# I need some method to start



## Fonteles (Aug 13, 2017)

I am new to the game, and I loved Beethoven, Brahms and Mahler. So, what should I listening next?

I started the classial journey with symphonyes and piano concertos. I already listened a lot of Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky and Haydn works. I listened some shostakovich, prokofiev, berg and i love it. But i want some method to listen and understand classical music. 

Do you first listen all romantic greatest works before move to modern ones? Or is it necessary to listen classic era works before move to romanticism? Or it isnt even "necessary" to have any method at all, just take the TC guide of the best of the best works ever, and go from there?

Do you know a very good guide and articles to help me in this?

Thanks in advance for all the answers. 

PS: I listen classical music while i study(all day), but at night i like to relax and focus only in the music

PS2: Sorry, my english isn't good.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Welcome to TC, Fonteles.

Yeah, most people first listen to Romantic works and slowly move into more modern ones. It's like acclimatizing, really. The TC Top Recommended lists will help you explore specific genres, once you get a feel for your favorite instrumentations. Good luck - classical music is a vast and seemingly neverending world for those who choose to explore it.


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## Tchaikov6 (Mar 30, 2016)

How, I explore classical music since coming here has been by doing this:

I go to this website:

https://www.random.org/

And then this one:

https://sites.google.com/site/talkclassical/the-classical-music-project/ranked-list

Then, I enter the number of pieces on the second site that are ranked (2911 right now, it's always growing)- on the random number generator (first site)- between 1 and 2911. And then I hit enter and whatever number I get I listen to the piece that corresponds with it. For instance, if I got #642 I would go to _Gruppen_ by Stockhausen. There are great recordings of almost all the pieces on youtube, and many of the pieces have scores that you can find on google or on the video (it follows along with score). For me, this is a great way to have variety and get to know new music (and every once in a while you will find pieces that you already know and love and that is refreshing as well).


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Listen widely and randomly (find a CM radio station). When you hear something you like, write it down, get it, listen to it again, and again, and try similar things in that genre or by that composer. Absolutely no need to be systematic about it. Life is too short.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

MarkW said:


> Listen widely and randomly (find a CM radio station). When you hear something you like, write it down, get it, listen to it again, and again, and try similar things in that genre or by that composer. Absolutely no need to be systematic about it. Life is too short.


Agreed. Here's a suggestion for a good CM station to which you can listen in streaming mode:

http://classicalwcrb.org/ways-listen#stream/0

One further suggestion: it sounds as if you've been listening to orchestral pieces. Try some chamber pieces, both by the composers you mention (tho not much Mahler chamber music exists  ) and others. For example, a Beethoven late string quartet sounds much different from any of his symphonies; almost as if it they were written by two different composers.


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

IMO no method needed. Think like a kid in a candy store. You've liked the black licorice (the German romantics) but there's no reason you couldn't try pixie stix or whatever else.

But, on the other hand, if you have really liked something, I would flesh it out more. So you've liked Beethoven and Mahler, now try Bruckner, Wagner, etc.

This web site is helpful to survey the standard repertoire and get a feel for where you might go next:

*Classical Net*


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## 20centrfuge (Apr 13, 2007)

of course, if you have real taste you'll continue exploring Prokofiev


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

20centrfuge said:


> of course, if you have real taste you'll continue exploring Prokofiev


...especially the string quartets. :tiphat:


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

http://www.classicalcdguide.com/


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

take this course,

How to Listen to and Understand Great Music

then, the sounds and era's you like you can zero in on


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## Fonteles (Aug 13, 2017)

eljr said:


> take this course,
> 
> How to Listen to and Understand Great Music
> 
> then, the sounds and era's you like you can zero in on


Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks a lot for this.


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## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Fonteles said:


> Exactly what i was looking for. Thanks a lot for this.


I am a newbie myself and took this course late last year.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Portamento said:


> Yeah, most people first listen to Romantic works and slowly move into more modern ones.


What happened to pre-baroque, baroque and classical era music? I started with baroque and naturally moved in various other directions. For the life of me, I don't know why Romantic composers/works get so much priority.


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## Portamento (Dec 8, 2016)

Bulldog said:


> What happened to pre-baroque, baroque and classical era music? I started with baroque and naturally moved in various other directions. For the life of me, I don't know why Romantic composers/works get so much priority.


The OP asked: "Do you first listen all romantic greatest works before move to modern ones?" I was just referring to that.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I'm not into having a method other than being spontaneous. I remember that I loved walking into a real record store and walking out with a recording of a work I never heard before. In most cases, I was very pleased with the acquisition.


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## T Son of Ander (Aug 25, 2015)

Fonteles- actually, you're English seems great! As for the music, I agree with those that say listen to whatever. I don't know if you're buying music or streaming, but if you're streaming, then listen to anything and everything. It's a little problematic if you're buying music, since you don't want to waste money on something you end up hating. Since CM is so far and wide, that can certainly happen. One thing I did was if there was a composer I liked, and he was say Russian, then I would listen to other Russians about that time period. Not that they're the same sounding, but their influences may have been similar, so it's very possible you may like them, too. Beethoven was an early one that I liked, so I listened to a lot of German and Austrian music early in my life. Tchaikovsky was another early like for me, so I tried Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, etc.

All-in-all, I guess the best thing is to not limit yourself.


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

Tchaikov6 said:


> How, I explore classical music since coming here has been by doing this:
> 
> I go to this website:
> 
> ...


 You would be lucky to land on that, it being one of the greatest modernist pieces ever (hint to Fonteles)


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## mathisdermaler (Mar 29, 2017)

eljr said:


> take this course,
> 
> How to Listen to and Understand Great Music
> 
> then, the sounds and era's you like you can zero in on


"First take this 30 hour course" hahaha, this is actually a good resource, thanks for making me aware of it.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Besides Beethoven, Brahms and Mahler, I have checked out and like the symphonies of Mendelssohn, Franz Berwald, and Saint-Saens.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

ALSO: Go to concerts. 

There are many pieces that make a far different effect live than disembodied on recordings. And you take that experience with you when you then listen to a recording.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Schumann & Schubert?


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