Musimathics, Volume 1: The Mathematical Foundations of Music

Book Description

"Mathematics can be as effortless as humming a tune, if you know the tune," writes Gareth Loy. In Musimathics, Loy teaches us the tune, providing a friendly and spirited tour of the mathematics of music--a commonsense, self-contained introduction for the nonspecialist reader. It is designed for musicians who find their art increasingly mediated by technology, and for anyone who is interested in the intersection of art and science.

In this volume, Loy presents the materials of music (notes, intervals, and scales); the physical properties of music (frequency, amplitude, duration, and timbre); the perception of music and sound (how we hear); and music composition. Musimathics is carefully structured so that new topics depend strictly on topics already presented, carrying the reader progressively from basic subjects to more advanced ones. Cross-references point to related topics and an extensive glossary defines commonly used terms. The book explains the mathematics and physics of music for the reader whose mathematics may not have gone beyond the early undergraduate level. Calling himself "a composer seduced into mathematics," Loy provides answers to foundational questions about the mathematics of music accessibly yet rigorously. The topics are all subjects that contemporary composers, musicians, and musical engineers have found to be important. The examples given are all practical problems in music and audio. The level of scholarship and the pedagogical approach also make Musimathics ideal for classroom use. Additional material can be found at a companion web site.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book combines music, math, and programming.......2007-01-11

After about a ten year hiatus on books of this type being published, this is one of several new books combining mathematics, music, and programming aimed at musicians who want to know more about the math behind their musical compositions and are not content to just know what drop-down windows to click on using the latest musical software. The book starts with the basics of music and sound and works up to basic music theory, physics and sound, and acoustics and psychoacoustics. The final chapter of the book is the most interesting, since it concerns mathematics and composition techniques using the author's C++ based library "Musimat". Both this book and Musimat have companion websites, although the Musimat site is the most interesting with plenty of downloads in case you are interested in how to use this compositional library. There is a volume two scheduled for release in Spring 2007 that gets into signal processing, the role of digital signals, and the wave equation, so together they are a very complete treatise on math, music, and programming aimed at the musical composer. I highly recommend it. Of course, if you want to dig deep into individual subjects such as acoustics and psychoacoustics, you are going to need additional references. But this text is clear enough to get you started. The following is the table of contents:

1 Music and Sound 1
1.1 Basic Properties of Sound 1
1.2 Waves 3
1.3 Summary 9

2 Representing Music 11
2.1 Notation 11
2.2 Tones, Notes, and Scores 12
2.3 Pitch 13
2.4 Scales 16
2.5 Interval Sonorities 18
2.6 Onset and Duration 26
2.7 Musical Loudness 27
2.8 Timbre 28
2.9 Summary 37

3 Musical Scales, Tuning, and Intonation 39
3.1 Equal-Tempered Intervals 39
3.2 Equal-Tempered Scale 40
3.3 Just Intervals and Scales 43
3.4 The Cent Scale 45
3.5 A Taxonomy of Scales 46
3.6 Do Scales Come from Timbre or Proportion? 47
3.7 Harmonic Proportion 48
3.8 Pythagorean Diatonic Scale 49
3.9 The Problem of Transposing Just Scales 51
3.10 Consonance of Intervals 56
3.11 The Powers of the Fifth and the Octave Do Not Form a Closed System 66
3.12 Designing Useful Scales Requires Compromise 67
3.13 Tempered Tuning Systems 68
3.14 Microtonality 72
3.15 Rule of 18 82
3.16 Deconstructing Tonal Harmony 85
3.17 Deconstructing the Octave 86
3.18 The Prospects for Alternative Tunings 93
3.19 Summary 93
3.20 Suggested Reading 95

