How Music Works (Paperback)

It was wildly ambitious to try and turn this galaxy of theory into a readable work of scholarship but Byrne has done it, and done it with style. Brian Eno might as well cancel that book deal now - Mark Ellen, The Observer

As well as being an investigation into the context in which music is made, How Music Works is an accomplished celebration of an ever-evolving art form that can alter how we look at ourselves and the world - Fiona Sturges, Independent

Brilliantly original - New York Times Book Review

As accessible as pop yet able to posit deep and startlingly original thoughts and discoveries in almost every paragraph . . . this book will make you hear music in a different way - Oliver Keens, The Sunday Telegraph

A very involving read - Byrne is good company - he has a gift for a telling analogy that makes complex points easily grasped - Keith Bruce, The Herald

How Music Works is a melange of bookish musings on how music is shaped by the places it is played and the technology used to create and disseminate it - Danny Eccleston, MOJO

An entertaining and erudite book . . . this is a serious, straight-forward account of an art from that also manages to be inspiring - Peter Aspden, Financial Times

Given the vastness of the subject, calling a treatise How Music Works seems intellectually arrogant, but it could also be seen as disarmingly frank, a fresh perspective from a down-to-earth mind. David Byrne's book, although a self-conscious art object (backwards pagination, upholstered cover and so on) contains plenty of plain-spoken, sensible observations: a dichotomy typical of the man - Guardian

Incisive and intriguing - Nick Curtis, The Evening Standard

How Music Works is not just a noticeably handsome book but a beguiling and hugely perceptive one too - Jonathan O’Brien, Sunday Business Post

The finest music book of the year . . . Handsomely bound, beautifully printed, wittily illustrated, it would make a beautiful collector's item but there is much more going on between the covers . . . bursting with a sense of free-flowing curiosity - Neil McCormick, The Daily Telegraph

Creators of all stripes will find much to inspire them in Mr Byrne's erudite musings on the biological and mathematical underpinnings of sound. . . His observations on the nature of pattern and repetition, and on people's neurological response to aesthetic experience, apply to all creative fields - The Economist

It's a great book to pick up and start at any chapter, a hugely rewarding and enriching read. A fascinating look at music from many angles, I would receommend it to anyone who plays or simply has an interest in the history and evolution of the musical form, the culture of music, both as a well of inspiration and as a simple commodity - Irish Times

By investigating how music works, Byrne shows us how best it can be used. We are all the richer for his effort - Yo Zushi, New Statesman

Fascinating look at music's power to move - Alexis Petridis, The Guardian

A big beautiful work of art. . . As you might expect from someone as intelligent and open-minded as Byrne, How Music Works is a far ranging and astute look at all the facets of music - Doug Johnstone, The Big Issue

Disarmingly frank, a fresh perspective from a down-to-earth mind - Michel Faber, The Guardian

Inspiring - Financial Times

An ambitious attempt at understanding a phenomenon to which the former Talking Head has dedicated his life's work - John Doran, Quietus

Extraordinary - Guardian

Unique among a deluge of music biographies and autobiographies coming out this Christmas, this wildly ambitious book breaks the mould - Arthur House, The Sunday Telegraph

Byrne is a crisp and enthusiastic guide - Rob Fitzpatrick, The Sunday Times

Absorbing - Independent

[A] wide-ranging tome - Geeta Daval, Wired Magazine

A fluid, intelligent analysis - Patrick Freyne, The Irish Times

Satisfying - MOJO