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 ... Read moremusic 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

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