It’s never been easier! There are YouTube playlists, Spotify playlists, mp3 recordings to buy, borrow or stream – and, of course, CDs and even vinyl records! What a choice!
So it’s easy to listen – but why should you?
Here are three great reasons:
- Music is a language. The more you hear it, the better you understand it. Classical music is the foundation of all other genres, except for music originating in the far east. Listening to classical music helps you understand not just classical music, but jazz, modern, rock, pop and fusion.
Can you identify the pianist in the photo? Here are two clues: he was born in 1945 and he was Romanian. If you think you can identify him, email me with his name by Sunday 11th May. If you’re right, I’ll invite you to contribute to the next Humoresque!
2. Listening to great music helps you understand your instrument and what it’s capable of. If you listen to wonderful piano music (or the repertoire of your instrument, whichever it may be), you will hear professional performers getting the best from the instrument. You may not yet be capable of doing that yourself, but you will know what you’re aiming for, and, even now, you’ll make a start.
3. Listening helps your hands follow your ears. This isn’t just about listening to piano music – or to whichever instrument you play – it’s more about understanding music itself and reproducing that understanding in the way you play your instrument. And this works at all levels of playing, from beginner to advanced.
Whatever your age or stage of learning, you should listen to classical music every day. Why?
Classical music helps young children develop listening skills, focus and emotional awareness. Play recordings in the car and during quiet playtimes.
Teenagers may know that film music, video game soundtracks and pop music are all influenced by classical music. Seek out these scores and tracks so you can listen to them away from the game or film. Composing music for commercial use like this is extremely lucrative!
Adult students will gain just as much: you will become more aware of phrasing, tone and musical structure, but even if you’re not actively listening for these things, music will help you relax and unwind. Listening to classical music shouldn’t be a chore, or another job you have to fit into your day!
Next time, I’ll give you some playlists which will be useful if you are new to listening to classical music. They are full of lovely pieces to get you started, and I’ll provide some information on the music, too, and what to listen out for.
*The term “classical music” has two meanings. On the one hand it means anything that’s not pop, jazz, rock etc. Some people refer to it as “serious music”, a term I hate. You’ll hear people say things like “I was classically trained”, or “classical music is boring”. In both cases, they are using this very broad definition. The other meaning is a much narrower one: the “classical” period in European history of art, roughly 1750 to 1820.
In this Humoresque, I’m using the first definition, the broad one, so you would include baroque, classical, romantic and modern music in your playlists. As noted above, “classical music” refers to Western music only, and is the tradition upon which all Western musical genres are founded.
Humoresque = a whimsical or fanciful piece of music. Be whimsical, be fanciful, but play in time!