Read Books This will provide a list of the books I've read with a brief review. Users are blocked, contact me for access. I welcome discussions, but I'm tired of spam.

This book is a technical book about music, how it works and what it is.  It discusses the physics of music in very non-technical and easy-to-understand terms.  It also covers some of the history, and why things are the way they are.
According to the author, the target audience is everyone, whether a neophyte to music or an aficionado.  I disagree with this assessment.  I found the book interesting, but low in information density and primarily of use to those who haven’t studied much music.

The book does cover all the major details of music.  I also felt the author does a good job of making it understandable. Even though I have studied music, I felt John Powell helped me solidify my understanding of a number of topics.

John Powell also interjects his humor into the book, making it more palatable for those who already know the information he is covering.  However, I felt he went overboard and could have used a lot less.  At times, it got rather old.

Due to the low density of information, the book is a fairly fast read without sacrificing the ability to retain information.

The book also includes a CD.  The CD contains sound tracks that compare different elements of music.  For instance, one of the tracks compares and discusses the sound from a guitar string played from different positions, focusing on the quality and timbre of the sound.  The CD is short, but has a few interesting elements to it.  You will probably listen to it once and forget about it.

If you don’t know much about music, this book would probably be a good place to start.  Otherwise, I don’t think it provides much value.