Bach FAQ 153

Classical Music for Beginners Is Classical Music for Newcomers ... 300 Works: Classical Music for Babies, for Children, for Everyone ... Including Newcomers and Beginners..

Just like “Disney World” and “Tripsdrill” in Swabia, Germany Classical Music can also be enjoyed cross-generationally. © Info..

So ... Classical Music for beginners / Classical Music for newcomers: Welcome, Classical Music novice, Classical Music debutant. You have found the most helpful website on the subject. You don't need to visit any other websites anymore. I've done that for you. Otherwise, if you search on Google, you'll mostly find the usual top 100 lists: advertisements from music publishers, and all kinds of charming nonsense. Let me say this up front: What you're really looking for isn't the “greatest” Classical Works. And it's not the Wikipedia definition of Classical Music. So what is it?..

I ( ! ) have prepared everything that will help you achieve your goal. Namely ... discovering the fun and joy of Classical Music. I would have loved to have found a website and a list like this 40 years ago. Now I have put it together myself. Are you impatient? Then the express links listed are exciting. But in keeping with Classical Music, you may also enjoy my reading on the subject. You can access this list of 300 via the link below the five composer portraits..

This Is What It Looks Like ... My “Top 300 Popular Classics”..

■   Gershwin   Summertime *   3:43

■   Gershwin   Rhapsody in Blue   16:26   GSKM

■   Gounod   Faust-Walzer    5:24   GSKM ⚠       > 0:20

■   Grieg   Morgenstimmung    3:53   GSKM

Four pieces out of 300 that I searched for, found, and listed for you. As an example in advance and here. You will find out later what the different colored small squares, abbreviations, symbols, and notes “ > 0:20 ” mean. Right next to the list. And you can access this list – for example – here. As always, just click here ... and then click again there..

How to get started, where to begin, whose works to start with? The usual top 100 lists are of no help for Classical Music Beginners. That's why my ( ! ) Classical Music Top 100 is based on different criteria: the length of the pieces and, above all, their popularity. And on the basis of melodies that you've heard “somewhere” before, but never knew what you were listening to. What is Classical Music anyway? There is no truly satisfactory answer anywhere. On this, my website, in addition to the definition, there is also a specific summary for you as an adult. So, let's get started?..

My Quick Link for All Classical Music Beginners ... for All Those New to Classical Music..

I enjoy writing. And if you enjoy reading, then perhaps we are on a journey together, here and now. But... the internet always wants to get you quickly to your destination. Otherwise ... you'll quickly “click away.” I offer you both: concise information and detailed reading material. With that in mind, I have two requests: First ... I hope you enjoy reading what I have written for you. It explains so much that is important about the many, many musical works in my presentation. Second: I would very much like to work with our... ..

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... “Teaching Material Classical Music” inspire teachers with our thesis. That is, how to carefully introduce Classical Music to children. By referring your kids’ music teacher to us, you are helping us greatly with our “Classical Music for Children Mission.” Thank you for that.

Here you can find my ultimate Top 100 Popular Classical Pieces: 300 works. Nowhere else will you find such a comprehensive collection of the most popular pieces. All are free of charge and available on YouTube in the best quality and the best performance, searched for, found, and listed by me for you, and there is also information about them. If you are actually a Classical Music beginner, or are looking for reading material and music for a Classical Music starter, then this, my only collection you will ever need. Very, very likely.

There is no specific classical music for children. However, there are two fundamentally different types of offerings for this age group. There are many CDs that I would never “offer” to kids. And then there is my offering.

Would you like to start with Bach's complete works as a beginner? It is not advisable! Because you could get a completely wrong first impression of Classical Music. Nevertheless, here is the link to Bach's complete works.

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Classical Music for Beginners, Classical Music for Newcomers...

Once again... hello, Classical Music beginners. For 40 years, I searched for what you have found today. Classical Music for Classical Music beginners. Because for 40 years, I didn't even know what I was looking for. It's Popular Classical Music..

Many years ago, I began creating my now enormous website about Johann Sebastian Bach: I wanted to find exciting, unusual, and unknown facts about this master musician and then publish them. That one website has since grown into several, and for a long time I have also wanted to create – at some point later – a small publication called “Oh ... that's by him!” as an FAQ at the edge of the topic of “Bach.”..

“Oh ... that's by him!” ... means that you hear fragments of Classical Works over and over again, year after year, decade after decade. On the radio, on television, in advertisements, in films, and at the cinema. However, it is not possible to determine what you are hearing is called. Or who composed it. Even the “Shazam app” doesn't help. And even Google's mega-offer provides practically ( ! ) no useful results..

You can't even hum most of these pieces to your piano teacher. And you simply can't find the work. Why not? How else could you do it?! Even then – only after 40 years – at the height of the first wave of COVID-19 in 2020, I found the decisive word for it: such pieces are Popular Classic. In other words, Popular Classical Music. But who would Google “popular” if you’ve never heard the complete term used in context before?! So ... I mean Popular Classical Music ... not just the word “popular” on its own ... I’m familiar with that, of course..

Popular Classic is a completely different collection of Classical Works, such as the “greatest” Classical Hits or the “most famous” Classical Works. Popular Classical Music has a somewhat inferior, shallow, and trivial image. Not really, but that's how it's perceived..

Not so naturally for the thousands and tens of thousands who are enthusiastic about it. André Rieu presents such music to perfection. You don't like André Rieu? Worse still: You can't stand him (... please read about this attitude towards him via the link ...)? We didn't like him for many years either. That's why I always quickly changed channels. Until three years, two years, and finally one year before my Top 100 was created: Then everything that belonged together came together..

