# Does Listening To Classical Music Enhance One's Listening Ability In Other Genres?



## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

I have noticed that since I began 2 or 3 months ago to really start *listening *to and appreciating classical music, that I also seem to be developing a more "discerning ear"--for want of a better term--when it comes to listening again to my first and other love, namely jazz. What I mean by this is that I am better able to follow themes and their development now than when I wasn't listening to classical on a regular basis.
Has anyone else experienced this, or am I really deluding myself? Could it be merely coincidental or just a function of my getting older? In my heart of hearts, however, I don't think these latter two reasons suffice as reasonable explanations {at least I hope they don't!}
Therefore, I am wondering if any of my fellow members who have in fact undergone this type of transition {?} believe that there is something intrinsic and attributable to classical music as a genre which might explain this phenomenon? I really would like to think that I am not alone in having experienced this. Or am I?


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

> Does Listening To Classical Music Enhance One's Listening Ability In Other Genres?


It definitely has for me. One thing I can think of is electronic music. Listening to the pioneers of electronic music (in the "classical" realm) like Xenakis, Boulez, Stockhausen, Varese has made me enjoy things like techno and mixes that I like listening to on radio (I don't own anything like this, I just like listening to new mixes made like yesterday by dj's especially for radio broadcasts). & of course, this engagement with techno has fed into me going to live performances of electro-acoustic stuff by current composers like Trevor Wishart, Brian Smetanin, Saariaho, and others whose names I forget. It's best to experience this kind of thing live, imo, so if you get a chance, just take it!

On the other hand, although I got some limited exposure to "classical" chamber music in my early years of listening as a child & teenager, I only got into this repertoire in a big way more recently after some years of listening to jazz - a lot of which is very chamber-like. Guys like Django Reinhardt, Dizzy Gillespie, Donald Byrd, Don Byas, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, to name a few, were really chamber musicians par excellence. Pianist Art Tatum even composed some improvisations (under a false name, to avoid criticism by jazz snobs/highbrows) which have recently been recorded by the likes of Marc-Andre Hamelin (one of today's finest "classical" musicians - who himself has composed his own improvisations, feeding off what Tatum had done!). The more I think about it, there are little or few boundaries between the different styles, genres, eras, etc. There are only barriers in "the fans" minds, musicians have been transcending these things for years (just look at how Sir Yehudi Menuhin put down recordings with Ravi Shankar and Stephane Grapelli)...


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Yes, it did the same for me especially when it came to listening to jazz, blues, even country music. My listening and enjoyment of jazz (usually on the radio) is so "easy", I feel I "get" the mood of the different jazz pieces that come, fundamentally thanks to my "grounding" if I can say so, from classical genres. Other genres that I dislike, such as country music, I think I also "get" it but I just dislike its feel. Popular songs, too.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

It definitely can. 

It can probably do the opposite, too. In many classical forums/discussions I've noticed some really nasty dismissal of any genre of music that's not about grand scale, subtle development and austere piety, ignoring the environment that influenced that style, as well as the fact that different music has different goals and modes of reaching those goals. (And this is coming from someone who hates pop, so I'm not some bastion of open-mindedness or anything.)


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

I can separate parts and hear all of the different developments in Rap music much easier now.

The developments really aren't that interesting. 

Also, I never listen to rap music.

Hooray.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

I'm on the side of those who say definitely so. Picking up a little theory along the way does wonders. 

Especially something like jazz, which usually has roughly the same principles as classical music usually has (variations on melodies and harmonies). There's been a lot of influence between the two. 

I don't believe it would usually cause someone to appreciate other genres less - but that could be caused by something that often goes with listening to classical music: hanging out with people who love classical and scorn other genres. I'm fortunate that none of the people I knew who loved classical in my formative years rejected other kinds of music.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

science said:


> ...I'm fortunate that none of the people I knew who loved classical in my formative years rejected other kinds of music.