4 Physical Basis of Sound 97
4.1 Distance 97
4.2 Dimension 97
4.3 Time 98
4.4 Mass 99
4.5 Density 100
4.6 Displacement 100
4.7 Speed 101
4.8 Velocity 102
4.9 Instantaneous Velocity 102
4.10 Acceleration 104
4.11 Relating Displacement,Velocity, Acceleration, and Time 106
4.12 Newton's Laws of Motion 108
4.13 Types of Force 109
4.14 Work and Energy 110
4.15 Internal and External Forces 112
4.16 The Work-Energy Theorem 112
4.17 Conservative and Nonconservative Forces 113
4.18 Power 114
4.19 Power of Vibrating Systems 114
4.20 Wave Propagation 116
4.21 Amplitude and Pressure 117
4.22 Intensity 118
4.23 Inverse Square Law 118
4.24 Measuring Sound Intensity 119
4.25 Summary 125

5 Geometrical Basis of Sound 129
5.1 Circular Motion and Simple Harmonic Motion 129
5.2 Rotational Motion 129
5.3 Projection of Circular Motion 136
5.4 Constructing a Sinusoid 139
5.5 Energy of Waveforms 143
5.6 Summary 147

6 Psychophysical Basis of Sound 149
6.1 Signaling Systems 149
6.2 The Ear 150
6.3 Psychoacoustics and Psychophysics 154
6.4 Pitch 156
6.5 Loudness 166
6.6 Frequency Domain Masking 171
6.7 Beats 173
6.8 Combination Tones 175
6.9 Critical Bands 176
6.10 Duration 182
6.11 Consonance and Dissonance 184
6.12 Localization 187
6.13 Externalization 191
6.14 Timbre 195
6.15 Summary 198
6.16 Suggested Reading 198

7 Introduction to Acoustics 199
7.1 Sound and Signal 199
7.2 A Simple Transmission Model 199
7.3 How Vibrations Travel in Air 200
7.4 Speed of Sound 202
7.5 Pressure Waves 207
7.6 Sound Radiation Models 208
7.7 Superposition and Interference 210
7.8 Reflection 210
7.9 Refraction 218
7.10 Absorption 221
7.11 Diffraction 222
7.12 Doppler Effect 228
7.13 Room Acoustics 233
7.14 Summary 238
7.15 Suggested Reading 238

8 Vibrating Systems 239
8.1 Simple Harmonic Motion Revisited 239
8.2 Frequency of Vibrating Systems 241
8.3 Some Simple Vibrating Systems 243
8.4 The Harmonic Oscillator 247
8.5 Modes of Vibration 249
8.6 A Taxonomy of Vibrating Systems 251
8.7 One-Dimensional Vibrating Systems 252
8.8 Two-Dimensional Vibrating Elements 266
8.9 Resonance (Continued) 270
8.10 Transiently Driven Vibrating Systems 278
8.11 Summary 282
8.12 Suggested Reading 283

9 Composition and Methodology 285
9.1 Guido's Method 285
9.2 Methodology and Composition 288
9.3 Musimat: A Simple Programming Language for Music 290
9.4 Program for Guido's Method 291
9.5 Other Music Representation Systems 292
9.6 Delegating Choice 293
9.7 Randomness 299
9.8 Chaos and Determinism 304
9.9 Combinatorics 306
9.10 Atonality 311
9.11 Composing Functions 317
9.12 Traversing and Manipulating Musical Materials 319
9.13 Stochastic Techniques 332
9.14 Probability 333
9.15 Information Theory and the Mathematics of Expectation 343
9.16 Music, Information, and Expectation 347
9.17 Form in Unpredictability 350
9.18 Monte Carlo Methods 360
9.19 Markov Chains 363
9.20 Causality and Composition 371
9.21 Learning 372
9.22 Music and Connectionism 376
9.23 Representing Musical Knowledge 390
9.24 Next-Generation Musikalische Würfelspiel 400
9.25 Calculating Beauty 406

Appendix A 409
A.1 Exponents 409
A.2 Logarithms 409
A.3 Series and Summations 410
A.4 About Trigonometry 411
A.5 Xeno's Paradox 414
A.6 Modulo Arithmetic and Congruence 414
A.7 Whence 0.161 in Sabine's Equation? 416
A.8 Excerpts from Pope John XXII's Bull Regarding Church Music 418
A.9 Greek Alphabet 419

