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From prehistoric songwriting to digital recording, discover the history of the world’s favorite art form
No other art is as popular—or pervasive—as music. With just a few clicks, anyone can cue up (and critique) Chopin or Cher, The Bangles or The Beatles—even the brand-new Beyoncé. But things weren’t always this way.
In this brisk, breakneck history under 300 pages, award-winning composer, author, and broadcaster Andrew Ford replays the dramatic evolution of music, from early oral songs to the first orchestras (and their wealthy patrons) and from the emergence of recording technology to the multibillion-dollar industry we know today. The Shortest History of Music explores the immense influence of religion, politics, and the economy on world music, what led humans to make music in the first place, and why—in every era—we are irresistibly drawn to listen to it.
The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
“This entertaining contribution to the Shortest History series . . . makes a compelling and informative case for the power and necessity of music.”—Booklist
“Lively, lucid, and richly informative. If you’re new to the history of music, there’s no better place to start. If you’re an old hand at it, you’ll still find plenty to think about.”—Lawrence Kramer, author of The Hum of the World
“A wonderful read. . . . As erudite as it is enjoyable; as riveting as it is revelatory. Andrew Ford’s history of music may be short, but it is deep. With the lightest of touches, he has excavated many layers of human history and global culture. . . . A highly readable (and persuasive) thesis of what music is, why it exists, and how we couldn’t survive without it. Indispensable.”—Clemency Burton-Hill, bestselling author of Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day
“Brilliantly readable and bursting with insight, wit and wisdom. Ford is a master storyteller.”—Michael Spitzer, author of The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth
“The Shortest History of Music is astonishing! It is a richly detailed and informed deep dive into the nature and practice of music across many cultures and much human history by a composer, thinker and writer who has been immersed in exploring and creating music for many years. And it’s addictive: I keep reading and rereading passages, relishing delicious details and illuminating insights, conveyed with clarity and wit. At a time when so many ‘musics’ are accessible on our devices but their context diluted or missing, this is an essential overview.”—Annea Lockwood, composer and sound artist
“There is something undeniably impressive about both Ford’s compressed marshaling of such varied material and his desire to make connections sing across different musical cultures.”—Times Literary Supplement
“Impressively engaging given the highly compressed format. . . . There’s much to recommend in this book: a refreshingly non-European starting point . . . and pithy, thought-provoking statements and quotations which drive [Ford’s] energetic prose.”—BBC Music Magazine
“Ford’s historical and technical knowledge is vast, the depth of his research astounding. . . . This book is fascinating, broad and (like all good histories) has humanity at its center.”—Prospect Magazine (UK)
“If it was translated into a score this would say the word ‘allegro’ at the top. But The Shortest History of Music never feels rushed. . . . Sometimes brevity allows boldness.”—The Herald (UK)
“A top-notch critic . . . our answer to America’s Alex Ross.”—Rolling Stone (Australia)
“Exhilarating. . . . Evokes a world of creative destruction where rules were made, broken and remade. . . . Note to prospective readers: Stop and listen to any piece that is mentioned more than once. It will deepen the experience profoundly. . . . The Shortest History of Music is an achievement in brevity and balance.”—The Saturday Paper (Australia)
“Andrew Ford is the most literate of composers; the most musical of writers.”—Australian Book Review
