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How Music Works

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About this listen

How Music Works is David Byrne's bestselling, buoyant celebration of a subject he has spent a lifetime thinking about.

Drawing on his own work over the years with Talking Heads, Brian Eno, and his myriad collaborators - along with journeys to Wagnerian opera houses, African villages, and anywhere music exists - Byrne shows how music emerges from cultural circumstance as much as individual creativity.

It is his magnum opus, and an impassioned argument about music's liberating, life-affirming power.

©2022 David Byrne (P)2022 Canongate Books Ltd Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity

Critic reviews

"It was wildly ambitious to try and turn this galaxy of theory into a readable work of scholarship but Byrne has done it, and done it with style. Brian Eno might as well cancel that book deal now." (Mark Ellen)

"As well as being an investigation into the context in which music is made, How Music Works is an accomplished celebration of an ever-evolving art form that can alter how we look at ourselves and the world." (Fiona Sturges)

"A very involving read - Byrne is good company - he has a gift for a telling analogy that makes complex points easily grasped." (Keith Bruce)
All stars
Most relevant
David Byrne know his stuff. He is an exemplar for collaboration and sharing. This book shows his views of the history and future of music. From “why” music works to “how”. I know that i will be returning to sections of this book again.

The let down was the narration which takes a bit of getting used to. Considering the fascinating subject, the reader sounds like a flat AI voice with little emotion.

Fantastic insights from a master of his art

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Fascinating perspective of music’s evolution, reach and value, especially the later chapters on theory
Only wish that the author had read the book to me.

Fascinating

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This was not what I expected to hear after listening to the book by Chris Frantz. Not enough about Talking Heads.

Disappointing listen

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