Exploring Music

The Science and Technology of Tones and Tunes

Charles Taylor
Review

Since I started to study music seventeen years ago, I often met people that didnt think much about this extraordinary form of art. Of course, most of them liked to listen music, but never thought that what lies behind it can actually be related to pure science. And to make that point clear, I would strongly recommend them to read Exploring Music The Science and Technology of Tones and Tunes by Charles Taylor. Not only that physicist Charles Taylor approaches the technical details of producing music from all kinds of instruments, but the way that this two concepts, music and science, are merged it is done in such a manner that it facilitates the understanding in both young and older readers. The book is structured in six chapters, each being divided in different subjects related to the leading one given by the title of each chapter. As the pages unfold, you can discover an abundant amount of pictures illustrating different kinds of instruments, oscilloscope traces of musical sounds, and diagrammatic representations of objects, tones and musical processes. Throughout the book the following aspects and be noticed: the authors approach of general aspects of music explanation of how altering and tempering with a musical sound can affect its quality; underlying the fact that in the musical field its important having the ability to distinguish between sounds that are made by machines and those in which a human being is involved; the authors depicting of the process from which a sound can be produced either by a real instrument (strings, woodwind, brass) or by a digital source; the importance of projecting a concert hall while considering all the technical and scientific aspects that can help with the acoustics. As I started to immerse into the world of Exploring Music, I took great pleasure in reading it, because the book practically speaks to its reader. It feels like Charles Taylor concealed nothing from this science - music melding. I believe that the author revealed all details that can be taken into account; and the manner in which the book was written

(academical, friendly, and with a touch of humor slightly scattered through its pages) can definitely make most of the information linger in our minds.

Corina Alexandra Tirziman