# Do you need certain conditions in which to enjoy classical music?



## Charlie Mac (May 23, 2015)

Increasingly, I find it hard to listen to classical music and enjoy it properly unless I'm able to listen to it quietly, on my own and without distractions.

Is this the case for you or not?


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I can generally enjoy it at any time, but there are certain times where it seems your mind is extra receptive and you are just starving for music.


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## breakup (Jul 8, 2015)

Charlie Mac said:


> Increasingly, I find it hard to listen to classical music and enjoy it properly unless I'm able to listen to it quietly, on my own and without distractions.
> 
> Is this the case for you or not?


I find that different situations will bring about the desire to listen to different kinds of music, and NO, I do not insist on listening to Bolero while making love. Clare De Lune would be much better, but not long enough.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I need to have ears that work. Otherwise I can't enjoy classical music.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

breakup said:


> Clare De Lune would be much better, but not long enough.


Oh? Speak for yourse--.

Wait. Never mind.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Yes, certain times I am very receptive, other times music doesn't do as much for me. Unfortunately I've found it quite difficult predicting when these receptive times will occur.

Personally, I prefer no music while making love. A theory I have is that those who like to listen to music while doing that are generally more selfish lovers, because the sounds produced by the act of making love are key indicators of performance.


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

It depends what you mean by "listen". If you mean hearing the music to some extent while performing other tasks or commuting or whatever, then by definition people do that in distracting circumstances. If you mean pay full attention, concentrating on what is happening, then it needs to be reasonably distraction-free. Anecdotally, most people do mostly the former.
PS - but not perhaps members of a forum dedicated to classical music. You might expect a heightened interest here.


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

Weston said:


> Oh? Speak for yourse--.
> 
> Wait. Never mind.


Hahah I knew the jokes would follow.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Yeah, usually a crowded supermarket, or street corner.


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## haydnfan (Apr 13, 2011)

Charlie Mac said:


> Increasingly, I find it hard to listen to classical music and enjoy it properly unless I'm able to listen to it quietly, on my own and without distractions.
> 
> Is this the case for you or not?


Same here, I prefer to listen without distraction or noise. My mind also has to be quiet.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I tend to be alone to enjoy classical music. If I'm with other people, it would be rude to ignore them to hear that cadenza, that theme, that coda, that harmonic progression. If I'm with others, classical music tends to slip into the background, it's nice, but I'm not really listening.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

OP: I need to be in a mushroom cellar with a pair of white socks, and a large frozen turkey . . . These conditions are non-negotiable!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

breakup said:


> I find that different situations will bring about the desire to listen to different kinds of music, and NO, I do not insist on listening to Bolero while making love. Clare De Lune would be much better, but not long enough.


That's why I recommend act II of Tristan und Isolde


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

+1 for "on my own and without distractions". However on workdays I travel 3 hours a day by train and it's mostly spend listening to classical music. It's not ideal, but for me it's the best way to spend the otherwise wasted time. As long as people aren't too noisy it's alright. Actually it's quite nice to listen to music in the early morning, especially when it's a beautiful sunny day and you can see the sun coming up.
I look around and see other people with earplugs or headphones and I wonder if I'm the only one listening to classical music. Most of the time I'm pretty sure I am.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I need decent equipment to listen to great classical music properly. Speakers are one good example. I generally avoid headsets because I like the air around the room. And it doesn't damage the ears. To be safe.


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## Steatopygous (Jul 5, 2015)

Morimur said:


> OP: I need to be in a mushroom cellar with a pair of white socks, and a large frozen turkey . . . These conditions are non-negotiable!


So that's why I can't get a large frozen turkey for love nor money. You selfish so and so...


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Yes, I always need quiet to listen to classical music. 

There are times when I am studying a score to analyze it, and I need quiet to think. However, there are times when I want to experience the music as music, and at times like that, even the score becomes an unwelcome distraction.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

The only condition I've noticed lately is that I prefer to listen in the daytime. Maybe by night time I've had enough of serious thinking.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I enjoy classical music the most when reclining in the early evening on my Barcolounger, while attractive young ladies in skimpy attire dump baskets of money on me. Great way to listen to late Beethoven.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I need a quiet atmosphere, quiet mind and better in the evening - these conditions are for classical music. ah, and the most important I shouldn't be in a hurry


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## calvinpv (Apr 20, 2015)

I seem to be the opposite of some people here: at least as of late, I tend to absorb music more effectively when it's less quiet. The problem with a quiet environment is that 1) any noise, no matter how small, will stand out and distract my attention while at the same time 2) I become self-conscious that the music I listen to is leaking out of my headphones and disturbing those around me. A white noise-like level of commotion in the background, however, gives me peace of mind because it's like there's a tacit agreement between myself and the environment that we're not concerned with engaging with each other, meaning I can withdraw into the music.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

I find that if I listen to too much pop music (rock included), not matter how
good and sophisticated I think it is, it detracts in me from my classical music
listening. It's just some kind of mental/emotional pattern that I have going.
It's not that I can't jump from one to another, it's that I'll tend to listen to exclusively
classical music for a time and once I break that pattern, it's hard to listen to as much
as I would like.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Manxfeeder said:


> The only condition I've noticed lately is that I prefer to listen in the daytime. Maybe by night time I've had enough of serious thinking.


Spoken very wise. :tiphat:


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