Appendix B 421
B.1 Musimat 421
B.2 Music Datatypes in Musimat 439
B.3 Unicode (ASCII) Character Codes 450
B.4 Operator Associativity and Precedence in Musimat 450

Musimathics, Volume 2: The Mathematical Foundations of Music

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A good book on musical signal processing concepts

Musimathics, Volume 2: The Mathematical Foundations of Music
Gareth Loy
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0262122855

Book Description

"Mathematics can be as effortless as humming a tune, if you know the tune," writes Gareth Loy. In Musimathics, Loy teaches us the tune, providing a friendly and spirited tour of the mathematics of music--a commonsense, self-contained introduction for the nonspecialist reader.

Volume 2 of Musimathics continues the story of music engineering begun in volume 1, focusing on the digital and computational domain. Loy goes deeper into the mathematics of music and sound, beginning with digital audio, sampling, and binary numbers, as well as complex numbers and how they simplify representation of musical signals. Chapters cover the Fourier transform, convolution, filtering, resonance, the wave equation, acoustical systems, sound synthesis, the short-time Fourier transform, and the wavelet transform. These subjects provide the theoretical underpinnings of today's music technology. The material in volume 1 is all preparatory to the subjects presented in this volume, although either volume can be read independently. Cross-references to volume 1 are provided for concepts introduced in the earlier volume, and additional mathematical orientation is offered where necessary. The topics are all subjects that contemporary composers, musicians, and music engineers have found to be important. The examples given are all practical problems in music and audio. The level of scholarship and the pedagogical approach also make Musimathics ideal for classroom use. Additional material can be found at a companion web site.

Customer Reviews:

A good book on musical signal processing concepts.......2007-06-13

If you are to really understand what is going on in this book you need volume one where the foundations are discussed. Likewise, volume one of Musimathics will often stop short of a truly complete explanation and say that further study will be picked up in volume two. Thus, these two volumes are actually just the halves of one book. However, if you are interested in musical signal processing, you probably need to read volume two. It covers much ground in depth, and gives numerous examples that are very practical and accessible for people who are working with musical and audio signals. The appendix has some useful tutorials and tables involving mathematics if you happen to be rusty. The following is the table of contents:

1 Digital Signals and Sampling 1
1.1 Measuring the Ephemeral 1
1.2 Analog-to-Digital Conversion 9
1.3 Aliasing 11
1.4 Digital-to-Analog Conversion 20
1.5 Binary Numbers 22
1.6 Synchronization 28
1.7 Discretization 28
1.8 Precision and Accuracy 29
1.9 Quantization 29
1.10 Noise and Distortion 33
1.11 Information Density of Digital Audio 38
1.12 Codecs 40
1.13 Further Refinements 42
1.14 Cultural Impact of Digital Audio 46

2 Musical Signals 49
2.1 Why Imaginary Numbers? 49
2.2 Operating with Imaginary Numbers 51
2.3 Complex Numbers 52
2.4 de Moivre's Theorem 62
2.5 Euler's Formula 64
2.6 Phasors 68

2.7 Graphing Comlpex Signals 86
2.8 Spectra of Complex Sampled Signals 87
2.9 Multiplying Phasors 89
2.10 Graphing Complex Spectra 92
2.11 Analytic Signals 95

3 Spectral Analysis and Synthesis 103
3.1 Introduction to the Fourier Transform 103
3.2 Discrete Fourier Transform 103
3.3 Discrete Fourier Transform in Action 125
3.4 Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform 134
3.5 Analyzing Real-World Signals 138
3.6 Windowing 141
3.7 Fast Fourier Transform 145
3.8 Properties of the Discrete Fourier Transform 147
3.9 A Practical Hilbert Transform 154