Same here. My parents loved classical music, as well as things like Louis Armstrong, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Edith Piaf - it was all "up for grabs." Loving classical music doesn't cancel out equally loving other things. Recently I have gotten into the lighter realm in a big way - operetta & film music in particular. There's a huge amount of sophistication in these genres which some highbrows dismiss off the cuff. I think the problem is not with the music, there's nothing "bottom feeder" about it, it's just the attitudes of some highbrows, who seem to be inhabiting their own planet or universe. Good luck to them, but the way I was bought up, that kind of thinking is alien to me (like being on the "planet of the apes"!!! - although btw, I love the score of that film)...


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## Sofronitsky (Jun 12, 2011)

I think the turn off for me in film music is that it is not composed to bring utterance to the composer's own emotions/thoughts. Nor is it composed to say something new in music, add new sounds etc. The music is basically just very pretty music composed to augment a film. And while there's good film music, like this that negates all that I've just said, the majority of it is sentimental and obsolete.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

QUITE CONTRARY MY FRIEND

It provides you with UNABILITY to listen to huge amount of music you used to like since you can see what kind of crap did you waste your time with before


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Aramis said:


> QUITE CONTRARY MY FRIEND
> 
> It provides you with UNABILITY to listen to huge amount of music you used to like since you can see what kind of crap did you waste your time with before


I've got to partially agree with this one, through not so stridently. But yeah, I haven't listened to rock music since before Christmas. No Bruce, no Bob, no Tom Waits, no _none of the above_, or anyone else.

Now and again my wife sticks on Adele or something, and I smile and bop my head and say it's great, but really, I'm like the tiger in the long grass, watching the track-counters and waiting til a polite amount of time after it's finished (usually about 5 seconds is enough) before I take it out and replace it with classical! :lol:

:tiphat:


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

:lol: :lol: I asked a friend for one.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> :lol: :lol: I asked a friend for one.


Hey Harpsichord Concerto,

You might be able to help me here. Is this music in 4/4 time? Just curious cos we were at a festival last weekend and they played _trance _music and someone said it was all in 4/4 time.

6 hours of it!

:tiphat:


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## Chopin_Fan777 (Apr 22, 2010)

Well most modern forms of music originate from classical music. Thus, listening to the music that began everything would obviously provide a greater understanding of how modern artists use chords and scales always used in classical music to please the modern audience.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Aramis said:


> QUITE CONTRARY MY FRIEND
> 
> It provides you with UNABILITY to listen to huge amount of music you used to like since you can see what kind of crap did you waste your time with before


I 'like' this post, though its premise doesn't match my experience. I wonder if _Aramis_ being a composer/musician affects his sentiment.

I think that the amount of 'crossover comprehension' classical music provides is related to how much concentration is applied when listening. Most classical music repays concentration, but many works don't _require_ it. Same goes for jazz, and to a somewhat lesser extent for bluegrass. (Note that I am referring to listening-without-intent-to-learn.)


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Is it in 4/4 time? These days it's hard to find any computer-generated pushbutton dance rubbish that isn't.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Yes, I've noticed that as well, now that I've been listening to so much classical lately.
And I don't feel as aramis does. Although classical is dominating my present listening at the moment, I still love the blues and progressive metal as much as ever. I still dip in as well to alternative, rock from the past in present, and modern solo piano music. I love variety in music, and that includes sampling most (but not all genres). My developing love for the music of Mendelssohn, Schubert, Beethoven and the rest does not obscure my enjoyment of Dream Theater, Pain of Salvation, Rory Gallagher or the rest.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

It's all music to me, but I go through my various phases of what I'm most interested in.


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## Bas (Jul 24, 2012)

Well yes. I have come to a better understanding of Jazz music by listening to classical. However, on the other side there is the fact that, except for the better jazz pieces, classical music made the other genres quite irrelevant for me. I mean: classical music (in the broad sense of the word, including some but not all contemporary music too) has so much more of a story too tell then pop or rock music. I stopped appreciating 3 chord songs, and most above average pop and rock too.

