The Music Lesson
A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music
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4.8 • 14 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
From Grammy-winning musical icon and legendary bassist Victor L. Wooten comes an inspiring parable of music, life, and the difference between playing all the right notes…and feeling them.
The Music Lesson is the story of a struggling young musician who wanted music to be his life, and who wanted his life to be great. Then, from nowhere it seemed, a teacher arrived. Part musical genius, part philosopher, part eccentric wise man, the teacher would guide the young musician on a spiritual journey, and teach him that the gifts we get from music mirror those from life, and every movement, phrase, and chord has its own meaning...All you have to do is find the song inside.
“The best book on music (and its connection to the mystic laws of life) that I've ever read. I learned so much on every level.”—Multiple Grammy Award–winning saxophonist Michael Brecker
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Think of a song that resonates deep down in your being. Now imagine sitting down with someone who was there when the song was recorded and can tell you how that series of sounds was committed to tape, and who can also explain why that particular combination of rhythms, timbres and pitches has lodged in your memory, making your pulse race and your heart swell every time you hear it. Remarkably, Levitin does all this and more, interrogating the basic nature of hearing and of music making (this is likely the only book whose jacket sports blurbs from both Oliver Sacks and Stevie Wonder), without losing an affectionate appreciation for the songs he's reducing to neural impulses. Levitin is the ideal guide to this material: he enjoyed a successful career as a rock musician and studio producer before turning to cognitive neuroscience, earning a Ph.D. and becoming a top researcher into how our brains interpret music. Though the book starts off a little dryly (the first chapter is a crash course in music theory), Levitin's snappy prose and relaxed style quickly win one over and will leave readers thinking about the contents of their iPods in an entirely new way.
Customer Reviews
Not just for bass-players
This has got to be one of the most thought-provoking books of music philosophy I, and several friends of mine, have ever encountered. Victor Wooten (bassist-extraordinaire and a founding member of the multi-Grammy-winning jazz-fusion band Béla Fleck and the Flecktones) uses a fictional guru named “Michael” to share a collection of musical insights collected and created over a lifetime (so far). Each chapter contains at least one gem that can change the way you approach creating, even listening, to music. I plan to reread it every couple of years, and have purchased extra copies to give to friends!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The embodiment of Music
I recommend, buy, or pass this book along to every musician I encounter. After 3 reads in two years, I am still blown away by the new things I learn and experience through Music. Thank you Victor, and all those that "keep the flame alive"!!!
Read it now -- you will not be disappointed.