Touching Sound Living Lullabies provides a refreshingly new and unique approach to understanding and valuing music. Author Sorrel Doris Hays begins with a simple song, the lullaby, as the initial focus, in a variety of cultural contexts from North and South America, Africa, China, Turkey and Europe, with substantive essays on the history and evolving nature of lull music and the science of psychoacoustics.
From lulls, Hays broadens the discussion to more complex contemporary forms of Western instrumental structures. Through conversations with veteran composers Pauline Oliveros and Annea Lockwood, Hays explores the effect of sound upon the body. Therapists, audio engineers, teachers, artists and hundreds of parents and other caregivers contribute to the discussion of sound and its physiological impact.
The book is anchored by 58 musical scores and 2 CDs of 84 original recordings with choirs, soloists, location recordings and instrumental ensembles.
Of interest to specialists in the fields of:
- world music
- music appreciation
- music therapy
- women's studies
- psychoacoustics
- electronic music
- general music
- contemporary music
- music composition