4 Convolution 159
4.1 Rolling Shutter Camera 159
4.2 Defining Convolution 161
4.3 Numerical Examples of Convolution 163
4.4 Convolving Spectra 168
4.5 Convolving Sigals 172
4.6 Convolution and the Fourier Transform 180
4.7 Domain Symmetry between Signals and Spectra 180
4.8 Convolution and Sampling Theory 187
4.9 Convolution and Windowing 187
4.10 Correlation Functions 191

5 Filtering 195
5.1 Tape Recorder as a Model of Filtering 195
5.2 Introduction to Filtering 199
5.3 A Sample Filter 201
5.4 Finding the Frequency Response 203
5.5 Linearity and Time Invariance of Filters 217
5.6 FIR Filters 218
5.7 IIR Filters 218
5.8 Canonical Filter 219
5.9 Time Domain Behavior of Filters 219
5.10 Filtering as Convolution 222
5.11 Z Transform 224
5.12 Z Transform of the General Difference Equation 232
5.13 Filter Families 244

6 Resonance 263
6.1 The Derivative 263
6.2 Differential Equations 276
6.3 Mathematics of Resonance 280

7 The Wave Equation 299
7.1 One-Dimensional Wave Equation and String Motion 299
7.2 An Example 307
7.3 Modeling Vibration with Finite Difference Equations 310
7.4 Striking Points, Plucking Points, and Spectra 319

8 Acoustical Systems 325
8.1 Dissipation and Radiation 325
8.2 Acoustical Current 326
8.3 Linearity of Frictional Force 329
8.4 Inertance, Inductive Reactance 332
8.5 Compliance, Capacitive Reactance 333
8.6 Reactance and Alternating Current 334
8.7 Capacitive Reactance and Frequency 335
8.8 Inductive Reactance and Frequency 336
8.9 Combining Resistance, Reactance, and Alternating Current 336
8.10 Resistance and Alternating Current 337
8.11 Capacitance and Alternating Current 337
8.12 Acoustical Impedance 339
8.13 Sound Propagation and Sound Transmission 344
8.14 Input Impedance: Fingerprinting a Resonant System 351
8.15 Scattering Junctions 357

9 Sound Synthesis 363
9.1 Forms of Synthesis 363
9.2 A Graphical Patch Language for Synthesis 365
9.3 Amplitude Modulation 384
9.4 Frequency Modulation 389
9.5 Vocal Synthesis 409
9.6 Synthesizing Concert Hall Acoustics 425
9.7 Physical Modeling 433
9.8 Source Models and Receiver Models 449

10 Dynamic Spectra 453
10.1 Gabor's Elementary Signal 454
10.2 The Short-Time Fourier Transform 459
10.3 Phase Vocoder 486
10.4 Improving on the Fourier Transform 496
10.5 Psychoacoustic Audio Encoding 502

A.1 About Algebra 513
A.2 About Trigonometry 514
A.3 Series and Summations 517
A.4 Trigonometric Identities 518
A.5 Modulo Arithmetic and Congruence 522
A.6 Finite Difference Approximations 523
A.7 Walsh-Hadamard Transform 525
A.8 Sampling, Reconstruction, and Sinc Function 526
A.9 Fourier Shift Theorem 528
A.10 Spectral Effects of Ring Modulation 529
A.11 Derivation of the Reflection Coefficient 530

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Foundations of Music History
Carl Dahlhaus
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521298903

Book Description

This book is the first thoroughgoing study in any language of the philosophy of music history. Drawing on competing philosophies of history throughout the ages, from the Enlightenment to the French structuralists, from the German idealist tradition to Russian formalism, the late Carl Dahlhaus applies the thoughts of these various schools to the specialist requirements of music history and assesses their advantages and shortcomings. Special attention is given to an appraisal of whether Marxist critiques are still viable and where they stand in need of rethinking. For this English edition, the author provided an extensive annotated bibliography.

The Devil's Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation Press)

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Give Charles Wolfe a Dram
Good research and writing by one of the best in this field.

