Think about a piece of music that affects you. Do you believe that it came from a “place within” the artist?

If the answer is “yes,” you’re not alone: most people believe that music emerges out of some interior emotion. Consider how easy it is to conjure up an image of a composer suddenly arrested by inspiration, and furiously scribbling down an already fully formed composition.

We also usually assume that musical compositions depend solely on their creators’ abilities. For instance, most people think that Western medieval music is harmonically “simple” because composers hadn’t yet developed the ability to use more complex harmonies.

But these assumptions are wrong. It actually works the other way around: we create music that fits the context available to us.

For example, long notes and slowly progressing melodies work beautifully in stone-walled Gothic cathedrals, since sounds will resonate for a long time in this setting. Medieval music that was played in these cathedrals had to be harmonically “simple” because shifting musical keys would result in dissonance, as notes overlapped and clashed.

Furthermore, with the introduction of new technologies came new ways of singing. The arrival of the microphone, for example, meant that singers no longer needed great lungs to project their voice. This led people like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby to change their vocal dynamics radically; they thereby became pioneers in the practice of singing “to the microphone.”

But this phenomenon of adapting music to its surrounding context is not limited to humans. Research shows that the songs of different animals have evolved to fit their environment. In San Francisco, for example, birds have gradually raised the pitch of their singing so they could be heard above the increased traffic noise. And, in the last few decades, whales have adapted their calls to be heard over the increased shipping noise.

The advent of recording technology has changed how we create and listen to music.

In 1878, the first music recording was made, freeing music from its live, real-time context. This has had a massive impact on both how music is made and experienced.

As recording became a ubiquitous practice, it changed how we played instruments and sang. For example, bands had to play at a more precise tempo as unsteady tempos sounded sloppier without the “distraction” of a performance’s visual element. The result was that players had to learn to play to an internal metronome.

The composition and sonic quality of music has changed with the advent of digital technology.

The invention of digital technology was an unforeseen consequence of phone-related research by Bell Labs. In 1962, the researchers figured out how to digitize sound by dividing sound waves into “slices” that could be translated into ones and zeros. This has greatly affected music’s sonic quality and its composition.

When a digital sound recording is made, the audio gets divided into a finite number of slices. We perceive these slices as a continuous audio spectrum even though the sound is made of distinct steps.

Whether a band is recorded individually or together greatly affects the resulting music.

Recording music isn’t just about capturing the sound of a band or musician. It’s an art in itself, one that affects music immensely. And, as with most other art forms, you can combine different ways of recording, each with its pros and cons.

First, there’s the divide-and-isolate approach to recording, where the producer and recording engineer bear a huge responsibility for how the record ultimately sounds. In the late 1970s, this was the prevalent way of recording music: isolating each instrument to get as clean a sound as possible.

Collaborating is an important part of music’s essence and can be an aid to creativity.

Collaborating has always played an important role in music creation. Just think of the many renowned and respected songwriting duos like Lennon and McCartney or Jagger and Richards.

Popular as ever, nowadays collaboration doesn’t even require the collaborators to be in the same country. Instead, collaboration can be based on transferring digital music files back and forth between the musicians.

Declining record sales have made the music business more flexible.

Record sales have suffered a steep decline since 1999 due to the changing landscape of music distribution.With the rise of digital distribution, record sales have decreased drastically and today only very few artists are able to live off of their record sales alone.

Consider the fact that, of all albums released in 2009, only 2.1 percent sold over 5,000 copies. And in 2006, only 35 of the albums released sold more than one million copies within the calendar year. By 2010, the number was down to ten.

The venue matters; if it’s suitable, a vibrant music scene can emerge around it.

When it comes to enjoying live music, one major part of the experience is the venue. Sometimes a vibrant music scene can even start evolving around a specific venue. Take, for instance, New York’s CBGB, which went from being a biker bar to the backdrop of an emergent musical scene in 1974.

Actually, through a few converging factors, a vibrant music scene can emerge from any venue.

Encouraging amateurs to make music can have widespread social and cultural benefits.

For a very long time, arts teaching and funding wasn’t aimed at fostering creativity among the general population, otherwise known as “the amateurs.”

With the advent of sound recording, music education shifted its focus from teaching students how to create music to how they should understand music, with a special emphasis on certain “superior” kinds of music.

Far from being mere entertainment, music is a part of what makes us human and it impacts our well-being.

Music, it seems, has always been an essential part of human life.

Some theories claim that music originated with the non-verbal sounds mothers make to their children, while others connect music to sounds in nature or animal noises. But, although theories about music’s origins vary, all agree that it emerged the same time people did.

Final Summary

The key message in this book:

Music is deeply dependent on its context, be it the specific venue where it’s played, the way it’s been recorded, or the digital technology used to create it. But what always remains the same is music’s importance to us as human beings: it can bring us together and be a self-empowering tool. And, with modern technology and a music business that’s more flexible than ever, there are countless ways to get music out into the world.

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What is How Music Works about?

How Music Works sets out to explain the workings of music from ancient history up to now. Writing from an insider’s perspective, David Byrne delves into different aspects of popular music, based on current research, music history, technical knowledge and his life-long career in the new wave band Talking Heads.

How Music Works Review

How Music Works (2012) explores the captivating world of music, delving into its origin, composition, and impact on our lives. Here's why this book is definitely worth reading:

Byrne's insightful analysis of music's inner workings illuminates the magic behind this universal language, and how it intertwines with our emotions and societies.
The book offers a multidimensional perspective on music, covering everything from its cultural and historical context to the technical aspects of sound production.
The author's adventurous spirit takes us on a journey through different genres and eras, revealing surprising connections and perspectives that make music a truly enriching experience.

Who should read How Music Works?

Anyone who wants to understand the inner workings of the music business
Anyone interested in music’s relationship to its surroundings
Anyone who wants to find out why music is so important to humans

About the Author

David Byrne is a Scottish-born artist, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and cofounder of Talking Heads. He’s received many awards, including an Oscar and a Golden Globe, and is the author of Bicycle Diaries and The New Sins.

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