Musicality for Modern Humans: How To Listen Like An Artist

Musicality for Modern Humans propels music appreciation into the 21st century.

It's a self-enrichment book about the inner game of sound-based art for curious people who wish they could get deeper into music, including those who feel confused, overwhelmed, or intimidated. It's for anyone looking to shake up their habits, get free of algorithms, and listen for more in music across all genres and time periods.

Musicality is about how composers and musicians manipulate tone, time, and timbre to reach us emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. It's also about how we respond and how alert we are to creativity and nuance. With perspective earned through 25 years of reporting and a lifetime of playing, Nashville-based writer and broadcaster Craig Havighurst resets our expectations, simplifies music theory, champions today's finest artists, and guides readers in a rethink of their musical diet.

Humbly honoring the educational lineage of Leonard Bernstein, Wynton Marsalis, and Billy Taylor, Havighurst is a new voice filling the void in an age when the importance of musical literacy has been increasingly diminished in schools and the mainstream press. He guides us toward active, engaged listening with the goal of enhancing our well-being, our capacity for empathy, and our bonds to family and community. Readers of every level and background are invited to heed the words of Isaac Stern and make music "an active part of natural life" through discerning listening and a lifelong exploration of what moves us.