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America's Musical Life: A History
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 780.973
EAN: 9780393327267
ISBN: 0393327264
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 992
Publication Date: October 24, 2005
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Studio: W. W. Norton
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Editorial Review:
"A superb, all-encompassing survey of music in America."—Kirkus Reviews. Winner of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award.When it comes to American music, America's Musical Life is "the best one-volume history yet on the subject for musicians and enthusiasts, professional or amateur" (Kirkus Reviews). "Well-researched and sensitively constructed" (Library Journal) and "a book that welcomes the reader, who is happy to keep returning for more" (Music Library Association Notes), America's Musical Life tells the story of American music making in rich detail.In chronicling American music's bountiful heritage, this "superb book presents the whole sweep of U.S. cultivated and traditional music—from 16th-century Native American music through late 20th-century hip-hop culture." A substantial cultural achievement, "this definitive history of music in the U.S. is sure to delight music aficionados and history buffs alike, and is a must for anyone interested in what music has meant to America and what America has meant to music" (Publishers Weekly). 200 illustrations.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - An excellent history!
I found this book to be a very thorough history of American music. Excellent for teaching a graduate-level course on the subject.
Rating: - Extraordinary Musical Insights
Crawford's book is one of the most fascinating I have ever read, and I have read thousands. His graceful, seemingly effortless blend of musical and social history is no less than remarkable. I have read the covers off it.
Rating: - A panoramic view
Richard Crawford's ambitious book seems a culmination of his previous work, attempting to encompass the whole of American musical activity since the birth of the nation. His basic methodology of dividing American music into three spheres, classical, popular and folk, is a successful tool for making a gargantuan subject more manageable. His chronology makes an attempt to at least cast a glance at each of these areas as it progresses through the centuries.
Some of the individual chapters are, ... Read More
Rating: - "It wasn't like that"
In the 1980s I was a graduate student in musicology at the University of Toronto, specializing in Canadian music. A visit by Richard Crawford was one of the galvanizing moments in my education. He spoke on the theme of "Studying American Music" (the talk was later published in the Newsletter of the Institute for Studies in American Music, vol. XIV, no. 2, May 1985), but his ideas proved to be applicable to any field of music study. I know I have certainly made generous use of them in my ... Read More
Rating: - America as music and music as America
In the late 1980s, having passed the US Foreign Service written test, I took the Oral Exam, one part of which was basically aimed at probing - in front of a panel of 3 Foreign Service officers - one's general knowledge of American history, culture, and world affairs, plus ability to think on one's feet. Among other questions, I was presented with the following (without any advance warning): `pretend you are a high school teacher giving a lecture on the history of American music; you have 3 minutes ... Read More
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