Classical music is Art with a capital a to me, it speaks in a language that other music is far from. It consists something, it has an intelligent idea.

_All the above is highly personal, not intended to be presented as a fact._


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

It changes your perspective. And for some it seems to limit their perspective. Because they listen to other music with the wrong expectations, therefore unable to detect the distinct qualities of certain other genres.


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## Bas (Jul 24, 2012)

I don't expect pop music to meet Bach's, or Janacek's qualities. I only like them so much more and there is such a great amount of classical music that I stopped spending time to pop/rock.


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## pasido (Apr 2, 2012)

I listen to music a lot, and listen to 50% classical + 50% rock/folk and I can say that classical hasn't really enhanced my ability to listen to other genres. Rock and folk are more rhythm based, while classical is more melody based. Rock originated from the complex rhythms of African music and jazz, while classical is based on the traditional development of a few melodies, while using mostly simple rhythms to set the tempo.

I had a lot of trouble breaking into rock music as a long time classical listener but I'm glad I did. It really opened up new horizons for music.


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## pasido (Apr 2, 2012)

Bas said:


> I don't expect pop music to meet Bach's, or Janacek's qualities. I only like them so much more and there is such a great amount of classical music that I stopped spending time to pop/rock.


I disagree. You can't compare rock/pop to classical, they are whole different types of music.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I find that music is a language, and styles of music are like dialects. The more different kinds of music you listen to and incorporate, the more you'll understand in every other kind of music. It doesn't matter if it's classical, jazz, country or rock. It's all the same language. Fluency comes with a wide ranging kind of experience.

Personally, I listen to so many different kinds of music, I can't count it all. Jazz of all eras, country from old time and bluegrass through citybilly and rockabilly, the blues through R&B to soul, easy listening, pop vocals, ethnic music of all types. It's all taught me something important that deepened my understanding of other forms. Sticking to just one sort of music would be like trying to appreciate Shakespere translated to words of two sylables or less. 

Every music is just part of the bigger picture, it isn't a whole unto itself, the way many people think it is. Classical music isn't better than any other form, it just expresses certain aspects better.


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## Bas (Jul 24, 2012)

pasido said:


> I disagree. You can't compare rock/pop to classical, they are whole different types of music.


Let me explain my point with a comparisson:
Imagine you like fast food. You like it, and them you come across a restaurant that serves you _haute cuisine_ and then you are not enjoying to eat fastfood anymore (or enjoying at least a far bit less). Your point of view: you can not compare those two things. 
My point of view: aren't both of them food?


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

I like a good hamburger off the grill and a bottle of beer better than haute cuisine sometimes. No amount of crepe suzettes is likely to change that.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

bigshot said:


> I like a good hamburger off the grill and a bottle of beer better than haute cuisine sometimes. No amount of crepe suzettes is likely to change that.


Interesting. A grilled burger and a beer are not what I consider 'fast food'. It's back yard summer evening food, and it takes me considerably longer to prepare the burger than a trip through a MacD drive-through. You are mangling _@Bas_'s point to further yours. Maybe an acceptable debating tactic, but not so great for chatting over the backyard fence.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

My point is that classical music isn't necessarily "haute cuisine" and it isn't necessarily better than other forms of music. Appreciation of one kind of music should enhance the appreciation of another, not the other way around. I think there's a lot of elitism in classical music (and often jazz too) that really doesn't serve the genre well.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

In my case, I'd say that understanding any kind of "classical" music that involves either theme and variations or the development of a theme in some other way has helped me understand any other genre of music (for example, hard bop jazz or some prog rock) that utilizes similar techniques.

Outside of that, I can't think of how my classical music experience has helped me appreciate other genres. To me (and I love a lot of different kinds of music), they're not just different dialects of the same language, they're completely different languages.


