# How do you approach or appreciate classical music while listening to a work?



## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

There are many members who has extensive experience with CM and apporches it differently. For example, one may prefer just listening to it and let emotions guide him, while another perfer doing extensive research about the work to understand the context behind the work. This is just a hypothetical example by the way, not calling anyone out.

So how do you approach listening to classical music? It can be light-hearted as "before turning on the turntable I like to make myself a cup of coffee to settle into the work" or more serious as "the pleasure in listening to classical music is unlike other genre where the focus in on the lyrics, here it's following the iterations and variations of a melody". I made these examples up.

I already made a thread about YouTube channels that can deepen or broaden my appreciation and slowly making way with recommend text on this thread, but if you know any sources you use please let us know.

Also *please refrain from posting about objectivism and subjectivism* as there are other thread that is more suitable to discussion about that topic. I don't need to see another thread about this. Know that both are approaches to classical music, but I'm not interested in them. Capish.

Thank you for reading this thread and look forward to reading the discussion. Hopefully, this thread will reveal how different people approach/ appreciate classical music.


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## Axter (Jan 15, 2020)

I take my time, prepare a good atmosphere, where I know I am relaxed and my mind is not occupied with work or other things. Lie down on sofa, head sets on and just listen. I can’t explain how and why I fall for a piece, it just clicks when it does and this happens rather fast; and when that happens I listen to it more often with different interpretations i.e. conductors, orchestras, and performers etc...


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I don't approach it any differently than any other music. I just listen to it, it doesn't require any special preparation.


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## Amadea (Apr 15, 2021)

Conrad2 said:


> Originally, I was thinking titling the title as "How to listen/appoarch/appreciate classical music" but I felt the title suggest authority which is impossible for this subject and differs for each person which may lead to conflict. However, my reason for creating this thread is the same. I want to learn more about different apporches to classical music through listening.
> 
> There are many members who has extensive experience with CM and apporches it differently. For example, one may prefer just listening to it and let emotions guide him, while another perfer doing extensive research about the work to understand the context behind the work. This is just a hypothetical example by the way, not calling anyone out.
> 
> ...


Well, uhm, I have always approached classical music in a very casual way. I don't really know how to "listen" to it. Sometimes I try to recognize the style, themes or references to other composers or influences but that's really it. But I feel like I'm losing something, because there's more in the music than what I personally hear. That's why I was thinking of watching some youtube videos and read books on how to properly actively listen to classic music and what to focus on.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

It depends on the composition. For compositions that I have listened to before, I usually just listen, no preparation. At the other end, when I have to read a score usually for works that I have never heard before (if I can get a copy of that), I will try to also read on its compositional background. This is important for my understanding of the work's significance today and why it is well known or not well know today. I also enjoy reading about the work's history, the different versions (if any), why it was composed, what it is trying to achieve and if it has done so successfully or not. The I can conclude if the work is of merit.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

ArtMusic said:


> It depends on the composition. For compositions that I have listened to before, I usually just listen, no preparation. At the other end, when I have to read a score usually for works that I have never heard before (if I can get a copy of that), I will try to also read on its compositional background. This is important for my understanding of the work's significance today and why it is well known or not well know today. I also enjoy reading about the work's history, the different versions (if any), why it was composed, what it is trying to achieve and if it has done so successfully or not. The I can conclude if the work is of merit.


Interesting, a different response from the others. Forgive if my phrasing isn't right, but what about composition you already heard but played by different groups? For example, listening to Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier done by Richter and then by Gould? Does it affect your response to the work and your appreciation of the work as I read that different players give different performance of the same work?


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

I sometimes read about the composition and composer, but usually take it easy. So long as there is sound! Wait...I often assure myself that the performers are great and on my favorite labels, although I'm happy to discover new ones. When I'm listening, I'm often surfing the net and don't focus so much on the music. These days I warm up my fingers for guitar practice that takes a nice slow mvt. from a string quartet (f.ex.). Sometimes I listen to different interpretations of a piece I'm working on, which is Albeniz and Bach at the moment.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

"How do you approach or appreciate classical music while listening to a work?"

It depends.

Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven are good for drives in the country; also Sibelius and Hovhaness, if you're driving through mountains. For winter driving in scenic areas: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and, again, Sibelius. As for city driving, I don't think classical music is conducive at all. With all the traffic, maybe some jazz would do better. Even so, I have been known to miss my exit because I became so caught up in the scenery and the music.

I like Haydn, Mozart, or some chamber music by Schubert, Chopin _Nocturnes_, or classical guitar for dinner music. Excerpts from Italian opera for cooking.

