[.ca] Measured Tones: The Interplay of Physics and Music (ISBN 0852742363)

broad and quirky:
this book covered more ground than i had hoped and features lucid explanations of topics traditionally belonging to a whole variety of fields, as well as substantial biographical content and historical references. at many points while reading it i found myself entraced with descriptions of clear and important aspects of music and musical instruments which i had never known about before. i was especially interested in a book more abstract than the western musical paradigm, and it scored fairly. enough generalized explanations were included that i felt comfortable. johnston described a lot of musical instruments, but they are mostly western ones. my only beef is with johnston's informal writing. he glosses over some details (admitting as much) and generally avoids mathematical equations. for a book which includes, for example, generalized descriptions of the movement of masses of air in adjoined chambers of varying size, it would not have been unreasonable to have more math - imho, the principal field connecting physics and music.

This book answered many questions:
I've been trying to understand why music works like it does for several years, and stumbled onto this book by accident. It's exactly what I needed! It explains why musical scales are like they are, and how they got that way (which is important for understanding why it used to be significant which key some symphony was written in). It explains how harmony works, and melody too. And, how musical instruments work. And on top of that, it includes a very interesting history of science and of music, a very enjoyable read.

Excellent Text Book Choice:
I had to buy this book for a course in Physics. It really explains things clearly and helps with understanding.

Entertaining and historically informed account:
A superior and engaging account of how progress in the physical sciences is intertwined with the development of music theory and the evolution of musical instruments. The conversational tone of the text is never dry, and is liberally sprinkled with illustrations. There is music, science and history a-plenty here. You do not have to be "scientifically minded" to derive a great deal of pleasure and edification from the book, it has definitely been thoughtfully shaped by a professional educator. I first read this in 1990 and return to it time and again for reference, only to find myself absorbed in re-reading sections. Obviously a labor of love, "Measured Tones" deserves a wide audience. I wish Prof Johnston had written more!

An unusual approach to the topic:
I have used this book as the secondary text for a college course in the physics of music. There are a number of textbooks out there for courses of this sort (Rossing, Backus, Rigden, etc.) but this book takes a very different, historical approach, with a strong emphasis on scales and intonation. The mathematical level and level of detail are quite low--I found it hard to devise test questions to see whether the students had read the book. But it is written in a quirky, engaging style, and the students in the course found it a more enjoyable read than the main textbook by Rossing. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the relationship of history, physics, and music--no science background is required!