Chris Parles wrote: >Barrett, I, too, am a young (14) classical music enthusiast, and have >been listening seriously to classical music and opera for almost 2 years >now. Chris, I'm amazed! I hope I don't sound impertinent for saying this, but I'm very impressed with the apparent depth of your knowledge of classical music, at such a young age, and after only two years of listening. Also, my compliments for giving such good advice (and having written it so well). >Second, if you hear a piece you don't like, don't automatically denounce >the composer and never listen to any of his music again. Absolutely! One very interesting thing I discovered when I started exploring classical music (I was 13 I think) was how it usually took several listenings before I started enjoying a piece music. Somehow, though, there was enough reward in the first hearing to keep me listening. Now I'm 43, and have been listening to classical music for 30 years, and I still need to listen to a new piece several times before I feel like I really appreciate it. Here's one explanation of this phenomenon, which I often enjoy sharing with people: If you compare music with painting, you can see the whole painting at a glance. To "see", or rather hear, a whole piece of music, it takes time. By the time you're listening to the end of the piece, you've kind of forgotten the beginning. To get a mental picture of the overall structure of a piece of music, you need to listen to it a few times. Mike