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The soundscape--a term coined by the author--is our sonic environment, the ever-present array of noises with which we all live. Beginning with the primordial sounds of nature, we have experienced an ever-increasing complexity of our sonic surroundings. As civilization develops, new noises rise up around us: from the creaking wheel, the clang of the blacksmith’s hammer, and the distant chugging of steam trains to the “sound imperialism” of airports, city streets, and factories. The author contends that we now suffer from an overabundance of acoustic information and a proportionate diminishing of our ability to hear the nuances and subtleties of sound. Our task, he maintains, is to listen, analyze, and make distinctions. As a society we have become more aware of the toxic wastes that can enter our bodies through the air we breathe and the water we drink. In fact, the pollution of our sonic environment is no less real. Schafer emphasizes the importance of discerning the sounds that enrich and feed us and using them to create healthier environments. To this end, he explains how to classify sounds, appreciating their beauty or ugliness, and provides exercises and “soundwalks” to help us become more discriminating and sensitive to the sounds around us. This book is a pioneering exploration of our acoustic environment, past and present, and an attempt to imagine what it might become in the future.

My Life on Earth and Elsewhere, a memoir by the internationally-acclaimed Canadian composer, music educator and writer R. Murray Schafer, traces the author's life and growth as an artist from his earliest memories to the present. Scenes from his youth as an aspiring painter, a music student at the University of Toronto and a sailor on a Great Lakes freighter give way to memories of his several years of work and wandering in Europe, where he gained a deeper understanding of his vocation, and found, especially in Greece, the inspiration for much of the astonishing music he would create after his return to Canada.

"EAR CLEANING, Mr. Schafer states, is a collection of his notes for an experimental music course, given to first year university students...Mr. Schafer correctly maintains that ears must be cleaned as a prerequisite !or all music listening and playing. EAR CLEANING describes his procedures for achieving this goal. The common denominator of all lessons is active student participation through free discussion, experimentation, improvisation and objective analysis of the elements of music. No conclusion is accepted until thoroughly tested in the crucible of personal experience. Obviously, this type of training is of the utmost importance today when the ear is constantly exposed to a mounting crescendo of sounds of all kinds. The difficulties of evaluation, of selecting the good from the bad, the genuine from the spurious, become increasingly complicated. It is futile for music education lo perpetuate the old myths of 'music appreciation' to take refuge in the neat formulae of formal training, while leaving this basic aspect of education untouched. This course, outlined by Mr. Schafer is a brilliant and highly practical description of what can be done lo fill this unfortunate gap in music education. Moreover, the skillful teacher can easily adapt it for use at any level, elementary, secondary, or university. The style of presentation, witty and lucid, is in refreshing contrast to the solemnity of the average music text. EAR CLEANING is a contribution of the highest importance to the existing literature on music education. It has a vital message for all music teachers, and indeed for all people who are concerned with the spiritual welfare of the young."--Introduction.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was a man of diversified talents -- an artist, composer, conductor, critic, jurist, and writer. This book presents an over-all picture of romanticism in its incipient years.

The soundscape is our acoustic environment, the ever-present noises with which we all live. The author suggests that we now suffer from acoustical overload and are less able to hear the nuances and subtleties of sound. Our task, he maintains, is to listen, analyze and make distinctions in spite of sound pollution.

Opens a conversation about the life and work of the music teacher. The author regards music teaching as interrelated with the rest of lived life, and her themes encompass pedagogical skills as well as matters of character, disposition, value, personality, and musicality. She urges music teachers to think and act artfully.