Humans have always made music, and the art form has always moved with the times, revealing powerful truths about the artists and their cultures. Taking stock of organized sound from prehistory through the diverse hybrid forms of music available to us today, this profusely illustrated history surveys six centuries of classical music as well as the emergence and evolution of jazz, pop, blues, country, rock, punk, and electronica. Multifaceted and global in scope, the book contains sidebars, timelines, a glossary, and capsule biographies of many musicians, along with in-depth studies of instruments and profiles of such pivotal figures as Amadeus Mozart, Maria Callas, John Lennon, and David Bowie.