Dr. Jason Martineau

I was both fascinated and frustrated by this book. I found much of it interesting, but each topic went from simple to complex quickly, and I needed to read it more slowly to absorb more. The book is has written explanations on the left-side page and illustrations on the right. Often, the illustrations would've been easier to make out if they'd been printed on larger paper: sometimes the captions were too small for me to read even with reading glasses on. But if the point was to pique my curiosity about the Quadrivium, it succeeded: I'd love to understand this better.… (meer)

Abstract and dense with information, Elements of Music is not so much a primer as the outline of a survey in music theory and composition. I will dip into it repeatedly to remind me of things to "work out", and to better appreciate as my knowledge improves.

Each chapter is 2 pages, the first a narrative overview of a key concept and related ideas, the second a blend of drawings, schemata, and further description (usually of one key idea from the narrative). For example: in the chapter Meet the Intervals, Martineau indicates there are two basic ways to define a set of notes in a scale. One is based in frequency ratios; the other is based in reference to a fundamental (if arbitrary) tone. This second approach involves the concept of Circle of Fifths, which is described and diagrammed in more detail on the second page of the chapter. This introduced me to the concept of Circle of Fifths, and does define it, but it is not discussed thoroughly and I'm not musically sophisticated enough to understand it. This is true for much of the book, and I don't think it's a failing of the book in that I don't think it strives to do more than this.

I would benefit from having someone discuss in detail the concepts Martineau writes about, and demonstrate the concept on an instrument. But again, that's not a failing of the book, but a reminder that its arguments are best use in tandem with direct listening. The value of this book is its brevity, comprehensive overview, and the fact it does not seem to be limited to either a particular style of music (classical, popular, jazz, blues, etc) nor indeed even a cultural tradition (European, Folk, Indian, Chinese traditions each are discussed).

Perfect for flipping through and using as a jumping-off point for further exploration into specific concepts or musical idioms.

As with all titles in the Wooden Books series I've seen, the text is expert, the diagrams astonish in their delineation of abstract concepts, and overall the series seems to take an esoteric approach to its subject matter (both literally and in keeping with the esoteric tradition).… (meer)