There are some atonal composers that require all my attention, among them much of the works by Stravinsky, everything by Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Messiaen, Carter, and Sessions. Even composers such as Walter Piston and William Schuman who are tonal require my attention as Piston is academic and Schuman can get really thorny sometimes. The works of Takemitsu and Cage seem to also require a state of mindfulness as their musical vision would imply. This is all music that you wouldn't break out at a party, you know.


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## fbjim (Mar 8, 2021)

I tend to have to walk around when listening to music, it's been a habit since I was a kid. Usually "active listening", eg specifically paying deep attention to a given work actually requires me to be doing something fidgety at the same time or my mind wanders - a stress ball is good (or a cigarette, not recommended for your health)


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

I tend to post on forums while listening to CM. But if a section really grabs my attention, I'll stop and take a closer listen. I enjoy bathing in the sounds rather than being overly analytical while listening. CM music allows me to do that because of the high caliber found in both compositions and performances.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Conrad2 said:


> Interesting, a different response from the others. Forgive if my phrasing isn't right, but what about composition you already heard but played by different groups? For example, listening to Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier done by Richter and then by Gould? Does it affect your response to the work and your appreciation of the work as I read that different players give different performance of the same work?


Yes, I do occasionally listen to very different interpretations. So take the great _Goldberg Variations_. My preferred performances are on the harpsichord/old instruments. I do listen to the Gould to understand the significance of the HIP better, and see also curious to hear how the Gould might sound (making the composition sounds more like Chopin for example). This is not to reject Gould but to appreciate the work's performance history (as opposed to compositional history). A work's performance history particularly in the old style "grand maestro" non-HIP approach from the earlier to mid 20th century is also interesting to know.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

I think I've gained enough familiarity of all the styles, that I can just listen without any preparation or pre-thought. In fact I found reading about it beforehand can cloud my judgement, and lead me to expect something, or a certain angle of presentation.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

If I like the sound, I like it.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Usually on the first listen, it's more of a surface level listen just to see if it interests me enough to want to go deeper. If I enjoy the work, I'll research the historical context of the work and then listen again with a copy of the score for analysis.

Eventually, enough repetitions places the piece into my long-term memory so I don't need a score to follow the structure of the piece.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Usually I want to know the background behind a piece (because I want to try to understand it's meaning, if there's any), so I always try to search for informations about it (usually on wikipedia) prior to my first time of listening. Then I comfortably lie down in the sofa and listen to it (on headphones), usually with my eyes closed in an attempt to focus. I avoid listening to a certain piece more than once at a given moment (unless it's very short), but if I'm interested in the mentioned piece I will come back to it in the next days, weeks, months and even years to try to assimilate it.

I avoid listening to music when I don't sleep well, when I'm with a headache (it's quite common for me) or when I'm not in the mood for it (also quite common). If it's an opera, I explore one act per time, and try to understand the plot before listening. But if the piece is not too long (less than two hours) I will prefer to listen to it in it's entirety (for example, it's rare for me to hear only a single movement of one of the books of the _WTC_ or of the _Eroica_ - it's all or nothing).

This is usually my approach for exploring any kind of music, not only classical.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

It depends on the piece.
When I wanted to become familiar with the Mahler Symphonies I borrowed the score from the library and then listened to the music through headphones whilst following the score. No distractions that way. 
With Opera I'll do a bit of reading and then try to watch the Opera rather than just listen to it. At least until I'm familiar with the Opera. Then I'll go to straight audio recordings. Although sometimes it works the other way. I get to know an Opera simply through the music and then watch it to see how it fits together.
At the moment I'm listening to Bach Cantatas. I've created a playlist for myself on Idagio (a streaming service) and each evening I listen to one or two in bed before going to sleep. It's a lovely way to end the day.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

Seriously over time I have developed an ear for what music appeals to me. It takes time and there is no easy solution. One thing nice about streaming services as that one can check out the various styles of classical music and determine what is right for them.

What works for me would not work for others.

And my tastes have evolved over time. I did not appreciate atonal music until I was in my fifties.


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

Among the 'paths' I listen to music are: the feeling it brings to me, the actual sound produced by certain ensembles as they paly/sing, the interest in hearing new things - lately I have being hearing more pre-1700s music than I used to.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

In the first few years (1985-1990) I always made sure I had read plenty of information on pieces and composers. Nowadays, I just sit down and listen and enjoy (or not).


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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

ArtMusic said:


> I do listen to the Gould to understand the significance of the HIP better, and see also curious to hear how the Gould might sound (making the composition sounds more like Chopin for example).


