"Craig Dworkins new book is a rhizomatic atlas, a poetically mapped room of musical possibilities in which one door leads to a Wittgensteinian room and another onto a whales vagina. Whether youre new to its imaginative possibilities or a long-time resident of its frontiers, The Sound of Thinkings unique scholarship and textual virtuosity are a perfect introduction to the 'resonant paper' of conceptual music." -- Nate Wooley, trumpet player and composer "Declaring that even the most esoteric music need not be off-limits to nonspecialists, the practitioner and scholar of conceptual writing Craig Dworkin sets off on an abecedarians course through largely uncharted musical practice. The Sound of Thinking is a joy not only due to its vast research and wild associative leaps, but because Dworkin is a brilliant prose stylist whose comic panache pairs well with the deadpan stare of much of the work gathered here." -- David Grubbs, composer, musician, and vocalist "In this brilliant sourcebook that guides the listener through global musical practices, Craig Dworkin takes us on a tour of conceptual music, defined for its exploration of procedure, arbitrary rules, and contextual reframing. The twenty-six short chapters are presented as an abecedarium that may be read in any order, focusing as they do on lesser-known composers, on anomalous works by famous composers, and on practices such as collage, chance, appropriation, the sonification of data, and visual art taken as musical scores. Even the most esoteric music need not be off limits to nonspecialists, argues Dworkin." -- Nancy Perloff, Getty Research Institute
