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Description
On the eve of his fortieth birthday, a professor of no discernible musical talent learns to play the guitar and investigates how anyone of any age might master a new skill. Just about every human being knows how to listen to music, but what does it take to make music? Is musicality something we are born with? Or a skill that anyone can develop at any time? If you don't start piano at the age of six, is there any hope? Is skill learning best left to children or can anyone reinvent him-or herself at any time? On the eve of his fortieth birthday, Gary Marcus, an internationally renowned scientist with no discernible musical talent, becomes his own guinea pig to look at how human beings become musical- and how anyone of any age can master something new. Guitar Zero traces his journey, what he learned, and how you can learn, too. In addition to being a groundbreaking look at the origins and allure of music, Marcus's journey is also an empowering tale of the mind's plasticity. In a quest that takes him from Suzuki classes to guitar gods, Marcus investigates the most effective ways to train your brain and body to learn to play an instrument. How can you make your practice more deliberate and effective? How can you find the best music teacher for you or your child? Does talent really exist? Or is hard work all you need? Guitar Zero stands the science of music on its head, debunking the popular theory of an innate musical instinct and many other commonly held fallacies. At the same time, it raises new questions about the science of human pleasure and brings new insight into humankind's most basic question: what counts as a life well lived? Does one have to become the next Jimi Hendrix to make a passionate pursuit worthwhile? Or can the journey itself bring the brain lasting satisfaction? For those who have ever set out to learn a musical instrument-or wishes that they could- Guitar Zero is an inspiring and fascinating look at music, learning, and the pursuit of a well-lived life. Read more
Listening Length : 5 hours and 33 minutes
Author : Gary Marcus
Narrator : Gary Marcus
Publication date : January 19, 2012
Language : English
Publisher : Penguin Audio
Version : Unabridged
Program Type : Audiobook
Best Sellers Rank: #69,192 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #24 in Music Instruction & Technique #30 in Music Appreciation (Books) #141 in Guitars (Books)
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Top Amazon Reviews
Format: Paperback
It is truth pretty generally acknowledged that there is a limited window of opportunity for learning things like language or music, and that if you haven't activated that mental ability by, say, 10 or so then you never really will; you may acquire a certain level of "book-learning," but you'll never become truly fluent. Gary Marcus always wanted to be musical -- specifically, he wanted to play guitar -- but he just couldn't get it. So he gave up on the guitar and went ahead with his life, and now he's all grown up and a respected and published psychologist specializing in language and cognitive development. But he still wanted to play, and from his study of neuroscience he found himself wondering, where does the idea of this limited window come from, anyway? This book recounts his exploration of music along two parallel dimensions: the theoretical, looking into and explaining different scientific facets of the question, and the practical, taking a year's sabbatical and forcing himself to learn the guitar. It's about much more than the inspirational, feel-good story it sounds like from the cover blurbs. Marcus does well on both sides. On the science side, he spends a chapter each on such topics as: where the idea of the developmental window comes from, the relationship between music and language, music theory, the relative importance of practice versus talent, cross-cultural theory and history of music, and the whole question of what makes good music anyway (that chapter is titled "The worst song in the world"). On the practical side, he studies with teachers, he learns he has congenital arrhythmia (probably part of why he couldn't learn music as a kid), he learns how to listen and how to play, he goes to band camp, and he interviews many many professional musicians and learns from them. He gets pretty good, though he'll never be a rock star; certainly he busts the myth that you can't learn guitar as an adult. Marcus writes in a conversational tone that is easy to read, with a lot of information at his fingertips that doesn't feel hauled up by the armload. He covers many different topics, and he does so at just about the perfect level: I learn something new and interesting on each subject but not *everything*, there's always something more I'll want to get back to sometime later. I learn how playing guitar really is totally different from playing the piano (which I had done in my time). Includes glossary, notes, bibliography, and index -- again, never at too heavy a level for the typical lay reader. If I have to find one fault with the book, and it's a pretty minor one, it's that the last few chapters become just too much a celebration of Marcus' love of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, and most importantly, JIMI HENDRIX!!! Just because Hendrix's style wasn't to my individual taste I can still acknowledge the man's great talent; still, you could calm down just a little, dude.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2013 by Caleb Hanson
Format: Kindle
This basically is a book chronicling one person's journey to becoming musical at an advanced age. It is a very interesting read, and spends a lot of ink describing some of the science of the brain's processing sound and related topics. It touches on some other things like the history of music, but mostly not in a very deep way. It was meant to be a fairly short and quick read. It was interesting and informative, but it definitely does not teach you how to play a guitar. What it is, to me, is motivation. This book records one man's journey toward becoming a good guitarist and his thoughts and reflections along the way. It has many interesting bits of information about various musicians peppered throughout the book that did add quite a bit of interest.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018 by JMS
Format: Kindle
Pretty common theme among the previous reviews - lots of detours and filler, but I read it anyway. It kinda feels like a bunch of Family Guy "like that time when" cutaways...except not always as entertaining. I put this book down for a couple of months, and read a couple of other books, before i could finish it. I've gotten used to sifting through a certain amount of filler in these types of books, while looking for pearls of wisdom from people who have done it. I don't necessarily recall any new pearls from this book, but nonetheless there's something to gather from almost all perspectives, and usually a fair amount of confirmation of things that I've learned elsewhere. Essentially, I reconfirmed from the book that there is no "science" to becoming musical. There is plenty of science around accumulating knowledge, and learning and developing skills. One of the anecdotes the author provided was very useful, describing a certain artist who was turned off by someone trying to talk music theory, because the artist felt so strongly about how bringing music theory into focus ran counter to staying on a musical creative wavelength. Build the vocabulary, internalize it, and move on (which still translates into practice, practice, practice...smartly). Becoming musical...creative and expressive in application of knowledge and skills, is still an unpredictable and non-guaranteed "aha" phenomenon. Just like being a straight A student by itself won't make you a best selling author...but it helps and is usually evidence of a lot of work. The book reinforces that as an aspiring guitarist, you have to be engaged and playing (not just noodling and going through the motions) in order to develop or discover musicality. So, by that, I would say it's worth a read, but don't be afraid to skim if it gets tedious.
