This VSI offers readers something no other introduction to folk music does: a cross-cultural, comparative approach, a survey of the basic issues as they have un

'World music' emerged as an invention of the West from encounters with other cultures. This book draws readers into a remarkable range of these historical encou

This stimulating Very Short Introduction to music invites us to really think about music and the values and qualities we ascribe to it. The world teems with dif

From Gregorian chant to Bach's Brandenburg Concerti, the music of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods is both beautiful and intriguing, expanding our

Explaining that musicality is an essential touchstone of the human experience, a concise introduction to the study of the nature of music, its community and its