If you're at a loss when it comes to appreciating classical music, you're not alone. Cultivating your ear takes time. This is the first in a series of articles written with the classical music beginner in mind. Learning to understand classical music is so rewarding in part because it never stops. Your ear never stops refining itself, so long as you continue to listen. But if you want to get to the point where you can discuss music intelligently, it won't hurt to have a few pointers to begin with. In this first article, I'll discuss exactly what is meant by 'understanding' music, and talk about some classical pieces to start with.
Start with Well-Known Pieces
One method of understanding classical music is beginning with well-known pieces: famous compositions like Beethoven's 5th, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Bach's Fugue in D Minor, Gustav Holst's Planets Suite, and so on.
In general, Romantic pieces tend to be easier. It was during the Romantic era that the 'lied' or art song, was introduced[1]. Lieder are short pieces for one voice, generally accompanied by one instrument or a small ensemble. They are somewhat similar to pop songs in their structure, which makes them a good first choice.
If the Romantic stuff doesn't tickle your fancy, try Mozart or Haydn - the two most well known 'capital C' Classical composers. And remember that 'easy to start with' does not by any means translate to 'simplistic and insipid'.
If you choose a well known piece, though, there's a problem you might run into. Namely, that famous pieces are insufferably overplayed. It's a catch-22. They're popular because they're easy to grasp, but so overused that we reflexively tune them out.The way around this is to skip the cliche parts at first. Can't stand the first movement of Beethoven's 5th? Skip it for now, listen to the other three movements. Return to the first after you learn Beethoven's language. You may be surprised at how much it changes.
Another strategy is to treat the well-known pieces as guidelines. Let's say you're having trouble with J.S. Bach's 'Great' Fugue in G Minor. This is a difficult piece for a beginner. Instead, try listening to the Fugue in D Minor, which is a little easier, or the 'Little' Fugue in G Minor, which is very short and lucid. Once you've got a handle on Bach's easier and more popular fugues, the more difficult ones will begin making sense. This works on nearly anything: if you're having trouble with string quartets, find a popular string quartet which is likely to be less tough. If a concerto doesn't make any sense, find an easier one and come back to the hard one later. And so on.
But how can listening to one piece of music make another easier? It might seem like a roundabout way of doing things. It makes sense, however, when you look at the cognitive science behind music.
How Music is Understood
Neuroscience shows that music, like language, is syntactic. Like language, music isn't understood in linear fashion, but by combining parts into a coherent structure[2]. The right auditory cortex, which processes music, works in a very generalized way[3]. That's why one note doesn't sound like anything, but three form a chord. Music must be understood in terms of the big picture. Like the illusion in the picture which accompanies this article, music is shaped by relations more than by atomic parts.
But don't take this to mean that every melody has some specific statement or image behind it. The brain processes music syntactically, but does nor represent it syntactically[2]. This means we can't say exactly what a piece 'means or 'represents'. But we can understand it in a more general sense.
In case I've lost you, here's an analogy that may help: you might 'understand' a sentence, or 'understand' a person. You might 'read' a sentence, or 'read' a facial expression. When it comes to music, you read it the way you read a sentence, but understand it the way you understand a person.
Wrap-up, and what to expect next
If you're still lost as to a starting point, my article on essential Bach pieces could give you some more ideas. If you're having trouble understanding what you hear no matter where you turn, then the best advice I can give you is to keep listening. The second best piece of advice I can give you is to check back here periodically and read the follow-ups to this article, where I'll enumerate some more specific techniques for internalizing and understanding music. If you have anything to say about this article or any questions, there's a comment box at the bottom of this page. You can also click my name down there, then click the 'e-mail' link on the right side of the page to shoot me a message.
References
[1]: Music of the Romantic Era - a history of Romantic music
[2]: Language, Music, Syntax, and the Brain - a cognitive-scientific study comparing music and language
[3]: Structure and Function of Auditory Cortex: Music and Speech - a study which examines the neural correlates of hearing speech and contrasts them with the neural correlates of listening to music
Ben Beers - Ben Beers is a blogger and writer. In his spare time he studies music theory, philosophy, mathematics, and computer programming.
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