San Antonio College Library

"On keyboard instruments, tuning pure fifth intervals causes octaves to be out of tune. A temperament is a system in which the tuning of the fifths is altered to keep the octaves in tune and allow the use of all notes of the musical scale. A Guide to Musical Temperament explores how the twelve notes of the musical scale are tuned on keyboard instruments such as the harpsichord, clavichord, piano, and organ. All aspects of temperament are covered,...

"In Playing with Sound, Karen Collins examines video game sound from the player's perspective. She explores the many ways that players interact with a game's sonic aspects, ambient sound, dialogue, and interface sounds -- both within and outside of the game. She investigates the ways that meaning is found, embodied, created, evoked, hacked, remixed, negotiated, and renegotiated by players in the space of interactive sound in games. Drawing on disciplines...

This book explores religion through music, one of the most universally recognized forms of human experience. The only art form named after a divinity, music has been documented from prehistory to the present age in virtually all known cultures. For many, music is a vehicle for spiritual growth and community empowerment, whether it's understood as a gift of the gods or simply a practice for achieving mental states conducive to enlightenment. Traditionally,...

"A Student's Guide to Music History is a concise account written for the intelligent lay reader, of classical music's development from the early Middle Ages onwards. . ."--Back cover.

"In Thresholds Marcel Cobussen rethinks the relationship between music and spirituality. The point of departure is the current movement within contemporary classical music known as New Spiritual Music, with as its main representatives Arvo Part, John Tavener, and Giya Kancheli. In almost all respects, the musical principles of the new spiritual music seem to be diametrically opposed to those of modernism: repetition and rest versus development and...

Collected from his writings, broadcast essays and talks.

Is there such a thing as women's music? Do women write and listen to music differently than men do? While recognizing that the differences among women are as distinct as the differences between genders, this bold new study examines gender's influence on music. The author's unique analytical strategy shows, in its application to actual musical compositions, that there is a fluid relationship between the music and the analyst, between the text and the...

"The ambient Century reveals the drift in twentieth-century music. From composers to non-musicians. From strict rules to no rules. From the single note to the sample. From the expanding classical horizons of Mahler, Satie and Debussy to the revolutions in electronic music inaugurated by Stockhausen and Cage. From the Indian-influenced Minimalism of Philip Glass and Terry Riley to the 'unlocking' sound worlds of Brian Eno and Arvo Parti through the...

Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in the English colonies, Eileen Southern weaves a fascinating narrative of intense musical activity, which has not only played a vital role in the lives of black Americans but has also deeply influenced music performance in the United States and many other parts of the world. Dr. Southern fully chronicles the singers, instrumentalists, and composers who created this rich body of music and skillfully...