I’ve been fortunate to receive a lot of attention for Bad Singer. And the above illustration, from this Quill & Quire profile, makes me look far better and younger than I deserve.
Here’s a round-up of the coverage so far:
Reviews
• “Over the last decade there have been a number of books published about the science of music—such as Daniel Levitan’s This Is Your Brain on Music, Oliver Sacks’s Musicophilia, and David Byrne’s How Music Works—and Bad Singer is a doubly successful effort because it doesn’t retread the same ground of these books, with Falconer couching his subject in a personal journey that’s enjoyable to follow.”
— “Is it possible for those who are tone-deaf to appreciate music or become better singers?” by Jay Hosking (National Post; May 17, 2016)
• “While he may be a bad singer, he’s a thorough researcher and gifted raconteur. What Falconer lacks in pitch he makes up for in curiosity and passion.”
— “What makes a Bad Singer?” by Patricia Dawn Robertson (Toronto Star; May 28, 2016)
• “Falconer eventually has the courage to stand in front of a group of friends and some strangers, tell everyone he’s tone deaf, and belt out ‘Blackbird’ once again. It wasn’t good, but the journey was great.”
— “Confessions of a bad singer” by Aaron Hutchins (Maclean’s; May 9, 2016)
• “Falconer … tells an engaging tale overall, blending the history and science with his own, often-frustrating attempts to learn how to sing.”
— “From learning to sing to playing jazz, listening is key” by Chris Smith (Winnipeg Free Press; May 21, 2016)
Stories
• “Falconer’s self-deprecating humour keeps Bad Singer’s tone lighthearted and as entertaining as the photos of him hamming it up as a singer on the book cover. Lines like “I’m a bad singer. And deep down, it matters” produce an undercurrent of sorrow, but far more pronounced are his curiosity, vulnerability, and perseverance. It’s a deeply human book, and his most personal.”
— “Profile: Tim Falconer uses his own tone deafness to explore how we respond to music in Bad Singer” by Carla Gillis (Quill & Quire; June 2016)
• “Bad Singer is equal parts a scientific exploration and a love letter to music. In the infographic below, we’ve summarized four of the theories Tim discusses about why early humans may have invented music.”
—”Why did humans start making music? Four theories explored in Tim Falconer’s Bad Singer” (CBC Books; May 19, 2016)
Q&As
• “Can anyone learn to sing? Bad Singer delves into the science behind how the brain processes music” by Wency Leung (The Globe and Mail; May 23, 2016)
• “What does it really mean to be tone deaf? In the fascinating new Bad Singer, Tim Falconer explores amusia — the neurological inability to perceive pitch” by Michael Rancic (Chart Attack; May 17, 2016)
Radio Interviews
• With Shelagh Rogers, host of The Last Chapter on CBC Radio: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/governor-general-david-johnston-tim-falconer-1.3570505/tim-falconer-on-being-a-bad-singer-1.3570573
• With Dave White, host of Airplay on CBC Radio in Whitehorse, Yukon: “Tim Falconer finds his voice”
• With Nantali Indongo, guess host of CBC Montreal’s All in a Weekend: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/programs/allinaweekend/the-science-of-bad-singing-1.3595733