The Devil's Box: Masters of Southern Fiddling (Vanderbilt/Country Music Foundation Press)
Charles K. Wolfe
Manufacturer: Vanderbilt University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0826513247

Customer Reviews:

Give Charles Wolfe a Dram.......2004-05-19

Charles Wolfe's book will appeal to fiddlers, fans of old-time and country music, and music historians. Mark O'Connor's introduction provides an interesting contemporary perspective on the old-time music, and each chapter is a historical sketch of an important fiddler. When read as a whole, the book provides a good social history of fiddling and fiddlers from the South. I especially like the articles on the obscure but really important musicians, but the articles on fiddlers like Eck Robertson and Bob Wills are also great reading. The book is written in an enjoyable style, and Wolfe's knowledge of fiddling and music history is incredible.

Good research and writing by one of the best in this field........1997-06-24

Well-written, well-researched accounts of fiddlers whose time has passed but whose reputations as masters of the instrument grow with time. A bonus is Wolfe's research on many early recordings of these musicians and how they came to be. Highly recommended for anyone remotely interested in the subject. This author knows his subject. I went looking for CD samples of their music, which wasn't easy to find but was worth the effort. Jim Travis, Nashville

Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae

Average customer rating:

Absolutely fascinating

Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae
David Katz
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1582341435

Book Description

A groundbreaking and comprehensive history of reggae, with firsthand accounts by reggae's most prominent and popular figures.

Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae is an original, in-depth look at one of the most influential music genres. Through exclusive interview material and previously unpublished photographs, David Katz brings to life over one hundred of reggae's most important artists, including Toots and The Maytals, The Melodians, the Skatalites, and the Wailers Band, Augustus Pablo, Culture, Sugar Minott, Cocoa Tea, and Frankie Paul, who speak for the first time about their roles in the music's progression. From the pre-ska years of the late 1950s to the dawning of the digital age in the mid-1980s, Solid Foundation charts the evolution of ska, rock steady, traditional and untraditional reggae styles, and the sub-genres of dub, deejay, and dancehall. The book is largely drawn from conversations Katz conducted with the architects of Jamaica's popular music, and with perceptive and detailed commentary, he celebrates the creativity and individuality that have made reggae music one of the most popular contemporary styles throughout the world.

Customer Reviews:

Absolutely fascinating.......2003-06-06

The books that have been available on the history and background of reggae have (almost) always been organized around the rise of Bob Marley and the Wailers and have (again, almost) always shown an overconcentration on what went on in the UK (as opposed to Jamaica).

Katz's book is blessedly different. For one thing, it's an oral history (as opposed to a researched/analytical history) and as such, he lets the artists and producers and other figures speak for themselves. This gets the reader much closer to the source than any other similar text. The story also unfolds in the same way that a bunch of guys shooting the breeze in a bar might tell it which I found extremely compelling. It is also the very first book on reggae that made me really understand the nature of the connection between London and Jamaica (besides just asserting a large expat community in London). Not only that, but it's the first time I remember reading anyone giving credit to the NY scene as well.

Because of the anecdotal nature of the book, it's hard to hold the writer accountable for it's weaknesses. It's not really set up to be a research tool (it's hard to find specific facts or specific stories) and after reading it for a while, you realize that there are several voices missing from the narrative. Some have been exposed to death in other places (Marley, Peter Tosh, Lee Perry) but there are others I found conspicuous by their absence (Inner Circle, Brigadier Jerry, Yellowman).

