Bridge of Waves: What Music Is and How Listening to It Changes the World

Music is nothing but a sequence of fleeting vibrations that arise and subside. Why can something so insubstantial thrill us, pacify us, or even make us cry? Because, says W. A. Mathieu, whether it’s a cantata or a blues jag, a harmonica solo or a symphony, music always reveals the sacred, making a bridge across the space between us and others, and uniting mind and heart within us. It’s truly a mystical path, and you don’t even need to listen that deeply to discover it. Mathieu’s lively and delightful essays lead you to question what music is, how it works, and what it’s for. And he shows you how to make music a spiritual practice, to understand its value in your life and in the creation of family and community.

Music is, in one sense, merely a series of fleeting vibrations that arise and subside. How could it be that something so insubstantial fills us, and calms us, and makes us weep? Because, says W. A. Mathieu, music bridges mind and heart, self and other, and affirms our place in the world. Everyone uses the bridge of music, from casual listeners to devoted professionals. Mathieu's delightful and trenchant prose asks you to question what music is, how it works, and how to understand its value in your life, in the life of your community, and in the evolution of the cosmos.

William “Allaudin” Mathieu is a composer and musician whose long and colorful career ranges from his early work with the Stan Kenton band to his compositions for the Second City comedy troupe, to his best-selling recordings on the Windham Hill label in the 1980s. He is the author of The Listening Book, The Musical Life, and Harmonic Experience: Tonal Harmony from Its Natural Origin to Its Modern Expression.