How can I learn about classical music?!
Question: I am interested in learning about and listening to classical music and opera. I am a complete beginner. What resources do you recommend?
Answers: I am interested in learning about and listening to classical music and opera. I am a complete beginner. What resources do you recommend?
Before signing up for a course, I would just spend time listening. Tune into some classical radio stations and just listen casually, or let it be background music. Something will eventually perk your ears and catch your attention. Find out the name of the composition and its composer. Find out its genre/style, such as Baroque, Romantic, or maybe 20th Century Contemporary. Also, find out about the instrumentation, b/c you might find that you really like a certain performing medium, such as symphonies, string quartets, or piano sonatas or violin concertos.
From there, zero in on a specific composer, a performing medium or a genre/style. CHOOSE ONLY ONE, b/c any one of them will lead you to scores of compositions to hear.
Buy a few cds. There are tons of inexpensive cds that feature classical music: They have titles like "Top 10 Beethoven Favorites"; "World's Famous Symphonies"; "Most Popular String Quartets"; "Greatest Hits from the Baroque Period". Get the cds for under $10, and DO NOT PAY MORE!!
These generic cds are frowned upon by music snobs. But ignore them! For a trained ear, there's a considerable difference in listening to a $30 cd. However, a novice listener will not necessarily hear the difference. So, why pay more now? In time, as your classical knowledge appreciates, so will your cd collection.
For an intro to opera, I think Mozart is the best for beginners. Mozart used good stories for his operas, and his music is fun and much easier to listen to than many other operas. I'd first recommend Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro", "Cosi Fan Tutti", or "Don Giovanni".
In time, you may find that you're mostly drawn to a particular composer, a style of music or medium. You'll find that there is plenty of good information in some cd liner notes and on the internet. For me, it's been helpful to know the things that influenced a musical style and/or composer (culture, social or personal issues, politics, war, etc.) It's fascinating that so much classical music was written due to other influences.
Finally, classical music is so vast and varied. It's going to be a long journey. So, take your time and just enjoy listening. Trust your ears and do not let any music snobs to dissuade you from what you want to hear.
find a radio station that only plays classical.
read some classical music to see hows its written
reaserch the histoy of music because its actually really interesting and there is heaps of different tyes of classical music
help me out
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...
just reading about it i guess. you could also find a classical music station and listen to it. they usually say stuff like who played/sang it, who wrote it, etc. im not really sure about resources, but maybe going to a library for books and the internet. btw, dont just read the whole book unless you feel like it. just go to random pages and read to learn some parts of it. otherwise, you'll be bored with all the uninteresting parts they put in. then again, thats just how i would do things and other people might say to just read it all and learn everything about it.....
There's a lot of material out there, if you don't know how to take advantage of the advanced search options of google and the like many University and Public libraries have taken the time to evaluate and organize classical music sites for you.
Here's one from Yale
http://www.library.yale.edu/musiclib/web...
Here's a different approach in the UK
http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanitie...
Here's another good list of links Digital Librarian
http://www.digital-librarian.com/music.h...
and last but not least there's wikipedia some entries are fantastic some are stinkola but big lists of major artists and composers can help you with search terms
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_m...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cla...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vio...
Please don't forget that if there's a good public library near you it's the best place for discovery. You never have to worry if the reference material is bunk, they have plenty of recordings and many will have listening stations on site. It's also FREE. Have fun getting to know classical music
Wonderful advice given so far. And honestly, I think it's great you want to get into it. I'm a classical musician and I still study it like crazy and I'm trying to expose myself to even more music.
I would listen to a classical music station and write down a few of the things you like: Title, Composer. Then go look it up. Read about the composer and when he or she lived. Why was the piece written? When was it written? What kind of piece is it? What instruments performed it or who sang it? If you really like piece, test out the waters with some more composers of that time period whom you can also find through research. If you have access to a university music library, the librarians would be glad to help you.
Also, many univeristy music programs give free concerts and recitals. Go check them out and keep the programs. Bring a pencil and circle the pieces you liked and write what you liked about them. Then go look it up and find out why you liked it so much. Maybe you will see a certain performer. Look up more of what he or she has done. Buy a CD. And on and on! It's really quite an adventure. One where you choose the path you take.
Good luck.
~Lisa
The best way to start I feel, if you live close to a good College or University, is to simply enroll in a "Music Appreciation Course".
These usually present a good overview, and you have the opportunity to interact with other "live" human beings, who share your goal. Couldn't ask for anything better than that.
Good luck, and enjoy,
Alberich
Penguin Opera Guide
listen to NPR/music online or from your local NPR affiliate... many of them feature a classical repretoire
listen to the radio for classical music programs....that is one thing you can do
and
The Metropolitan Opera
broadcasts from the opera house
on Saturday afternoons are the live matinee performances
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/