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By Instrumentation
Books on Music
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 enlarge | Author: Stuart Isacoff
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
Buy Used: $9.00
You Save: $14.00 (61%)
Used (12) Collectible (3) from $9.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 809865
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.4 x 1.2
ISBN: 0375403558
Dewey Decimal Number: 784.1928
EAN: 9780375403552
ASIN: 0375403558
Publication Date: November 13, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 No Temperamental Enlightenment Here March 6, 2002
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is a big disappointment. The look and feel of the volume promised much but the content is a complete let down. There is so much irrelevant material here that I gave up reading the book eventually. The author tries to explain a subject which is reasonably complex and which does require a little mathematical know how (not much) and musical (some) knowledge, without using any technical terms whatsoever: in my opinion it is as difficult to do this (if not impossible) as it is explain the word "rainbow" without using the word "colour'. But it is the inclusion of so much padding which makes the book so very hard to read. There is no doubting the author's commitment to his topic but the book fails if its purpose is to enlighten.
No Temperamental Enlightenment Here March 6, 2002
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is a big disappointment. The look and feel of the volume promised much but the content is a complete let down. There is so much irrelevant material here that I gave up reading the book eventually. The author tries to explain a subject which is reasonably complex and which does require a little mathematical know how (not much) and musical (some) knowledge, without using any technical terms whatsoever: in my opinion it is as difficult to do this (if not impossible) as it is explain the word "rainbow" without using the word "colour'. But it is the inclusion of so much padding which makes the book so very hard to read. There is no doubting the author's commitment to his topic but the book fails if its purpose is to enlighten.
 Stuart Isacoff - Prescient Gardener March 6, 2002
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
Marcel Proust wrote: "Let us be grateful to people who make us happy. They are the gardeners who make our souls blossom." As an author, Stuart Isacoff is a prescient gardener. In his exquisitely refined writing style, he uproots philosophers, painters, mathematicians, scientists, Popes, and, of course, musicians and sends them scampering across history
in one exciting page after another. This ouvre goes far beyond the fine tuning of instruments. It has an informed subtext that deals with the human 'race' to involve technology with the workings of the human spirit, and how such endeavors at times expose some nasty instincts for competition, achivement and even jealousy. (An evolutionary emotional lag, perhaps, for his characters could be contemporary everymen!). Lest the reader be concerned that this book may be too stuffy, too academic or too boring, Mr. Isacoff has provided clever and light-hearted, albeit revelatory, commentary on the ultimate query: From Pythagoras to Pop, Just how does one come up with the resource to fine tune basic human temperatment? Alas, the greatest challenge of all! This book is a MUST READ!!! Many thanks to Mr. Isacoff.
 Reconsideration January 25, 2002
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
I just couldn't resist buying this book and also sending a copy to one of my colleagues. I am in the process of carefully reading it and will comment when finished. Much of the early historical information is good reading, well researched and well well written. However, I do find common misconceptions and frankly, errors. I believe it is important, however to read the views of others, whether one agrees with them or not. Sometimes it results in a change of opinion, sometimes a compromise in one's thinking and sometimes a strengthening of one's original position. I do recommend buying this book and reading it but taking its premise with a grain of salt. If you'd like to read what I have written on this subject, independently of this author, please see the short message about who I am.
Could have used a lot more math January 22, 2002
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book does an adequate job of explaining the troubles inherent in musical tuning to a layperson. However, why does a book about frequencies and the relationships between them avoid the word "hertz"? I would have appreciated knowing HOW far off a modern keyboard's fifth is from a true one, and how big Pythagoras' comma really is. The author seems to be avoiding this kind of exposition in favor of fractions and many, many adjectives, which didn't work for me. At the same time, some concepts pop up in the book unexplained (a fourth is mentioned in passing for the first time on page 143, after we've been dragged through the ratios of octaves, fifths and thirds several times). The book seems to be aimed at people who already know some music theory but can't tolerate math, an audience that probably doesn't exist. While the accompanying history tried hard to entertain, there were too many diversions away from the main topic. Less flavor, please, and more numbers.
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