A Blog Book, by Victor Grauer



. . . . . for Alan Lomax, who lives . . . . .



I felt that their music came from the back of time, but also, to a certain extent, from my own depths.

Simha Arom

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

New Improved, Updated and Expanded Edition Now Available as an E-Book

I've got some good news and also some bad news. The bad news first: I've decided to pull the text of Sounding the Depths from this blog, after making it freely available for several years. During that time, the blog has pulled in over 58,000 hits, earning enthusiastic feedback from various readers in the process, which has been most gratifying. When I published the book in paperback format, I decided to leave the blog version up because it was only on the blog that readers were able to directly access all the many links to the wonderful audio and video examples. Now, however, I've prepared a new, multimedia version as an e-book, readable on Kindle as well as many other devices using (free) Kindle apps.

If you have the paperback version, never fear. The links to the multimedia examples and the Figures are still available on the lower right of this page. Also, if you purchased a copy of the paperback from Amazon, you should be entitled to a free copy of the Kindle version, as per Amazon's "Matchbook" policy. A link should appear on the Amazon page for the new version. If you don't see it, email them. 

The new version contains direct links to all the audiovisual examples, as in the original blog, along with most of the illustrations left out of the paperback. And as one might expect from a 2nd edition, it has been revised and expanded, with updated information, and two additional appendices. THAT is the good news! To access the links you'll need a multimedia e-book reader with Internet access, such as Kindle Fire, Apple i-Pad, i-Phone, Android devices, etc. There are free apps available for Macs and PCs as well. If you have an older version of Kindle, or the original paperback, you'll still be able to follow the argument of the text, but the only way to listen will be via the Audio-Visual Examples link on the lower right of this page, which I will not be taking down. The link to the new edition is here. And the price is right -- only half the original cost of the paperback: $9.00.

Another piece of good news. A (somewhat condensed) version of Sounding the Depths has recently been translated into Italian, with a preface by the noted musicologist, Stefano Zenni, published by the reputable Italian firm, Codice Edizione. The Italian title is Musica dal profondo. Viaggio all'origine della storia e della cultura and, for those of you who can read Italian, the link for purchase is here. The translators are B. Martera and G. Ferrari, who, from what I hear, have done an excellent job. (Unfortunately my knowledge of Italian is nil.) The Italian version contains many of the illustrations omitted from the original paperback version, and the corresponding e-book also contains direct links to the audio-visual examples.







12 comments:

  1. Hello Victor,
    my name is Andrea, from Italy, I attended the presentation of your book at Torino Jazz Festival, so, excited, i bought it, and I just finished it.
    I must say it has been and AMAZING and revelatory read.
    Thanks for all your studies, work, and deep connections that you narrated, they really helped to widen the perspective of thing, in music and in life!
    Real thankful. Ciao!

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    1. Thanks so much, Andrea, for these encouraging words.

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    2. Persian Tar based on 1-4-5 music intervals - is this documented by you as an extension of the Bushmen-Pygmy tradition that spread around the world?

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    3. No. Tar music stems from very different, and much more recently established, traditions.

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  2. Dear Victor, your book is full of innumerable interesting issues and gave me a new enthusiasm to keep on studying and inquiring, thank you

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  3. Where can I find the musical examples to listen?

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    1. There are direct links to the musical examples in the e-book version. If you have a hard copy of the English language version, you can find the musical examples on the right hand border of this page, labeled Audio-Visual examples. If you have the Italian version the examples should be available on the publishers website for the book.

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  4. Just bought the hardcopy version form Amazon Germany but there is no ebook version to download. Would it be possible to get the digital copy?

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    1. Apparently the Kindle version is available only to US residents, not sure why. If you send me your email address I'll be happy to send the revised edition as an attachment. My email is victorag@verizon.net

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  5. Hello Victor,
    My music teacher, Chicago-based, ethnomusicologist, composer and multi-instrumentalist, Kelan Phil Cohran taught the same ideas beginning in the 1960s. He played with Sub Ra and influenced groups such as Earth, Wind, and Fire. I look forward in reading your book

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    1. Did Mr. Cohran ever write up any of his ideas? If so I'd be very interested in reading about them.

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