How to be into classic music?

[Irrumi]

I listen a lot, read articles about the composer, etc. But I don't have a sense of integrity. What is the best way to deal with that

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

I think you just kind of have to have been into it already like from when you were a kid or something. What exactly do you mean by sense of integrity though? Classical music is just like any other genre and you either like it or you don't.

I prefer video game music because it's sometimes like a cheaper, easier-to-consume version of classical music in terms of the chords and melodies.

 

[Irrumi]

I think you just kind of have to have been into it already like from when you were a kid or something. What exactly do you mean by sense of integrity though? Classical music is just like any other genre and you either like it or you don't.

I prefer video game music because it's sometimes like a cheaper, easier-to-consume version of classical music in terms of the chords and melodies.

I respect music in games. Lots of amazing compositions.

It's hard to explain... A lot of people discuss classical music freely and I don't feel like I can do it. It's like I'm missing something. Maybe I have too little experience. I don't know.

 

[Tortured_empath]

Idk I listen to classical to set a mood or a tone for a walk or when im particularly down. Cant appreciate it as a sole piece of music yet but who knows, might happen someday..

 

[PPEcel]

You either like it or you don't, like any other type of music.

 

[Tortured_empath]

You either like it or you don't, like any other type of music.

I disagree, it may grow on you

 

[Quiet Desperation]

I respect music in games. Lots of amazing compositions.

It's hard to explain... A lot of people discuss classical music freely and I don't feel like I can do it. It's like I'm missing something. Maybe I have too little experience. I don't know.

I think some people have an idea in their mind of what you're 'supposed' to do in order to enjoy classical music. For example, discussing what the composer is trying to do with techniques used in the composition or whatever. You really don't need to be able to do that unless you want to though. It's pretty technical stuff to be able to grasp and discuss the finer points. People who are that deep into it are likely die hards or musicians themselves, but you don't have to be to enjoy the music.

If you enjoy it, listen to it. Don't let anyone make you feel inadequate about that. If you listen to it enough, attend pre-concert lectures on the composers, and read about them you'll be able to discuss the pieces broadly too if that's what you want to be able to do. I had season tickets to the local symphony for a time but I knew (and still know) next to nothing about the finer points of composition or the history behind the composers.

One of my favorite violinists speaking from the stage said she wished people weren't so stuck on the idea of what classical should be. I agree. I just like the music.

 

[Celerity]

Do you like instrumental music at all? If not, that's going to be an uphill battle, IMO. Some metal fans like the "drama" and dynamic range of orchestral music. Others who mainly listen to guitar will pick up recordings of small ensembles or listen to "relaxing piano music" because they like mellow background music.

As for me, I didn't appreciate classical music until I had to play it in school, and my tastes have changed wildly over the years.

If you do enjoy instrumental music to some degree and want to expand your musical diet so to speak, I would recommend starting with popular pieces from respectable but lesser-known composers from the romantic and impressionist eras with a few more contemporary guys thrown in. [Warning: go too far into modern and you get experimental atonal noise I think they used to torture prisons at Abu Ghraib]

A big hurdle to me was burning through the songs that everyone has heard played one time or another in a commercial or a grocery store or a cheap music box/snow globe thing from Hallmark. That generally means no Mozart, no Bach, no Beethoven, no Pachelbel's Canon in D. All that stuff sounded (and still sounds) stale as hell to my ears because I have heard it a million and one times. Even Tchaikovsy, awesome as he is, usually doesn't do it for me because everyone and their grandma has picked through all his best stuff.

In my opinion, the most accessible are movie-score-like orchestrations with lots of drama and strong melodies. You could even start with Gustav Holst's Planets which inspired John Williams' score for Star Wars:



You've probably heard this one, but I don't think you can really ever go wrong with Wagner:


Edward Elgar and Malcolm Arnold are solid composers with a lot to choose from:



Here are some other names to explore:

• Franz Liszt
• Carl Orff - specifically Carmina Burana
• Igor Stravinsky
• Dmitri Shostakovich
• Aaron Copland

I also strongly recommend Maurice Ravel. He is my favorite composer and has strong works for both the orchestra and piano. He can write loud and aggressive, but his best work tends to be on the softer side of the emotional spectrum, IMO. Aaron Copland falls into that category as well.

Some more minimalist/modern composers who don't write straight noise:

• John Adams
• Philip Glass

Piano music that isn't merely elevator/hold/study music:

• Frédéric Chopin
• Claude Debussy

At the end of the day though, you like what you like. I have tried time and again to rediscover jazz and have only found a few songs that I like. I just don't get the hype.

 

[kitch]

Probably missing the point ... but ,

Recently I listened to a bit of string quartet covers of pop music.
I loved them !
(Youtube I guess and the wild wild wide open oceans of treasure chests argh ha ha me hearties...)

It was nice to hear some favourite pop songs from me yoof redone in that way ...

I was never introduced to classical as a kid ...
I met a few people that turned me on to these ...
The German Requiem by Brahms is a banger
A symphony of sorrowful songs by Gorecci was a big chart topper back in the day .


Some of me faves string quartet covers ...

 

[OctoberDusk]

I hope it's okay to post a month later, but one way is to listen for a theme or motif, a few notes. It'll often be something established early on. The dum dum dum duuummmm of Beethoven's Fifth is the best known example, but another good one is Bun dun dahhh da in the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Sixth. Then listen to how that idea is expanded, embellished, and referenced throughout a piece or movement. And focus on how you react, where the music takes you.

 

[The Disinherited]

I love Bach, Beethoven and Mozart and have been burned out since listening to them about three years ago (although I did listen to some of Tchaikovsky and Chopin). A couple of weeks ago I tried to get back into classical with Haydn (the alleged founding father of the string quartet and symphony) and it felt stale and exhausting. So, while I would recommend the legends like the big three I listed above, I don't know what I should do to get back into classical. Stravinsky and Shostakovich seem a safe bet considering they're a big jump forward in time but I don't know. Also Vivaldi's four seasons, although the first concerto is familiar to everyone, is still my favourite piece(s) of music.

 

[lecyleclec]

This may be a bit unorthodox but I found myself getting into classical music by becoming a classical musician myself. I would imagine myself playing the pieces and being able to actually play and experience the pieces is truly magical.

 

[Pluto]

Classical music was always playing at home. I've been particularly trying to learn some Chopin pieces just because they bring back memories, and in the process have developed a whole new level of appreciation that such a young person (albeit a fully-fledged prodigy) could come up with anything like that. It should be impossible for any human to have such a sophisticated creativity.

 

[Lost in a Dream]

Lately, I've found that I love listening to metal that is mixed in with classical music, or I sometimes enjoy it when orchestras or quartets do covers of hard rock or metal songs. It's definitely helped me to appreciate it a bit more.

 

[thetourist]

Super late to the discussion but, speaking solely for myself, I "get" music that evokes strong feelings and thoughts I wouldn't otherwise have. I enjoy a wide variety of musical genres and prefer contemporary classical over many of the Greats.