In coordination with my recent cover of Andrew Bird’s “Masterfade” and some jazz improv I did over one of his new tunes (“Lone Didion”), I want to talk about classical music.
More specifically, I want to talk about the value of classical music — especially at a young age — but its value is non-discriminatory, as it applies and enhances your artistic abilities at any stage in your musical journey. Andrew Bird is notorious for his fusion of classical, folk, blues, jazz, and pretty much every other genre — which is why I’m such a huge fan of his music — so with a nod to him, let’s talk about the discernible value of classical music, in 8 talking points.
Let’s start with the obvious, easy ones.
1. Classical music teaches you to read music well. Yeah, sure, you definitely don’t need to read music to be an excellent musician or artist — plenty of my favorite artists cannot read music — but damn, it sure does open up a whole new world of artistic sensibilities. It gives you the power to visualize melodies, read scores, compose with confidence, transpose with ease, and so much more. It can only help you and my, it is a powerful tool.
2. Classical music teaches you excellent technique. Speaking from my experience: I played classical piano as a child for about 5 years. I hated it. It wasn’t fun; it felt like homework; and the lessons were, for a period, at the same time as Dragonball Z (which was the real conflict…). But then, of course, years later, after I had become enamored with drums and electric guitar, I got back into piano in college and ended up playing piano in a jazz combo. Guess what kicked in big time? Piano technique. Sure, my fingers needed a bit of reclamation, but the years of scales, crossovers, stretches, and visualization made a huge difference, unsurprisingly.
3. Some of your favorite musicians are hugely inspired by classical music. I’ve already highlighted Andrew Bird, but another one of my favorites is Phish, and more specifically Trey Anastasio, the guitar player and primary composer for the band. Trey often talks about his classical upbringing in interviews (his mother was a big Broadway fan and then he was an accomplished composition major in college), and it is so true that the more I study classical music and composition, the more I understand Phish’s music. They do so much with melody, counterpoint, modulations, stretto, etc. that — once you look at it from the other side (ie. through a Bach piece) — it just sort of jumps out at you when you’re listening to one of their tunes. The easiest example I can think of is in “Divided Sky”: there is the iconic, slowed down guitar melody in the middle of the song — that is straight 18th century tonal counterpoint, to a T! It follows “all the rules”, if you will (not that rules matter in music…), but being able to see/hear that structure and inspiration is absolutely fascinating and makes all of their music profoundly more interesting.
4. Classical music is about MUSIC. This is really to say that, in light of today’s hyperbolic sex-pop world, it’s important that you have music that is really about music — about beauty, anger, exuberance, darkness, love, humility, etc. — in other words, music that is concerned with emotion. Unfortunately, so much of today’s “art” seems to have drifted so far from expressing emotion (which I attribute a lot of this to big tech and social media), and today’s artists are now viewed as “content creators” who spend the majority of their time focused on “pleasing the algorithm”. It’s super lame. And it’s not what it’s about! Music is about expressing yourself and expressing emotion. Let’s get back to that. And if you need a recommendation on where to start, I highly recommend Chopin’s Nocturnes.
5. Classical musicians are REAL musicians. In that same vein, I can confidently say that there is no bs when it comes to classical training, technique, and ability. It’s simply an artist and their craft — no computer programming, no quantizing, no “fixing it”, auto-tune, or any of that cheat-sheet 21st century “hey I’m a DJ now” kind of garbage. It’s just a person and their instrument, — and a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears. You don’t just get into the Philharmonic by being popular or looking cool. Absolutely not. Go shake hands with an orchestra musician the next time you see one. They are hugely accomplished people and truly fascinating, to say the least.
6. “There is nothing on God’s green earth that is more harmonically rich than an orchestra.” Ah, sorry, I have to quote Trey Anastasio again (did I mention I was a Phish fan?), but he is spot on with this. “It’s just wood and steel vibrating… in some of the most beautiful acoustic spaces on the planet.” It’s just pure music. Again, no bs, just music. Go check out your local orchestra — university orchestras are great accessible and affordable alternatives to your city’s philharmonic fyi — and marvel at the power, intensity, and power of raw, natural sound. A “loudspeaker” doesn’t even come close in comparison. It’s not even the same “music”, honestly.
7. Classical music is music that is appreciated by all generations. I remember when I played Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” for my 75 year-old grandfather — big, big smile. That is one of my favorite classical pieces and to have that as a bridge to genuine connection with my grandfather is something that I’ll never forget. You should never discount certain music as “old”, and I honestly can’t understand how people do or say those sorts of things. It’s as ludicrous as the idea of discounting certain art because it’s “old”. No, no.
8. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. This applies for all music, but especially for those starting at a young age (as I did). Learning a piece of music from 0% (squinting at notes, unsure of fingerings, confused with changes) to 100% (full competence, “I can play this with my eyes closed”) is one of the most wonderful and satisfying things you can do in your life. And you can do it over and over again! It is one of the true joys of life, I assure you, and that is why so many dedicate their lives to music, despite all of the challenges that come with it. Music is truly a magical thing, and it starts within yourself.
Anyway, that’s what I have to start. It’s a good list and I’m sure there’s a handful of more points that could be added — send this over to your classical friends and see what they think.
John Paris
My Andrew Bird “Masterfade” cover: https://youtu.be/8FAhCY_ajWg
My Phish “Cavern” cover: https://youtu.be/zsotz0m2nGE