Great introduction to an often confusing subject
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Published in 1997, with a few updates since which include a new cover photo and a website launch (dummies.com) this 358 page book follows the many other titles in the `For Dummies' range in that it makes learning an entertaining experience.
Classical music can be a turn off for many, with confusing terms, strange descriptions and an often reluctance to make itself accessible to the casual visitor to its world, so a book like this is a welcome one to break down those barriers which prevent an understanding of it.
The underlying tactic of authors David Pogue and Scott Speck is to lighten up the subject with funny quips and interesting facts which continually embellish the factual information. For me, this approach makes for easy reading which informs without becoming a lecturing textbook. Some may find the many comical references to frequent, but on the whole they are genuinely funny, and there are after all many, many other books on the subject which are devoid of humour.
The book's 17 chapters include titles such as, `What Is Classical Music', `The Entire History of Music in 80 pages', `How to Spot a Sonata' (an explanation of terms like symphony, concerto and sonata), A Field Guide to the Orchestra (explaining the instruments), `The dreaded Music Theory Chapter' (music theory in easy terms) and `Starting a Classical Music Collection' (how and where best to buy the recordings).
The only slight disappointment, partly forgivable maybe because the authors are American, is the lack of even a mention of two of England's finest composers Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams, but it's no reason not to enjoy this highly entertaining, well written book (and it does come with a free CD too).
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Lose the jokes
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Very good but loses a star for silly jokes which are unecessary and really annoying. Should be edited and republished without the jokes. CD is lovely
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An excellent and entertaining introduction
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I've been passionate about classical music for about two and a half years now, but was still interested to learn more about things such as (for instance) the structure of a typical symphony (as I was not trained in music myself). This book answered all of my questions, and many more.
Whatever your level of understanding (and including if you are a complete newcomer to the subject), I would say that this is the book for you. It is clearly written, does not assume any prior knowledge, and yet also has plenty of new information for someone such as myself.
Additionally, like many such books, it is written with the aim of being funny and entertaining. The revelation in this case is that the authors actually succeeded in making me laugh on a number of occasions...something that is quite rare with this sort of style I find.
I would advise newcomers to classical music to read this book, and also "The Lives of the Great Composers" by Harold C. Schoenberg (for a more in depth look at particular composers) and "The Rough Guide to Classical Music" by Joe Staines (for reference and advise on which recordings to buy). With these three books under your belt, you'll be ready to fly!
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Great! apart from one small thing...
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Really funny and informative- very accessible to those who don't know that much about classical music and great at giving a broad overview of everything.
However, i was really dissapointed at the number of English composers who went unrecognised in this American book- in their list of composers they completely ignored Elgar and Britten! how could they?
But apart from that it was a really good read- well worth the money.
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Brilliantly amusing and informative!
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I held my breath waiting for this book, but having seen a colleague's copy of Philosophy for Dummies, I thought I'd give this a go. Teaching should always have an element of humour, and this book does just that - it can at any given time be both amusing and informative. An absolute must for teachers, students and anyone who has even the remotest interest in music.
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