Book Description

To its millions of fans, country music is America's music, offering a window on the sweet dreams and cruel disappointments of ordinary American lives. Now the renowned Country Music Foundation, custodian of Nashville's legendary Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, has compiled a fascinating and infinitely useful guide to this beloved musical genre--The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Nearly 1,300 complete and up-to-the-minute alphabetical entries put eight decades of country music at readers' fingertips, from the earliest '20s recordings of the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers to the '90s chart-topping albums of LeAnn Rimes and Garth Brooks. A distinguished field of 137 contributors provides an eminently readable and reliable guide to the singers, songwriters, record companies, and industry movers and shakers who have made country music the increasingly popular--and profitable--juggernaut it is today. There are entries for influential radio and television programs, and for key country landmarks from Nashville's Music Row to Bakersfield's Blackboard nightclub. Ten longer essays probe the historical, cultural, religious, artistic, and financial forces shaping country music. Hundreds of photographs, some never before published, accompany the text, including 75 color photographs from the CMF Library's record collection, surveying the history of the country music album cover. Twelve appendices provide lists of country's all-time best-selling albums, country music stations nationwide, all the country music awards won over the years, and much more. Authoritative, accessible, and unerringly accurate, The Encyclopedia of Country Music will delight fans. It is an essential reference for libraries, radio stations, and the entertainment industry.

Customer Reviews:

A DJ's Guide to Country Music.......2005-09-25

I am a DJ at a traditional country/bluegrass radio station. I use the Encyclopedia of Country Music constantly to add color and flavor to my show. Contains all kinds of info and neat trivia for just about all traditional artists. Really great guide for any country music fan or professional.

Chock full of info.......2005-07-11

Great compilation of all things country, from the by-gone days to the fairly current country stars.

Great book!.......2001-07-01

I work as a DJ at a country radio station and I produce and host a weekly classic country program. I needed a book that provided a good bit of general information about a wide variety of singers and groups without a lot of useless information and what not -- this book has exceeded my expectations! As an "encyclopedia," this isn't something that you read cover-to-cover, but anyone who has ever belted-out a note of country music can be found with just the right amount of information. If you are looking for a country music reference book, this is it!

A wonderful comprehensive guide to explore from A to Z.......1999-04-16

After hearing about this book, I was anxious to find it. I am pleased to report that it is indeed "the real deal" and not only met but exceeded my expectations. Well organized and easy to read, this encyclopedia provides just enough information in each entry to fill your plate. It is not too sketchy, nor too long in any areas (but I would have liked to read a bit more about Hank Williams and George Jones!) As an encyclopedia, it is not something you "read" per se, but rather "explore"...over and over. The names of familiar artists jump off the page and every scan can lead you to learn either something more about someone you know, or perhaps introduce you to someone or something totally new. Numerous illustrations (and it could use a few more)break up the mountain of text; the pictures provide enough rest for your eyes before scouring the pages for more well-researched documentation. This compilation is just awesome; the years of research have paid off in my humble opinion. What makes the book so wonderful is its scope -- suitable for a newcomer and also detailed and informative enough for the country music veteran. I highly recommend you buy at least two. One to enjoy as often as you want to and the other to offer as a special gift. Whoever you give this book to will NOT have another like it on the shelf. My "gift volume" will be going to my Dad as a tribute and thank-you for being weaned on the music that is country. If you love country music or think you want to, add this book to your library. There is enough interesting history and data collected here to satisfy even the largest musical appetite for the better part of year. ENJOY !!!

The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History (Roth Family Foundation Music in America Book)

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Groovin' High!
entertaining, interesting, authoritative
Professor of Bop
Bebop Matters

The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History (Roth Family Foundation Music in America Book)
Scott DeVeaux
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520216652

Amazon.com

According to Scott DeVeaux, who has been called the Bud Powell of jazz historians, no single, completely inclusive definition of jazz exists; all that remains to define it is its vigorous evolution. Accordingly, jazz historians are "obsessed with continuity and consensus, even--perhaps especially-- when the historical record suggests disruption and dissent." Bebop, such a self-effacing, clownish term that in no way suggests the complexities of its sounds and rhythms, would become synonymous with a whole new musical sensibility, thought by some to herald nothing less than a revolution. DeVeaux succumbs neither to the evolution nor revolution analysis, but creates an intricate historical weave that sets bebop in the broader social and political contexts.

