Description
This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the science and soul of music that reveals the secrets of why your favorite songs move you. But it’s also a story of a musical trailblazer who began as a humble audio tech in Los Angeles, rose to become Prince’s chief engineer for Purple Rain, and then created other No. 1 hits ,including Barenaked Ladies' "One Week," as one of the most successful female record producers of all time.
Now an award-winning professor of cognitive neuroscience, Susan Rogers leads readers to musical self-awareness. She explains that we each possess a unique “listener profile” based on our brain’s natural response to seven key dimensions of any song. Are you someone who prefers lyrics or melody? Do you like music “above the neck” (intellectually stimulating), or “below the neck” (instinctual and rhythmic)? Whether your taste is esoteric or mainstream, Rogers guides readers to recognize their musical personality, and offers language to describe one's own unique taste. Like most of us, Rogers is not a musician, but she shows that all of us can be musical―simply by being an active, passionate listener.
While exploring the science of music and the brain, Rogers also takes us behind the scenes of record-making, using her insider’s ear to illuminate the music of Prince, Frank Sinatra, Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, and many others. She shares records that changed her life, contrasts them with those that appeal to her coauthor and students, and encourages you to think about the records that define your own identity.
Told in a lively and inclusive style, This Is What It Sounds Like will refresh your playlists, deepen your connection to your favorite artists, and change the way you listen to music.
Details
Custom Fields 1: |
Yes |
Wine vintage: |
1988 |
Product Reviews
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it’s interesting, but a near miss for me…
On the plus side - some really good new music to add to my play lists. Disappointingly this doesn’t really address what the music I like says about me. What it does do is describe for you components of “musical taste”. If this was about food, it describes salty sweet then hot cold then soft crunchy etc as the taste components of the food you like. What it doesn’t do is tell you what liking tiramisu “says about you”.
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Music now sounds even better
Susan Rogers has finally done what other books on the art of music listening have failed at; making the topic FUN. Susan’s incredible story of how she went from teenage musical lover, to becoming the first female sound engineer for Prince (on Purple Rain, no less) is worth the read alone. However, the real crowning achievement of this book is its ability to explain how our brains react to music, and why we connect so deeply with certain types of music, and want to run from the room when we hear others.
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loved it
My wife has been making fun of me because I keep saying ‘in this music book…” before everything I said this week while reading it. Learned a lot and fascinating look at the impact music has on all of us
