SEARCH FOR AH...The Myth of Modern Music

Terry A. Setter, Senior Music Faculty at The Evergreen State College, says in the preface, "'Search for Ah..' is easy to follow. It works both as an explantation of tuning systems with their resultant 'families of pitches' and as an engaging adventure story set on a beautiful island. You will find it enjoyable reading and a valuable eduction. It is a revolutionary look at the science and aesthetics of tuning systems."

"Search for Ah..." tells the story of the Harmony family, Joon and Pytag, their adopted son, Song, and their eight daughters, Doe, Rae, Mee, Fu, Sol, Mu, Ah and Tee. The story ties in with the music theory at the rear of the book, correlating the characters to the mathematics of harmony, proposing an alternative tuning sytem from the accepted Western chromatic music scales.

The authors reveal a 2500 year old Pythagorean mistake which led music down its path, away from harmony, to what it is today. In the story, after Ah gets taken by a bear, the character Pytag retunes his daughters Fu and Mu to be Fa and La. Song must figure out what harmony is and guide his family back.

The book's end explores how to use harmonics to define the essence of superstring theory, a theory of everything.

On the back of the book, Larry Dossey, MD, author of books such as "Meaning and Medicine" and "Reinventing Medicine", says Mark and Joe have "created an enchanting, magical journey. [They remind] us that music and mathematics were once a spiritual endeavor--and that they could be again. This highly original work will inspire a great many people. Read with care: this could change your view of music forever."

Also on the book's back, Aly Evans, Director of Education Programs, Reuben H. Fleet Science Center says, "'Search for Ah...' creatively provides today's educators with important science concepts blended with a strong literary connection."