Bebop burst onto the scene more than evolved out of it. Sundry other forms, musical and literary, also blew the minds of cultural conservatives; modernism was born, exemplified by James Joyce and Arnold Schoenberg. But, unlike literature and classical music, jazz before 1945 enjoyed no such classical standing. It was a form utterly dependent on and responsive to its audience. Suddenly, that relationship was reversed; jazz became avant-garde, newly inaccessible. DeVeaux offers the reader myriad such connections, asking questions that have large cultural repercussions in the artistic and commercial realms. What happened, for example, when the gap between composers and performers closed; who, then, would "own" the music; what was the impact of improvisation, the backbone of the form, on the recording industry?

Not written for the casual jazz fan (although certainly a highly readable chronicle of popular, midcentury culture), The Birth of Bebop combines the historian's breathtaking overview, the scholar's insistence on detail, and first-person accounts of such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Eckstine. The oral histories and in-depth analyses of jazz compositions edge bebop beyond its usual treatment; DeVeaux presents a more encompassing, more exciting argument than the more typical evolution/revolution theories. By addressing the impact of bebop on the commercial, political, and aesthetic aspects of American culture, DeVeaux reveals it in all its richness--as artistic movement, cultural ideology, and commercial breakthrough.

Book Description

The richest place in America's musical landscape is that fertile ground occupied by jazz. Scott DeVeaux takes a central chapter in the history of jazz--the birth of bebop--and shows how our contemporary ideas of this uniquely American art form flow from that pivotal moment. At the same time, he provides an extraordinary view of the United States in the decades just prior to the civil rights movement.
DeVeaux begins with an examination of the Swing Era, focusing particularly on the position of African American musicians. He highlights the role played by tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, a "progressive" committed to a vision in which black jazz musicians would find a place in the world commensurate with their skills. He then looks at the young musicians of the early 1940s, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk, and links issues within the jazz world to other developments on the American scene, including the turmoil during World War II and the pervasive racism of the period.
Throughout, DeVeaux places musicians within the context of their professional world, paying close attention to the challenges of making a living as well as of making good music. He shows that bebop was simultaneously an artistic movement, an ideological statement, and a commercial phenomenon.
In drawing from the rich oral histories that a living tradition provides, DeVeaux's book resonates with the narratives of individual lives. While The Birth of Bebop is a study in American cultural history and a critical musical inquiry, it is also a fitting homage to bebop and to those who made it possible.

Customer Reviews:

Groovin' High!.......2005-03-06

A 500-page history of bebop that takes 400 pages to get up to the "Groovin' High" Bird & Diz recording session? Whose first 164 pages are all about Coleman Hawkins? Unusual, to say the least, but DeVaux shows how it all makes sense. Hawkins is portrayed as the central motif around which everything else turns: Hawk welcomed progress and a new style, played on the first bop record date (done for Asch in 1944), and opened at Billy Berg's in Los Angeles before Bird & Diz got there. DeVaux is a very good writer, thorough and judicious. Highly recommended.

entertaining, interesting, authoritative.......2004-09-24

It's hard to explain the excitement a 13 year old had on first hearing Dizzy Gillespie's THINGS TO COME on Side A and TWO BASS HIT on Side B. Or for that matter, as a 25 year old, on hearing KUSH from AN ELECTRIFYING EVENING WITH DIZZY GILLESPIE relayed on the VOICE OF AMERICA by Willis Conover. Undoubtedly there was something electrifying about the music which Mr Deveaux suggests had a "sense of frustration embedded in its core" p.446. Certainly, it was a musical world away from that of the great Thomas Fats Waller for example whose genius was usually sublimated beneath jumping and jive. It was SERIOUS music and demanded attention. This fine book by Mr Devaux puts the evolution of this revolutionary music in context and inspires one to revisit many of the records including those who inspired the great John Coltrane - Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five. It is also of interest to musicians, musicologists, sociologists, historians but as a general reader who loves America's classical music - called jazz - it is a very fine read indeed and about the best book I own on Bebop.

