Scott Speck - Classical Music For Dummies

Throughout the book, icons clue you in about certain topics. They indicate material in which you may be especially interested, or material you may be eager to skip. Let them be your guide.

This icon clues you in on a handy shortcut, technique, or suggestion that can help you get more out of your classical music life.

This icon alerts you to what we think are important pieces of information that you should stow away in your mind.

This icon marks an opportunity for you to get up, march over to a keyboard or a sound system, and run a little experiment in real life.

If you go online to www.dummies.com/go/classicalmusic3e , you can find nine excerpts from the greatest music in the world. Whenever we discuss one of them, this icon lets you know.

Music has been around longer than most countries. This icon alerts you to the beginnings of trends and rituals that are still around today. This information isn’t essential to understanding classical music, but it sure is downright interesting.

In addition to the very book you’re holding in your eager little hands, we provide some delicious online goodies for your enjoyment. For example, take a look at the Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com . Once there, just search for “Classical Music For Dummies Cheat Sheet.” There you can find a quick description of the instruments and their locations in a typical symphony orchestra, as well as a timeline of classical music, for easy reference next time you attend a concert.

Best of all, we provide many, many musical examples, in the form of links to recordings online at www.dummies.com/go/classicalmusic3e . These recordings are your key to entering the world of classical music — a painless introduction to all different styles and time periods. As we describe some of the great masterpieces, you can actually listen to them right away. These recordings set Classical Music For Dummies apart from all the other books on the shelf.

We design this book so that you can start reading anywhere. But to help you figure out what might excite you the most, we give you six different areas to choose from:

Part 1introduces you to the world of classical music, including a brief history and descriptions of the common packages — such as symphonies, string quartets, and so on — that classical music comes in.

Part 2takes you into the concert hall to experience some real music-making, and then takes you on a backstage tour of the professional classical music world.

Part 3is a field guide to all the instruments that make up an orchestra.

Part 4puts classical music under the microscope, explaining the creative little molecules that make it up.

Parts 5and 6take you even deeper into classical music and help you get more out of it.

You don’t need to finish one part, or even one chapter, before starting another. Use the table of contents or the index as a starting point, if you want. Or, if you’re in a romantic mood, turn on some sensual classics, cuddle up with a loved one, and start at the very front of the book. (You may want to skip the copyright page, however, because it can deflate that romantic mood rather quickly.)

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

Discover that you’ve been listening to classical music all your life — on elevators, in movies, in TV commercials, in video games, and just about anywhere else sound waves are available.

Find out what separates mediocre music from humanity’s greatest musical masterpieces.

Explore the different packages that classical music comes in, from symphonies to sonatas.

Meet all the lovable (and not-so-lovable) characters who collectively created the history of classical music.

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding what’s so great about classical music

Identifying the seven habits of highly effective composers

Accessing the audio tracks at www.dummies.com/go/classicalmusic3e

The world of classical music is a place where idealism reigns, where good conquers evil and love conquers all, where you always get a second chance, where everything comes out right in the end, and where you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Classical music is one of the few living arts. It continues to exist by being constantly re-created, live, before an audience. Unlike the visual arts, classical music envelops you in real time and comes to life before you; unlike literature or theater, it can be understood equally by speakers of any language — or no language; and unlike dance, you don’t need to look good in a leotard to perform it.

Classical music is a place to come to for pure enjoyment, for solace, for upliftment, for spiritual transcendence, and — if you follow our suggestions — for less than 25 bucks.

For the purposes of this book, classical music is the music composed in the Western Hemisphere during the past few hundred years (not including recent pop and folk music). It’s the music generally composed for an orchestra or combination of orchestral instruments, keyboards, guitar, or voice.

Until very recently (at least in geological terms), people didn’t make such big distinctions between “popular” and “classical” music. In the 1700s and 1800s, it was all just music, and people loved it. People would go to the latest performance of a symphony, concerto, song cycle, or opera just as you might go to a concert in an arena, stadium, club, coffeehouse, or bar today — to have fun! They were enticed by the prospect of seeing their favorite stars, schmoozing with their friends, and hearing their favorite tunes. They came in casual clothes; they brought along food and drink; they even cheered during the show if the spirit moved them. Classical music was pop music.

The fact is that classical music is just as entertaining as it ever was. But these days, it’s become much less familiar. That’s all. After you become familiar with this art form, it becomes amazingly entertaining.