Classical For Dummies
History With Music
I do listen to other genres too but the classical genre has always stuck with me for the longest time I knew. Being immersed in a middle school that for some reason had a vocational training for music, the urge to also understand music became more and more apparent because almost everyone around me somehow knew their way around it.
I had no gateway into it besides some Undertale arrangements for orchestra, which also in some way ignited my interest for arrangements (in the end I never took it seriously womp womp), and some violin classes with Suzuki books and a passionate instructor. And thankfully this couple of online internet figures called TwoSetViolin, whom I'd like to majorly credit for providing me with supplementary violin technique and tips back then.
Besides that I think it helped that I was attending occasional recitals of other students with their rotation of Chopin's Waltzes, Liszt's La Campanella, Some Bach Variations and probably Paganini's Caprice, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and maybe some other Violin Suzuki essentials.
Around the same time I grew to become a follower of TSV and for a while made the violin my entire identity. That is before I eventually stumbled across a high school classmate who had more experience than me in classical music. Thanks to her I will never forget the legendary Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2.
Knowledge Gap
Throughout this entire set of events, somehow, I had never, for the love of all that matters to me, thought of it from deep within the crevices of the sulci of my cerebral cortex, if even exists, that I should learn some ounce of music theory. I went through the whole experience intuitively and took a while to even vaguely understand this thing called 'melody', and 'harmony', and 'chord progessions' and pick them up in what I listened to.
To this day I still barely understand the concept of 'arguments' and 'counterarguments' and the function of various instrument sections when it comes to orchestras, and I have still yet to understand the innerworkings of the compositions of the greats beyond the ears of a listener and amateur musician, because it's so fascinating seeing all these professionals nitpick on the technicalities all so fervently.
With this said it definitely took me a while to develop an ear for actual hearing, it's like being this 'let me solo her' dufus to the Malenia fight, but once I did solo her was in an entirely different world. You can't really know what you like without trying it out first, so you have no choice but to keep exploring, just as Hurwitz once mentioned.
Briefly on A Music Brief
Funny enough, I did already pick this mentality up back during the pandemic without realizing it was just that, so it was also sad that I also fell out of it for a while without also realizing it. It was around this time that I exchanged some thoughts and classical music recommendations with some classmate in 11th to 12th grade. I should also give them credit for introducing me to some baroque and hymnal choir works, which honestly aren't really to my taste to this day, but significant nonetheless.
Without them I don't think I'd also have started writing reviews or analysis that I can look back on to this day, and I think that's also one of the wonders of making something such as that: mindful listening, and documentary! You keep track of what you once listened to and you give some thought into it, no matter how insignificant, as a way to appreciate the work itself.
Other Things to Mention
Along the way I somewhat forgot why exactly it was classical music that stuck with me besides that it was culturally significant to the development of the modern world. Or the pinnacle of it. As pretentious as I sound. I'd like to think of it as some sort of fundamental to modern music, or some deviation that seems to come from it.
I don't really have any writings to back me up so I'm basing this off my thoughts, and my feelings also tell me that when every other music doesn't feel right at that moment classical music is the only aural that makes sense.
It's definitely not something that everyone can get into, I've tried this before with the people I know. I'm not sure if it's the wrong recommendations I have for them or a different mentality to music, but it just barely ever sticks. I think this sense of exclusivity made me happy to know it could be mine alone.
The one time I found that some buddy also listened to Kapustin and understood his ways around the different interpretations made me really happy to know that I was not alone, but I failed to realize that that didn't automatically mean we shared similar tastes. So then again, it's something that for as long as I can understand, is an extremely niche genre with subgenres.
As much as you'll strive to reach some argreement, you won't because there will be fights even over the slightest details. The interpertation, the instrument quality, the timbre, the recording, the composition, the formatting, the recording label, the conductor, the player, and so on. I don't know!