Music Listening List for Beginning Music Students (and Their Parents!)

Because learning to play a musical instrument well is like mastering a foreign language - it is all about establishing a music-conducive environment in the home. I've prepared this short article for Steemit.

It does not matter which instrument you aspire to play, whether you are studying piano, violin, trumpet, singing, or even composing for and conducting a symphony orchestra, and regardless of musical style, you have to become acquainted with the proper "sound" and technique, by first listening to masters of your instrument(s).

In his well-researched book Mastery, the well-known author Robert Greene would classify the above process as part of self-mentoring program, and it definitely does produce the desired results, and the entire Suzuki "Talent Education" Approach to music study is geared around the importance of daily music listening, before, during, and after learning each little piece of music in the program.

The principle is sound and time-tested; it works!

To reemphaze this point: One cannot breathe in a vacuum, nor can one learn to play and create meaningful music without lots of prerequisite listening, to those who have already mastered this art. My list (below) is a portion of a "Recommended Listening List" that I distribute to my own music students, and to their families.

1 - Wolfgang Mozart’s Piano Trio (for piano and strings) in E major, K.542.
2 - W. Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, K.452.
3 - Johann S. Bach’s Suite for Orchestra in B minor, BWV 1067.
4 - Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for Piano, Violin, ‘Cello, and Orchestra.
5 - J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #5.
6 - W. Mozart’s Piano Concerto #17 in G major, K.453.
7 - Johannes Brahms’s Symphony #3.
8 - Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphony #2.
9 - “Nonet” for Strings and Winds, by Louis Spohr
10 - Franz Schubert’s Trout Quintet, for strings and piano.
11 - Handel, G. F. - “Water Music”
12 - Haydn, Franz Joseph - Piano Trio “The Gypsy” in G, #25.
13 - Beethoven, Ludwig van - Symphony #6
14 - Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto #2
15 - Fauré, Gabriel - Piano Quintet #2 in d minor
16 - Debussy, Claude - Images pour Orchestre
17 - Haydn - The Toy Symphony (esp. for your young children)
18 - Beethoven - Piano Sonata “Les Adieux;” #26 in E-flat
19 - Prokofiev, Sergei - Peter and the Wolf (not only for kids)
20 - Vaughan Williams, Ralph - Symphony #3
21 - Beethoven - Piano Concerto #2
22 - Moussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition, for solo piano
23 - da Falla - Nights in the Gardens of Spain
24 - Poulenc, Francis - Sextet for piano and winds
25 - Britten, Benjamin - Young Peoples Guide to the Orchestra
26 - Beethoven - String Quartet, the “Rasumovsky”
27 - Mahler, Gustav - Symphony #9
28 – Ligeti, Gyorgy – “Lux Aeterna” and “Atmospheres” (Heard in 2001: A Space Odyssey film)
29 – Strauss, Richard – “Also Sprach Zarathustra” (also heard in A Space Odyssey)
30 – Beethoven, Ludwig van – Symphony #9
31 – Vivaldi, Antonio – The “Four Seasons” (4 violin concertos)
32 – Strauss, Richard – “Don Quixote”
33 – Bach, J. S. – Toccata and Fugue in D minor (for organ)
34 – Stravinski, Igor – The “Rite of Spring”

Note: Recordings of many of the above works are often available for listening (for free) on Google's YouTube site, and there are CDs and other audio recordings that may be scouted out for purchase.

How to Use the List: I always suggest choosing ONE work from the above List, and emphasize daily, repeated hearings of the same piece, over and over for one week. The development of such a habit will be more effective than merely hearing each piece of music once. The following week, move on to the next piece on the List, and repeat.

You may of course return to visit favorite works listened to previously, and you are welcome to edit my List as you see fit. Over time, the necessary familiarity will naturally develop through this immersion process, which in turn is conducive to learning to play, and to write for yourself, which is the ultimate goal.

#classical-music

Helpful Literature

Constance & William Starr's book To Learn with Love: A Companion for Suzuki Parents - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21123271-to-learn-with-love

Robert Greene's book Mastery: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13589182-mastery

The slide showing various media used for music listening today is taken from a video presentation I prepared for my music theory channel on YouTube. If you wish, you may enjoy watching that presentation at the following URL: