How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition

By: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Greenberg

Length: 36 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Great music is a language unto its own, a means of communication of unmatched beauty and genius. And it has an undeniable power to move us in ways that enrich our lives - provided it is understood.

If you have ever longed to appreciate great concert music, to learn its glorious language and share in its sublime pleasures, the way is now open to you, through this series of 48 wonderful lectures designed to make music accessible to everyone who yearns to know it, regardless of prior training or knowledge. It's a lecture series that will enable you to first grasp music's forms, techniques, and terms - the grammatical elements that make you fluent in its language - and then use that newfound fluency to finally hear and understand what the greatest composers in history are actually saying to us.

And as you learn the gifts given us by nearly every major composer, you'll come to know there is one we share with each of them - a common humanity that lets us finally understand that these were simply people speaking to us, sharing their passion and wanting desperately to be heard. Using digitally recorded musical passages to illustrate his points, Professor Greenberg will take you inside magnificent compositions by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and more. Even if you have listened to many of these illustrative pieces throughout your life - as so many of us have - you will never hear them the same way again after experiencing these lectures.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

One of my favorite audio "books" ever

Dr. Greenberg's breadth and depth of knowledge of the subject matter are undeniable, but what really kept me engaged throughout this rather long course was his infectious enthusiasm. I also enjoyed his somewhat corny sense of humor, which at times had me laughing out loud. I especially loved it when the South Jersey boy in him came through.
Like many people, I was occasionally exposed to "classical" music, knew a little bit about most of the major composers, had a few favorite pieces, and even took a music appreciation class in college, but it would be a stretch to say I was musically literate. Now at least I can recognize major versus minor keys, expository versus developmental music, baroque versus classical versus romantic versus modern music, German/Austrian versus Italian versus French versus Slavic versus Russian music, and program music. Most importantly, my mind has now been opened to an array of music that I was unaware of, or in some cases was aware of but didn't understand the importance of, and am now interested in taking a deeper dive. Note that this is *not* a music survey course, so it doesn't try to cover every important composer (Antonio Vivaldi is one notable omission), or even representative works from every subgenre of chamber music. Rather, just as the course title states, it is about how to listen to and understand such music. If your interest is piqued, as mine was, I highly recommend following this course with Dr. Greenberg's "Thirty Greatest Orchestral Works" course. Listening to these two courses together gives you a pretty good foundation to build on.
By the way, one thing I like about this course is that Dr. Greenberg plays an excerpt of music once to introduce you to it, then explains what is going on inside the music, sometimes isolating specific notes by playing them on the piano, and then plays the excerpt again so you can hear it with greater appreciation. Sometimes he even plays an excerpt a third time so that you really understand it, especially if it's a more complex piece of music like Bach's. I like this approach because I'm not forced to be constantly using the rewind button to hear what I might have missed. (The 30 Greatest Orchestral Works course doesn't follow this approach as much, and often you only hear an excerpt once. That's OK, because I think the purpose of that course isn't so much to teach you how to listen but to give you a taste of the works he's selected so that if you like them you can go find them and listen to them on your own.)
Bottom line, I highly recommend this course to anyone who has the time (as I said, the course is rather long) and has even a slight interest in music.

The best professor for music appreciation or any other subject!

I feel fortunate to have learned from Prof. Greenberg, for I have a habit of starting new things and losing interest. It is because of him and only him that I have mastered this course. I have even read his notes and done a repeat of listening to his lectures, which is unprecedented for somebody like myself who suffers from ADHD. A personal 'thank you' to Prof. Greenberg for his mastery of the subject, his passion for teaching and his genuine empathy and generosity toward his students, even if faceless in this situation. Thank you, Sir!

Great Professor, but...

Really, the professor is just something else! I laughed out loud sometimes... he’s just great.
The course is huge though. I just enjoyed “classical” music and thought this course could do me some good to appreciate it even more. It did, but I was lost sometimes to be honest. My fault I guess.
So, if you’re not studying music be advised: it is long. This may take you a while to finish.

Excellent Course in depth survey

Professor Greenberg's presentation style is a blend of Louis Black and Winnie the Pooh. His love of music comes through loud and clear in each lecture. Highly recommended.

What a great survey of great music!

I now understand how music is a mirror. How it reflects our culture and context. Very informative, highly entertaining, funny and inspiring.

Glorious

I, as a passionate music lover, truly enjoyed this course. While not short, professor Greeneberger makes it interesting, and even funny, without losing depth in its explanations, on which I always learnt new things, or new approaches, even of the composers I was familiar with.

Highly recommended. I feel privileged to have listened to it. Mi love for music has become even stronger...

Extremely informative!!

I loved these lectures! I thought Robert Greenberg made the material extremely interesting besides being informative.
I play violin in the Delaware County Symphony. I must tell them that they need to change their name to Orchestra! LOL!

Great music makes for a great listen.

What did you love best about How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition?

I learned a lot about how to dissect music.

What was one of the most memorable moments of How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition?

Professor Greenberg's impassioned defense of early 20th century music. And, my friends, I mean IMPASSIONED!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was interesting throughout.

Any additional comments?

Prof. Greenberg needs to learn what the phrase "begs the question" means.

Wonderful!

Professor Greenberg's delivery is excellent. He outlines what he will be addressing in any given lecture, and delivers what he promises in a structured and sensible manner. He has a good sense of humor, and his passion for the subject comes through. I am somewhere around lecture 20 and have learned a lot. I listen on the 40 minute drive to work every day and just discovered there is a PDF that accompanies the lectures. It is not necessary, but will be nice to have to review. I don't listen on the way home because I am tired and really do not want to zone out and miss anything. It is that good.

submersion in the evolution of music

I totally enjoyed the order, intensity and balance if history, analysis, and musical listening. Excellent! Thank you