PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

John Powell

Have you ever listened to an incredible piece of music and wondered exactly why it makes you want to dance or cry? Are you mystified by how musicians just 'know' what notes to play next when they're improvising? Or why certain notes sound great together and others clash? 
 
Discover the answers in this ear-opening tour of how music works. John Powell, a classically-trained composer and a physics professor, decided to write this entertaining, pain-free guide to the ingredients of music when he discovered that all the other books on the subject gave him a headache. Here he reveals the often little-known facts and fascinating science behind what we listen to, explaining the basics of harmony, scales, chords, keys and rhythm in a way that's easy for everyone to understand. 
 
He also shows us why a note has a different sound to a normal noise, why Chinese people are more likely to have perfect pitch, and even why Beethoven and Led Zeppelin are musically similar. 
 
This book reveals things that people who play music should know but often don't, and will help all of us - even if we can't read a note - increase our listening pleasure.

How Music Works

A listener's guide to harmony, keys, broken chords, perfect pitch and the secrets of a good tune

Cerys Matthews

Wherever Cerys Matthews travels she loves to eat where the locals eat, drink the local brew, enjoying great food, songs and company. And she always wants to bring back what she's learnt when she comes home. Now, out of a lifetime on the lookout for easy, tasty, flexible meals, Cerys dishes up her favourite tastes and sounds from around the globe, mixing them in with memories of her travels, stories and poems from each country and the odd killer cocktail. With these standout playlists on your system and a glass of wine on the go, get the pans bubbling and cook the world from your kitchen: the heart of the house, the middle of the action.

Where the Wild Cooks Go

Recipes, Music, Poetry, Cocktails

biblio.categories.code

biblio.publicationStatus

biblio.brand

biblio.workEditions.format

biblio.ageRange

biblio.series.seriesName

biblio.imprint.description

biblio.type

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

Search Results

East of Eden

Wuthering Heights

Jane Austen: The Complete Works

White Nights

An illustration from the book There's An Elf in Your Book and The Christmasaurus

Children's quizzes

Are you on Santa's naughty or nice list?

There's An Alien in You Book by Tom Fletcher

Extracts

There’s an Alien in Your Book by Tom Fletcher

The Creakers by Tom Fletcher

Reading lists

The best books to gift your grandchildren

An image of several space books for kids on a dark purple background with rocket, planet and star doodles around them

Children's reading lists

11 out-of-this-world space books for kids

75 Christmas books for kids

An image of a selection of spooky children's books on a dark purple background with an orange shape which features a zig-zag pattern

32 spooky books to read this Halloween

A photo of the book The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher on a wooden background next to  some presents and a candy cane

The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher

A picture of a several different books by Tom Fletcher on a light blue and red background

Where to start with Tom Fletcher’s books

An image of a selection of funny books for under 5s on a purple background with white dotted lines

14 books that will make under 5s giggle

Space Band by Tom Fletcher

A photo of a copy of The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher on a light blue background alongside white paper snowflakes

The Christmasaurus and the Winter Witch by Tom Fletcher

The best dystopian books of all time

85 books to read before you're 12

A picture of a selection of unicorn books on a blue and purple ombre background with yellow stars

The best unicorn books for kids

Christmas gifts for 2025: Books for under 5s

An image of a selection of books for under 5s on an orange background with a large splodge and cloud print

24 must-read books for under 5s

An image of a selection of books for 9-12s on a blue background with a large splodge and striped print

24 must-read books for 9-12-year-olds

Best romance books for ultimate escapism

stemming

Showing results for: ‘tom fletcher there's a in your book’

Filters

Category

Publication Date

Format

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter