This book offers a lively exploration of the mathematics physics and neuroscience that
underlie music in a way that readers without scientific background can follow. David Sulzer
also known in the musical world as Dave Soldier explains why the perception of music
encompasses the physics of sound the functions of the ear and deep-brain auditory pathways
and the physiology of emotion. He delves into topics such as the math by which musical scales
rhythms tuning and harmonies are derived from the days of Pythagoras to technological
manipulation of sound waves. Sulzer ranges from styles from around the world to canonical
composers to hip-hop the history of experimental music and animal sound by songbirds
cetaceans bats and insects. He makes accessible a vast range of material helping readers
discover the universal principles behind the music they find meaningful.