I had only enjoyed one Classical Concert in my life up to that point: Bach's “St. Matthew Passion”. Other than that ... none. But Rieus' Concert No. 1, many years ago – on television – then the second and finally the third ... that was what I had been looking for for 40 years: the Dutchman performed more and more melodies that I had heard before in a relaxed mixture of fun, quality, and showmanship..

Not all of the pieces that he performs with his orchestra are Classical Music. But no other artist today presents such Popular Classical Music in such density. And so it all came together: When you listen to Rieu on YouTube, this portal suggests more and more similar pieces that you might also like. And these pieces “popped up” specifically because they were the most popular ( ! ) similar pieces..

The “Mass in B minor” does not sneak in here, nor does the “St. John Passion.” Both are magnificent, but they are not popular in the sense of my definition. Instead, there are only truly popular titles that Rieu has presented so successfully at the Vrithof in Maastricht and around the world. As already mentioned, my wife Renate and I did not like Rieu for most of our lives. Today, things are different. André Rieu is simply perfect for those new to Classical Music..

Let's move on to the Classical CD offerings.

Many years ago, I bought myself a CD called “Best of Bach.” In the US, of all places. And I have to admit – it's a little embarrassing – I thought three pieces were great, three others were “okay,” and many, many were awful. Once again, as so often in my life, I had to conclude that Classical Music was nothing for me..

When did I notice this besides? During my regular, tentative attempts to follow the offerings of a Classical Music station or a similar television program. Again and again, in the evenings, after my creative time during the day ... or in the car, during hours of driving and miles of traffic jams, I zapped through the channels. And again and again I came across Classical Music, but kept zapping. I mean – in the previous sentence – I came across “any ( ! )” Classical Music. And, of course, 99 percent of the time I didn’t stay tuned for more than five seconds. But ... every now and then ... I felt like giving “Classical Music for beginners” another try. I wanted to “stick with it” for at least ten minutes ... but decided against it after only half that time..

My conclusion: I simply wasn't ripe for Classical Music yet. Just like some foods only start to taste good later in life. I hoped and wished that it would “still happen.” Living in a wine-growing region, I didn't like wine for the first 30 years of my life. Now, however, I do..

In addition – and I only realized this when my list of 300 Classical Works for beginners was practically complete – there was also another source that I unconsciously remembered in relation to Classical Music I had heard before. It was my parents' taste in music. They were not very conservative at the time, but rather modern in their tastes. And so, during my childhood, they identified James Last as the conductor and bandleader of their choice. And on some of his LPs, he also presented what André Rieu does today. However, at that time, it was a modern interpretation. But even then, around four decades ago, his Classical Offerings were only a fraction of his musical oeuvre..

From this era, which I also associate with my kindergarten years, I was already familiar with many Classical Pieces, but at that time they were interpreted in a modern way. But I forgot this music again ... completely. Otherwise, I would have known how to approach this topic. With Classical Music for beginners. In other words, with Classical Music for you..

So let me summarize again: We know that there is a genre of music out there that we seem to be familiar with: from television, from the movies, perhaps from our childhood. But... it's not Classical Music in general..

Babies Are Potential Beginners in Classical Music..

Classical Music for babies ... wonderful Classical Music for your baby. Welcome back to “my world and that of my wife Renate”. There are quite a few CDs available with this title, as well as recommended playlists. But: There is no such thing as Classical Music for babies! Only if you compile it yourself ( ! ) for your offspring. And then? Then this collection consists of popular pieces of music from my TOP 100, which must have another characteristic. They must be calm, not “stirring,” and the pieces must not be extremely different in temperament. And they must have the same, matching volume. Then it will all come together. And your little one will remember as many wonderful pieces as you were willing to compile and offer acoustically, taking the above aspects into account. And that will last a lifetime..

Together, we have set our minds on introducing young people to Classical Music. With your help, too. And adults as well..

To the 100 most important Bach FAQs.

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If you are a choir director or teacher and are looking for an introduction to classical music, then our “Classical Music Teaching Materials” could be just what you need..

It's also exciting when I do the final check of hundreds of tracks on around 500 Classical CDs: There are some works where I'm not so sure whether they belong in the “okay” category. Or whether they are “annoying” or are not recommended for other reasons – for me, at least. In a very specific way, I keep coming across pieces that I, of course, recognize better and better over time. That means that for me, this process takes place at turbo speed, whereas otherwise – if you only hear a work occasionally in advertising, on the radio, on television, or in the cinema – it takes decades..

It is possible to distinguish between melodies that are “catchy” and those that are memorable. And it turns out that even if you give a piece a “second, third, and fourth chance,” you may still not like it. This is clear to me in the case of “The Carnival of the Animals” ... and of course, the assessment is subjective when it comes to liking something. But my selection is objective when it comes to popularity. These 500 Classical CDs alone reflect the frequency with which authors have decided for or against one of the pieces of music. There is, for example, “The Swan.” This work can be heard on around 30 to 40 CDs. Then there are the themes “Aquarium” and “Fossils.” They are each represented on only about ten CDs. And so it's clear: “The Swan” is more popular. And that's how it feels subjectively when you listen to it. But now the question arises: Are “The Aquarium” and “The Fossils” also among the most Popular Classical Hits?..

What happened during my review is interesting: Both works (“The Aquarium” and “The Fossils”) are striking in their first ten seconds. After an initial sequence of notes, however, recognition, as well as the subjective quality appropriate to the theme, drops sharply, resulting in both works not being included in my top 100..

This “Teaching Material Classical Music ” is not about memorizing facts about the greats of Classical Music. Its sole aim is to inspire beginners and children to develop a sustainable ( ! ) enthusiasm for Classical Music. Click here for all shops. The Teaching Material is accessible after clicking on the “Bach 4 You” Shop, there. © Pixabay..

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