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Keep listening. Especially to music beyond the average fusion/bop/prog rock/electronic/random modern music most young people listen to. Vocal music, ethnic music, early ragtime and jazz, old time country. It'll just click someday.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Depends on which Classical Era. Modern Classical is definitely the best selection for enjoying Electronic Music. Early 20th Century is probably best for Jazz. Romantic is best for I don't know. Baroque is best for Rock.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

samurai said:


> I have noticed that since I began 2 or 3 months ago to really start *listening *to and appreciating classical music, that I also seem to be developing a more "discerning ear"--for want of a better term--when it comes to listening again to my first and other love, namely jazz...
> 
> I really would like to think that I am not alone in having experienced this. Or am I?


Sure. If you really want to improve, start performing. And, if you feel you don't have the 10,000 hours needed to practise in order not to make a complete idiot of yourself on stage with a violin, say, then join a choir.


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## brianwalker (Dec 9, 2011)

I found my ears far more discerning of the orchestration before. My ears now naturally "slice up" the sound into its multiple layers - often to my detriment - and the "structure" of almost all non-classical pieces are incredibly transparent.

Edit: MAKE A POLL.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

The secret is not to listen to the music but to listen into the music.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I think listening to classical music has enriched my listening experience simply by giving me more music to listen to, much the same as all other music I hear.


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## Carpenoctem (May 15, 2012)

It enhances your attention span (if you don't use it as background noise).

As Brahms said : "A Symphony is no joke." It is not easy to listen to as well, it's like reading a book or studying, you need to give it your full attention.

Classical music also makes people snobbish for some reason.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

I think listening to a wide variety of music will make you appreciate music you previously heard in new and different ways. Classical can teach you alot of things because there's so much variety, and it ranges from very simple to extremely complex. I disagree with assertions that it is inherently better than any other kind of music, and I disagree that it is the only thing that makes you a better listener. Plus, you have to listen carefully at times, be a proactive listener. There's plenty of people who listen to lots of classical and really aren't any better listeners than people who listen to generic pop radio casually. Its not magical music that instantly makes you more enlightened as it penetrates your ear


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Progressive Rock/Metal will enhance your attention span as well.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

Bas said:


> Well yes. I have come to a better understanding of Jazz music by listening to classical. However, on the other side there is the fact that, except for the better jazz pieces, classical music made the other genres quite irrelevant for me. I mean: classical music (in the broad sense of the word, including some but not all contemporary music too) has so much more of a story too tell then pop or rock music. I stopped appreciating 3 chord songs, and most above average pop and rock too.
> 
> Classical music is Art with a capital a to me, it speaks in a language that other music is far from. It consists something, it has an intelligent idea.
> 
> _All the above is highly personal, not intended to be presented as a fact._


I politely disagree with much of that X3 and appreciate the comment at the end.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Btw traditional Jazz can bore me at times. I like Jazz fusion. Allan Holdsworth is probably the most underrated artist ever.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

neoshredder said:


> Btw traditional Jazz can bore me at times. I like Jazz fusion. Allan Holdsworth is probably the most underrated artist ever.


I hope by traditional jazz you are not referring to Trane, Monk, Brubeck, Tyner {basically the be-bop and post be-bop eras} as I can't see their output boring anybody. Maybe if I could better understand exactly what you mean by the term "traditional jazz", I would have more of a grasp of what you mean. I agree with you about fusion, though: amongst my favorites would be Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever. I will definitely check out Allan Holdsworth as well


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I would say no. I've spent my life listening intensely to modern jazz, progressive rock, blues, and folk, before I ever listened to a lot of classical music. Classical is the hardest for me. The breadth and scope of much of the music is so ambitious and complex that it takes much more concentrated effort for prolonged periods to get returns. Especially when dealing with abstract modern music. I find it much easier listening to Thelonious Monk, Gentle Giant, or Leo Kottke. Even Allan Holdsworth, which can be difficult, is much easier for me to absorb than say, an Elliott Carter string quartet.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

starthrower said:


> I would say no. I've spent my life listening intensely to modern jazz, progressive rock, blues, and folk, before I ever listened to a lot of classical music. Classical is the hardest for me. The breadth and scope of much of the music is so ambitious and complex that it takes much more concentrated effort for prolonged periods to get returns. Especially when dealing with abstract modern music. I find it much easier listening to Thelonious Monk, Gentle Giant, or Leo Kottke. Even Allan Holdsworth, which can be difficult, is much easier for me to absorb than say, an Elliott Carter string quartet.


