Intro 1 -
Why Classic Tunes?

Why, indeed? Same reason you'd listen to your favourite albums - lots of really memorable tunes, rich and interesting sounds, and lots of emotional drama.

I personally think that classical music also provides access to the so called "universal experience"; that timeless, spaceless, disconnection from daily existence. In this way, classical music induces an experience not dissimilar from that felt viewing any great painting, reading a classic book, watching a tight footy match, or peering down from a breathtaking scenic lookout.

It happens with great rock ‘n’ roll, too, of course. Who can forget, remember even, the first time they heard the Dark Side, or Abbey Road?

I worked in classical music record shops for over ten years. Sales were paltry compared with the volumes being moved by the rock and pop shops. Nevertheless, there was always a great deal of interest in the general public, despite meagre advertising, and a lot of trepidation. For many, classical music is a new world; it feels about as big to the neophyte.

So, to spare future generations of customer service people, I came up with the idea of writing this e-book - to answer those common questions before they get asked. I also wanted to make life easier for those who wanting to explore further.

Getting into classical music is not that difficult if you know what to listen to, but in this day and age, few opportunities arise. Classical music may be uncool but it is not out of date - no more so than Dostoyevsky, The Beatles, van Gogh, or Socrates.

In fact, it is very current; I hear Classical music everywhere, subliminally permeating many aspects of daily life. I hear it in the car, beer and telephone ads on TV, backing the stars on the big screen, even in annoying mobile phone ring tones. Many pieces are so well known that just about anyone in the street could sing them with hearty conviction: try the beginning of Mozart's Eine Kleine, or Beethoven's 5th.

As with all good things in life, classical music takes some persistence and re-adjustment of your sensory equipment before you can yield the true, deep riches, to be found within. In this way it is no different from developing a true appreciation of red wine, architecture, or AFL footy.

Classical music also conveys sounds, as if beamed down through the ages, from western history. Psychologically, you are taken into other worlds; worlds that, while they move with the gait of former eras, swing today! This is music pervaded by its time. Often there is a nobility and grace that is absent in much of today's music. Aurally, it is like visiting Versailles, Koln Cathedral, or Prague. In a world where music is increasingly 'here today, gone tomorrow', we have music that has been around the block more than a few times. Furthermore, we wouldn't still have 'classical' music, if there wasn't the repository of a rich, almost inexhaustible storehouse of genius. Listening to Bach, Beethoven, or Mozart is to be in the presence of a great spirit.

Take the test! Listening to classical music will restore music to its fundamental place in a fuller life. It will enrich your appreciation for music as a language all of its own.