Piano Video Lesson: 5 Classical Music Myths

Welcome to livingpianos.com. I'm Robert Estrin. Today is the top five classical music myths. We're going to blow these things out of the water for you, because I hear these things all the time and it's usually from people who just don't really have much exposure to classical music. And they just think these things are true, but they're really not. Now, are they 100% categorically false? Not all of them. But generally, these things are not necessarily true and so many people believe them to be true.

So let's start with the first one. Classical music is relaxing. People say, "I like classical music because it's relaxing." Well, it's true, some music is relaxing. There's some beautiful music on the piano like a Chopin Nocturne. So yeah, that's relaxing isn't it? But that same piece in the middle section. And then it comes back to the relaxing section. So classical music isn't just relaxing. It's a variety of emotions. It can be angry. It can be scary. It can be exciting. It can be relaxing. It could be contemplative. It could be humorous. There's a whole range of emotions. It's not just relaxing. So if you want relaxing music, there are some pieces that are relaxing, but I'd say even Mozart or Brahms which you might think of being relaxing, a lot of the music is not relaxing. So you've got to really think out of the box. There's a lot more to classical music than just relaxing.

Next one, classical music is serious. Well, I just made mention of the fact that classical music can be humorous. There's a little Beethoven Ecossaise. Is that serious? No, there's all kinds of places where Beethoven and other composers have elements of humor in their music. It's not all serious, right? That's the next one. Next one, you have to have training to appreciate classical music. Not really. I mean if you have training, it may help you to appreciate classical music, but simply listening to classical music is all you need to appreciate it. If you listen enough, particularly listen to the same piece more than once, because you may capture way more the second, third or fourth time listening to a piece as you become more familiar with it. So you do not need training to enjoy classical music.

The next one is classical music is boring. "I don't like classical music. It's all boring." Really? There again, if you take the time to become familiar with a piece of classical music, you might find that it's incredibly enriching because there's so much there that you might not capture it. It might just go right over your head the first time you listen to it. You think, "Oh, that's boring," because you didn't get it. Like if somebody was explaining something to you, a concept that is a little bit hard to grasp, and you go, "Oh, that's boring," and you go away. But if you just stayed a little longer, "Oh, now I get it. You're saying," boom. And finally, you understand the theory of relativity or some concept that maybe you're not going to get the first time. But man, once you do, it's really exciting and enriching. Well, that's the same thing with classical music. It's not boring, far from it.

Last, classical music is for snobs. Now this one is tough because unfortunately, since classical music is not supported, at least in the United States, by the government, the only way that it can exist is by donors. So if you do go to the symphony or the opera, there's the donor section with the gold plates. And then during the intermission, they have the velvet rope section and they're sipping champagne. You go, "Those snobs." Well, thank goodness for those snobs, because if they didn't support the symphony and the opera and the chamber music and the concert halls, we wouldn't even have classical music. So you might think of them as snobs. Well, when you're on the other side of the velvet ropes, it might feel that way. But in reality, they have a passion for music and they have the means for being able to bring music to people, which is a great service to the community.

Now are some of them snobs? Absolutely. Yeah, some of the people do it for the wrong reasons because they want to get all dressed up and be looked up to. There's some of that, but you know what? The classical musical world is so underfunded, they'll take anybody. They'll take people they like, people they don't like. If they can support the symphony or whatever arts organizations, they're going to go for it. But generally speaking, classical music is not for snobs at all. It's for everyone. And once you become familiar with a few key pieces, you'll fall in love with them. And maybe at first you'll think those are the only pieces in the world that are worth anything, but then you'll open your horizons and listen to other music and you realize, "My gosh, there's a world of great music there to enjoy."

So I hope this has been interesting for you. Thanks again for joining me. I'm Robert Estrin at livingpianos.com, spreading the word about piano, your online piano resource. Thanks again. We'll see you next time.

Find the original source of this video at this link: https://livingpianos.com/5-classical-music-myths/

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

Thank you for your comment, question or request!

Comment/Question deleted successfully.

Post a comment, question or special request:

Comments or questions must be between 3 and 10,000 characters long.

You may: Login  or  

Otherwise, fill out the form below to post your comment:

Add your name below:


Add your email below: (to receive replies, will not be displayed or shared)


For verification purposes, please enter the word MUSIC in the field below

---