XD well Carter is pretty difficult for most people I'd think (myself included). Would you say the same thing about a Beethoven quartet, or a Borodin one, or Ravel's one quartet?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I haven't listened to string quartets by Borodin or Ravel. At the beginning of the year I bought the late Beethoven quartets. I still haven't absorbed those yet. 

One good thing about listening to classical music is that many other artists borrow from it, so I can now recognize some of these things. Is it just me, or did Zappa get the inspiration for G-Spot Tornado from a Ligeti Bagatelle for wind quintet?

Do you know how many years I listened to ELP's first album before I found out they stole The Barbarian from Bartok?
It's embarrassing!


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

TO ME NO it seems other music like rap/hiphop,rock do not sound good to me i used to listen to rap but i stopped because the music to negative and depressing.Rock heavy metal are to loud and lack grace to it.


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## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

starthrower said:


> I haven't listened to string quartets by Borodin or Ravel. At the beginning of the year I bought the late Beethoven quartets. I still haven't absorbed those yet.
> 
> One good thing about listening to classical music is that many other artists borrow from it, so I can now recognize some of these things. Is it just me, or did Zappa get the inspiration for G-Spot Tornado from a Ligeti Bagatelle for wind quintet?
> 
> ...


Wow! I never even realized, but you're right, G-Spot Tornado's opening theme does sound very reminiscent of that ostinato from the Bagatelle, as well as Musica Ricercata VII. Maybe thats some of Bartok leaking through, since he was a big influence on both of them. Also, Beethoven's quartets are so cool  I especially love Op. 131 and 130 (with the Grosse Fugue finale). Ravel's is very beautiful, as per usual with his work, and what I have heard of Borodin's work in the medium (3rd movement of quartet No. 2) is amazing too.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I believe it's the 3rd Bagatelle that reminds me of G-Spot Tornado? I bought too much classical music in the past two years. It'll probably take me 20 years to get familiar with all of this stuff. And 20 years after that I'll be dead!


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

I feel that listening to opera singers, as well as studying singing myself (which I did during my early college years -- the same period that I discovered opera) has enhanced my appreciation of Broadway musical-theatre singing, and that knowing opera has somewhat enhanced my appreciation of the Broadway musical-theatre form. For instance, I've noticed in the past that certain songs in musicals sort of resemble certain numbers in operas; thus I feel like I know something that the average Broadway fan who's not an opera-goer doesn't know. As for singing, it takes less voice and less volume to sing in musicals than it does to sing in operas -- and yet there's something about the simplicity of musical-theatre singing that I like. But this is something I couldn't truly appreciate before I knew opera.


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## adeboram (Nov 17, 2020)

samurai said:


> I have noticed that since I began 2 or 3 months ago to really start *listening *to and appreciating classical music, that I also seem to be developing a more "discerning ear"--for want of a better term--when it comes to listening again to my first and other love, namely jazz. What I mean by this is that I am better able to follow themes and their development now than when I wasn't listening to classical on a regular basis.
> Has anyone else experienced this, or am I really deluding myself? Could it be merely coincidental or just a function of my getting older? In my heart of hearts, however, I don't think these latter two reasons suffice as reasonable explanations {at least I hope they don't!}
> Therefore, I am wondering if any of my fellow members who have in fact undergone this type of transition {?} believe that there is something intrinsic and attributable to classical music as a genre which might explain this phenomenon? I really would like to think that I am not alone in having experienced this. Or am I?


I think, if you are listening to classical music now and then, it certainly can help you to identify other genres, I mean, classical music has complex form but in a certain manner, and other genres is less complex compares to classical music forms, so yeah, that is totally makes a different.


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