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Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2020 by Lean6RTJ
Format: Hardcover
I recommend this read to anyone interested in learning to play music - especially as an adult. This book is clearly written by a true academic because his insight into the way the human mind interacts with music is detailed. I am not versed in psychology but this book is accessible and I think it's for two reasons. For one thing the writing is down to earth. Even when I know it's weighty concepts they are delivered in a digestible way. I don't feel talked down to. The other reason I think is the big difference - the author USED HIMSELF AS A TEST SUBJECT! He tried to move from a Guitar Hero video game failure to a functional guitar player (a real guitar, not a glorified joy stick). What a fun story he tells of his journey. He is very real about his emotions, his concerns, his failures and in my estimation his ultimate victory. Really cool to experience his journey through this book. As an adult who wishes to be more musical this gives me hope. As a side note, psychology students may get inspiration from this book. Like I noted, this author speaks from the benefit of being a professor. A student who is seeking inspiration for class required experiments, or perhaps a person seeking test their own skill boundaries, and of course people who just want to grow in his/her own understanding should consider this book at text as much as it is entertainment. I'm hard on books normally, but this one has a thumbs up from me.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2012 by JoshPies
Format: Hardcover
This book wasn't quite what I had expected, but I wasn't disappointed. Cognitive psychologist Gary Marcus, who clearly has a history of being "challenged" musically, decides as he approaches the age of 40 to learn to play the guitar. A serendipitous sabbatical from his usual gig teaching at NYU gives him enough leisure that he takes on the project seriously. Guitar Zero (a pun on the popular video game Guitar Hero, for those like me who didn't get it)recounts his adventures, which include playing in a rock band with 11-year-olds at a music camp and MANY MANY hours of practice. I had expected a memoir of a middle-aged scientist observing himself learning a new skill, which I got, but Marcus also explores many facets of the science of music, such as whether talent or practice is more important, what kinds of music people like and do not like (I was pleased to have my own preferences supported by finding out that the "most unwanted song" would be sung by an operatic soprano.), and how experts and novices differ when they listen to music. No knowledge of music theory is necessary to enjoy this book. Marcus does a good job of explaining the theory needed along the way, but I do not believe he spends so much time on it that it would annoy a reader who does not need the explanation. As someone who is a contemporary of Marcus' father, I was a little at sea when it came to many of his references to musicians I genuinely had never heard of, and I would have appreciated definitions of pop music guitar terms like "riff" and "lick", but he does talk about Bob Dylan and even mentions the Andrews Sisters. I picked up a lot of fascinating information from Guitar Hero and was incredibly impressed with what Marcus accomplished as a guitarist. Maybe I should pull out that guitar that has been sitting in the closet for the past 30 years....
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Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2012 by Angie Boyter
Format: Kindle
If you are interested in: 1. How people learn (especially adults) 2. What the current research is in brain science and music 3. Addressing meaningful questions about making music and playing guitar you will not be disappointed with this book. I started with the audiobook and purchased this, so I could highlight and check the referenced sources. I think that anyone who is interested in a deeper understanding of how all of the elements come together to influence one's ability to play and make music will absolutely enjoy this book. Of course, if you're just interested in tips/tricks or a mechanical treatment, you'll be disappointed. The author does a good job of discussing his journey AND how it maps on to a general view of learning. With just a little consideration, I was able to map what he was discussing into how that applied to my life/playing. Highly recommended.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2012 by Kenneth Gonzalez (kengon)
Format: Hardcover
I bought this book because I, like the Author, have been struggling with the guitar for many many years. The statistical information about how the human brain works and learns is very interesting, but I felt the story (his struggle, the main thread if u will) was choppy and didn't flow smoothly from one idea to the next. I found in many places the author seemed to dwell too much on scientific research and not enough on his actual experience. A good book, none the less. Interesting from a scientific/theory perspective, ultimately I'd didn't feel that the book helped me to better myself as a musician.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2012 by Michael R. Colao
Format: Paperback
I wanted to like this book; I wanted to learn from this book. Gary Marcus is an obviously talented research psychologist (and I say this, knowing much about the field through my personal studies). He's detailed, almost obsessive, in finding connections to previous research about humans and music. But the book is often dull, and Mr. Marcus' insights on research and the pragmatics of learning music are rarely inspired. Though he excuses his lack of competence, referring to his lack of native ability and neglect of practice, his main fault, in the book and, perhaps, in his study of music, is his egotism. And yet researchers don't speculate much, but that is something that kills this book. Perhaps it's filler, but Marcus' unfortunate description of the difficulties in music begin in a chart early in the book (page 41) where he details the location of individual notes, strings, and frets. Most any adult could tell you that rote learning of the exact positions of notes is painful and rarely successful. Patterns make up our language of learning, whether it's music or language, or... whatever. You wonder what he was thinking. Marcus also frequently refers to his lack of rhythm, but it is one of the few things not detailed, tutored, or analyzed, despite the relentless effort to find out what music "is". No teacher has been quoted who critiqued his rhythm, or suggested a remedy, but he proposed it as a major block in his progress. TMI. Mr. Marcus would do well to forget research and just BE. If he wants a substantial topic of research for the rest of his career, it's not music, but how one can over-analyze any task to inhibit real learning.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2013 by John Maliga