It all sounds the same to you
Old music with violins, and no way to tell it apart.
Courses
Start with three things you can do today
How to get into classical music
Find your way into classical music without a syllabus.
A course for people who want to listen to classical music and do not know where to begin. It covers what to listen for in a piece, the main periods and how they sound different, the forms that shape the music, and how to build a listening habit from a few pieces you will love.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to get into classical music but do not know where to start. Give me a way in: what to listen for, the main periods and forms, and how to build a listening habit that sticks.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
Start today
Three things you can do before the course exists.
Useful on their own. The course is for when you want the whole skill, not just the first move.
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Start with one movement, not a symphony
Ten minutes of something dramatic, on headphones, doing nothing else. The Allegretto of Beethoven's Seventh is a common first door.
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Listen to the same piece three days running
Classical rewards repetition. By the third listen you will hear the tune come back changed, which is the pleasure the form is built on.
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Follow one instrument through a piece
Pick the cello or the flute and track only it. Texture stops being a wall of sound and becomes voices.
- Best for
- Art & music
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- Have you heard any classical music you liked, even in a film?
- Do you prefer big and dramatic, small and intimate, or do not know yet?
- How do you want to listen: at home, while working, or at concerts?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You liked something once and lost the thread
A film score, a piece at a wedding, and nowhere to go from there.
You want to understand what you are hearing
Movements, sonatas, symphonies: the words and the shapes.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Listening, not hearing
Attention, repetition and what changes when you follow a piece.
The periods
Four centuries in four sounds.
Forms
How a symphony is built and why movements exist.
Instruments and textures
Orchestra, quartet and solo, and what each can do.
A first listening list
Ten pieces, chosen to open different doors.
Concerts and recordings
Where to go next, and how to choose a recording of a piece.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Know what to listen for
Melody, harmony, texture and the drama of a piece.
Tell the periods apart
Baroque, classical, romantic and modern, by ear.
Follow the forms
Symphony, concerto, sonata and the shapes inside them.
Build a habit
A short listening list and a way to grow it.
Ideas this course corrects
You need to know the theory
You need to listen with attention. Theory can follow if you want it.
Classical means relaxing background music
Some of it is the most dramatic music ever written. Background is the wrong way to meet it.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
How to get into classical music: what can I do today?
Start with one movement, not a symphony. Ten minutes of something dramatic, on headphones, doing nothing else. The Allegretto of Beethoven's Seventh is a common first door. Listen to the same piece three days running. Classical rewards repetition. By the third listen you will hear the tune come back changed, which is the pleasure the form is built on. Follow one instrument through a piece. Pick the cello or the flute and track only it. Texture stops being a wall of sound and becomes voices.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course for people who want to listen to classical music and do not know where to begin. It covers what to listen for in a piece, the main periods and how they sound different, the forms that shape the music, and how to build a listening habit from a few pieces you will love. It sits under Art & music in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to get into classical music but do not know where to start. Give me a way in: what to listen for, the main periods and forms, and how to build a listening habit that sticks.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.