Ch. 1. What, in the world, is music? -- ch. 2. How music lives: a musicultural approach -- ch. 3. How music works, pt. 1 Rhythm -- ch. 4. How music works, pt. 2 Pitch -- ch. 5. How music works, pt. 3 Dynamics, timbre, and instruments -- ch. 6. How music works, pt. 4 Texture and form -- ch. 7. Interlocking rhythms and interlocking worlds in Balinese gamelan music -- ch. 8. Raga, Ravi Shankar, and intercultural crossings in Indian music -- ch. 9. Tradition and transformation in Irish traditional music -- ch. 10. Musical conversations: communication and collective expression in West African music -- ch. 11. Oye como va : three generations in the life of a classic Latino/American dance tune -- ch. 12. From Baladi to belly dance: women's dance and dance rhythnms in Egypt and beyond -- ch.13. A musicultural history of the Chinese Zheng -- ch. 14. Climbing Jacob's ladder: modern musical reflections of an ancient Jewish mystical text.