Professor of Bop.......1999-12-16

I am a music major at the University of Virginia, particularly interested in jazz studies, and have had the pleasure of taking several classes under DeVeaux, in particular, one based on this book. DeVeaux's humor, in combination with his musical genius when it comes to the topic of jazz, is expemplified by this book. He explains the hayday of jazz as well as the transition from the swing era into the bop era with incredible detail. Special features in the book are vignettes into the lives of the great artists such as Hawkins and Parker. He compares the styles of several of the pioneers which causes further investigation on the part of the reader to trail the modern jazz progression from the 1940's and 50's on into today. If you've ever wanted to know why the cats play the way the do and how jazz moved from big band swing clubs into bebop jam sessions, this is the author you're looking for.

Bebop Matters.......1998-12-11

The nomenclature "Bebop" referring to an extension of American jazz development is, in itself somewhat unfortunate. It is not surprising that many of the musicians at the core of the movement hated the phrase "Bebop" themselves. The jokey sound of the word tends to trivialize the significance and the integrity of the music to which is referring. We tend to think of Bebop as an amusing, but irrelevant, phase of the urban jazz scene. The contribution of Bebop to musical development is both pervasive and irreversible.

Scott DeVeaux's book, "The Birth of Bebop" takes on squarely the issue of the Bebop's place in American music and in America's cultural development of the middle of the 20th-century. He has made excellent use of first-hand accounts, anecdotes, and obscure or original recordings to bring this story to life. He has applied an academic's discipline to documentation of his source material with a high degree of integrity. He achieves a remarkable balance between understanding and dealing with the details of the musical construction in the context of the "race" environments of the 1930s and '40s

This was an important era of American history. In a sense, we would like to forget the gross cultural inequities of the time. There are not many tangible reminders around, although the cultural imprint is still here and not likely disappear in the near future. Fortunately, the music of the era, Bebop, is still accessible through CD re-issues and is continuing to influence modern musical performance right through to a saxophone-toting Lisa Simpson. A key value of "The Birth of Bebop" is to remind us of this continuing connection. This book helps us appreciate the courage and commitment of the proponent musicians exploring this new medium, particularly in the context of nearly-overwhelming daily obstacles in the form of American cultural "Jim Crow" mores and laws.

In a perfect World, this book would come with a companion CD filled with aural samples of the music Mr. DeVeaux discusses organized to illustrate his musical points. This short-coming means that the fullest appreciation of the author's points is only available to those with access to fabulous recording collections of the era or, even more remotely, those with sufficient age and musical memory to bring the musical notation to life.

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Jazz Review

The Dark Tree: Jazz and the Community Arts in Los Angeles (George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies)
Steve Isoardi
Manufacturer: University of California Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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While he was still in his twenties, Horace Tapscott gave up a successful career in Lionel Hampton's band and returned to his home in Los Angeles to found the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, a community arts group that focused on providing affordable, community-oriented jazz and jazz training. Over the course of almost forty years, the Arkestra, together with the related Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA) Foundation, were at the forefront of the vital community-based arts movements in black Los Angeles. Some three hundred artists--musicians, vocalists, poets, playwrights, painters, sculptors, and graphic artists--passed through these organizations, many ultimately remaining within the community and others moving on to achieve international fame. Based primarily on one hundred in-depth interviews with current and former participants, The Dark Tree is the first history of the important and largely overlooked community arts movement of African American Los Angeles. Brought to life by the passionate voices of the men and women who worked to make the arts integral to everyday community life, this engrossing book completes the account began in the highly acclaimed Central Avenue Sounds, which documented the secular music history of the first half of the twentieth century and which the San Francisco Examiner called "one of the best jazz books ever compiled."

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Jazz Review.......2007-05-16

Interesting, informative, & provocative reading. Facts galore; should be on every jazz enthusiastic's display bookshelf. I will not loan it to anyone for fear of it not being returned.

Thesaurus Cultus et Rituum Antiquorum: Purification, Consecration, Foundation Rite, Initiation, Heroization and Apotheosis, Banquet, Dance, Music Rites; Volume II

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