Sign-In
Cart
The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth - A BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'
Hardcover
AnthropologyGeneral World HistoryMusic Reference
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
ISBN10: 1635576245
ISBN13: 9781635576245
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: Apr 13 2021
Pages: 480
Weight: 1.81
Height: 1.70 Width: 6.60 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
ISBN13: 9781635576245
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: Apr 13 2021
Pages: 480
Weight: 1.81
Height: 1.70 Width: 6.60 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
Michael Spitzer has pulled off the impossible: a Guns, Germs and Steel for music. --Daniel Levitin
A colossal history spanning cultures, time, and space to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. 165 million years ago saw the birth of rhythm.66 million years ago was the first melody.
40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument. Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to this music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet music is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages - from Bach to BTS and back - to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, looking at music in our everyday lives; music in world history; and music in evolution, from insects to apes, humans to AI. Through this journey we begin to understand how music is central to the distinctly human experiences of cognition, feeling and even biology, both widening and closing the evolutionary gaps between ourselves and animals in surprising ways. The Musical Human boldly puts the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; it is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
40 thousand years ago Homo sapiens created the first musical instrument. Today music fills our lives. How we have created, performed and listened to this music throughout history has defined what our species is and how we understand who we are. Yet music is an overlooked part of our origin story. The Musical Human takes us on an exhilarating journey across the ages - from Bach to BTS and back - to explore the vibrant relationship between music and the human species. With insights from a wealth of disciplines, world-leading musicologist Michael Spitzer renders a global history of music on the widest possible canvas, looking at music in our everyday lives; music in world history; and music in evolution, from insects to apes, humans to AI. Through this journey we begin to understand how music is central to the distinctly human experiences of cognition, feeling and even biology, both widening and closing the evolutionary gaps between ourselves and animals in surprising ways. The Musical Human boldly puts the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; it is a fundamental part of what makes us human.
Also in
Music Reference
Time's Echo: The Second World War, the Holocaust, and the Music of Remembrance
Eichler, Jeremy
Hardcover
$19.99
Nothing But Love in God's Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement
Darden, Robert
Hardcover
From $14.99
Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland
Kahn, Ashley
Hardcover
$27.00
Emo Revival: Community, Diy, and Rebirth in Post-Hardcore and Emo (2008-2018)
Sacher, Andrew
Paperback
$25.60
Punk in 50 Pieces: Punk Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave, and the Five Years That Changed Pop Music Forever
Dettmar, Kevin
Hardcover
$28.49
Resident Punk: How I Smoked, Drank, and Stumbled My Way Through the '70s Punk Scene (and Beyond)
McNeil, Legs
Hardcover
$28.45
With a Little Help from Their Friends: The Beatles and the People Who Made Them
Maconie, Stuart
Hardcover
$27.00
Bust a Move: Matt Dike, Delicious Vinyl, and the Hip-Hop Hits That First Conquered Pop
Relic, Peter
Hardcover
$26.10
Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles
Massey, Howard
Emerick, Geoff
Paperback
From $11.99
A Whole Lotta History: One Direction and the Sound That Shaped a Generation
Lipshutz, Jason
Hardcover
$27.55
Dolly Parton: The Stories Behind the Songs: The Very Best Tracks, Explored and Explained
Zaleski, Annie
Hardcover
$28.49
Here Beside the Rising Tide: Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead, and an American Awakening
Newton, Jim
Hardcover
$33.25
Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
Goodman, Lizzy
Paperback
$21.85
The Cello Who Loved Me: An accidental pilgrimage to master the world's most beautiful instrument
Sorensen, George
Paperback
$19.00
Raised on Radio: Power Ballads, Cocaine & Payola - The Aor Glory Years 1976-1986
Rees, Paul
Hardcover
$28.50
Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008
Payne, Chris
Paperback
$19.95
Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion
Deville, Chris
Hardcover
From $14.99
Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991
Azerrad, Michael
Paperback
$23.74
Raps of Resistance: How Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole Reignited a Hip-Hop Tradition
McCool, Jeremy C.
Hopkins, Earl
Hardcover
$51.00
Mystery Train, 50th Anniversary Edition: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music
Marcus, Greil
Paperback
From $12.99
Quadrivium: The Four Classical Liberal Arts of Number, Geometry, Music, & Cosmology
Ashton, Anthony
Sutton, Daud
Lundy, Miranda
Hardcover
$24.70
This Is What It Sounds Like: A Legendary Producer Turned Neuroscientist on Finding Yourself Through Music
Rogers, Susan
Ogas, Ogi
Paperback
$17.05
Made on Earth for Rising Stars: The Electro-Harmonix Story
Epstein, Dan
Scott, Josh
Danger, Daniel
Paperback
$52.25
Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock
Gould, Jonathan
Hardcover
$31.50
Altamont: The Rolling Stones, the Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day
Selvin, Joel
Paperback
$18.99
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
Broughton, Frank
Brewster, Bill
Paperback
$20.90
Good Rockin' Tonight: Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
Escott, Colin
Hawkins, Martin
Paperback
$20.89
Let's Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies
Des Barres, Pamela
Paperback
$18.04
Ocean of Sound: Ambient Sound and Radical Listening in the Age of Communication
Toop, David
Paperback
$15.15
Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved
Martin, Russell
Paperback
$20.00
Stradivari's Genius: Five Violins, One Cello, and Three Centuries of Enduring Perfection
Faber, Toby
Paperback
$19.00
Positively Fourth and Mercer: The Inside Story of New York's Iconic Music Club, the Bottom Line
Pepper, Allan
Altman, Billy
Hardcover
$42.70
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970
Lewisohn, Mark
Paperback
$28.49
Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track
Margotin, Philippe
Guesdon, Jean-Michel
Hardcover
$57.00
Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever
Hermes, Will
Paperback
$19.95
Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves
Riva, Chris Dalla
Hardcover
$51.00
Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever
Fairbanks, Brian
Hardcover
$30.88
The Guitar Chronicles: Smoke, Sweat, Scars and Soul: Extraordinary Vintage Guitars and the Stories They Tell
Jane, Eleanor
Hardcover
$56.95
Are We Still Rolling? Studios, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll - One Man's Journey Recording Classic Albums
Brown, Phill
Paperback
$27.49
The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band
Neil, Vince
Sixx, Nikki
Lee, Tommy
Paperback
$18.99
The Majesty of Chicago Jazz: Twenty-Five Visionaries Who Define the City's Sound
Reich, Howard
Hardcover
$26.13
Beatles Gear: All the Fab Four's Instruments from Stage to Studio, the Ultimate Edition
Babiuk, Andy
Hardcover
$57.00
The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life
Gennari, John
Hardcover
$33.25