Gould's Goldberg Variations sound like Chopin? 
Are you sure about that?


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

When I was a kid I would borrow one LP after another from my parents and listen to them until I felt ready for another. Then it was the public library and again I would just listen again and again. Anything I wasn't enjoying I would drop quite quickly so most of what I listened repeatedly to must have hooked me somehow. These days I know what I like very quickly and my repeated hearings tend to be over years rather than daily. When I listen to something that I don't much like I quite often find the memory of it calling out to me (after a year or more usually) and then I find I am ready for it. Other things that I like at first go cold on me and many more fail to grow for me.

I don't prepare a "mental listening space" - to do so would seem fetishist to me - and I give the music what it demands of me. Sometimes that is concentration (it draws me in) and sometimes it is more a matter of having it go in and out of my focus. I know that I process a lot of music sub- and semi-consciously when it is fairly new to me.

I usually only take much interest in the historical context for music that I love and know really well.


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## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

My approach may seem unorthodox to some.

I don't care about composer's life details, except the basics.
I don't care about what the composer had in mind composing the piece, if he had something.
I don't care about the programmatic context of the piece, if there is any.

I do care and enjoy the music itself and the music consists of notes only. Not dates nor historical events.

I don't look for meanings or symbolisms in the music. On many (if not most) occasions, third persons attribute these aspects to a composer's work.

I am very interested in the musical analysis of the works (melody, harmony, structure etc) and I try to understand it, to the limit of my knowledge of course.
I am interested to learn about the extent of the musical influence that a composer received from other composers before him, as well as his own impact to the composers after him.
I constantly look for new interpretations of my very favorite works.

Given that I live with wife and kids, I usually use headphones (pc or smartphone). I use the stereo system when I'm home alone but this doesn't happen too often. When I work out I use a pair of Bluetooth speakers.


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## Clloydster (Apr 19, 2021)

Usually early afternoon around here is pretty quiet - unless the grandkids are here - so I'll go into my study and play some music for an hour or so. Lately I've been involved with the string quartet discussion, so I listen to whatever is up for that week, but I'll also go to some of my favorites. Sometimes I listen through speakers, sometimes on my noise-cancelling headphones. Dog snores in the background, as well.


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## David born 1950 (Apr 21, 2021)

I cannot listen to classical music unless I can give my practically undivided attention to it. If I am doing something very ordinary which does not require much thinking, then I can listen to it. In other words, I am unable to allow classical music to be simply 'background music'. - David Lyga


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

Two things I tend to do - nowadays without thought.

Firstly - when listening to something new, I do NOT want to know any programme associated with it, how the composer was feeling at the time etc as I believe that leads me towards trying to listen for these influencing factors rather than the music as music. Once I accept a piece after a few listens then I can accept additional information into the process by that time I have established my own thoughts.


Secondly - if something completely new to me and can be perceived as slightly off my normal listening, whatever that is, I tend to play it a few times over as background to let it filter slowly in. If after this on first proper listen I struggle with a work I'll leave it alone for a while sometimes returning to it sometimes not.

Otherwise I just listen!


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## Roger Knox (Jul 19, 2017)

It's a good question, because how we listen may be taken for granted. If you're older like me it's easy to say, "Oh I've listened a lot and don't need this," but the truth is more like, "Oh I've listened a lot and am in a rut." For enjoyment of classical recordings or radio performances, I check basic information on the composer and performers, then sit back and listen attentively. For vocal music I like to have the text (and translation) in front of me. If I like it I listen to it again but not right away.

If I'm studying or writing about the music, I do the same the first time with additional preparation from descriptive sources (not reviews). The second and subsequent times it's the same, unless there a specialized aspect that requires particular concentration and looking at the score. At university I learned a methodical approach for musical style with eight categories: melody, harmony, rhythm/meter, dynamics, timbre, texture, form, text/drama/dance (if present). I don't use this frequently, but it does help you notice things that you might have missed, and also things that are _not_ there.

I prefer hearing or participating in classical music live, but that's a whole different matter. For sleep preparation, meditation, background music, socializing, exercise it's light classical or non-classical music as appropriate.


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## Clloydster (Apr 19, 2021)

I read around here and look for things that sound interesting, then go listen to them.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I've said it before, here, to the shock of some and the agreement of others: I find when I am driving that I concentrate best on classical music that is new to me. Of course, pieces with a large dynamic range don't really work as the road noise gets in the way of the quiet parts and I don't have a Merc.


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