The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music [Paperback]

Robert Sherman (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: June 20, 1997

You're no idiot of course. You know something about classical music, whether it's the "da-da-da-dum" opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony or that a famous shaggy dog was named after that same composer. But when it comes to knowing your Vivaldi from your Berlioz, you find it less stressful to tune your radio dial to some old time rock and roll. Don't give up yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music shows you how easy it is to understand and appreciate classical music--from recognizing musical pieces to distinguishing composers. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

First it was Classical Music for Dummies; now comes a rival, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music. What could possibly come next? Whatever the variation, it's worth suffering through another self-deprecating title to help the timorous abandon their unfortunate fears of good music and get into the listening habit. Like Classical Music for Dummies, The Complete Idiot's Guide doesn't assume any prior knowledge on the part of readers; also like its Dummies counterpart, this volume is written in short bursts, with mini-paragraphs and boxes that work better for bite-size reading than for long stretches. The writing tends to be jokey and mildly attitudinal, the better to reach the series's youngish target audience. (One wishes, though, that the writers had screwed up the courage to eschew the seemingly mandatory variations on the comment about how "it's not over until the fat lady sings" when writing about opera.)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music is intelligently laid out, starting with a brief set of basics--from the history of what we think of as classical music, to the art of listening to classical music, to how to buy a stereo system--and moving on to address a surprisingly large number of areas. There are helpful introductions to assorted instruments, composers, performers, operas, and movements, including Baroque, classical romantic, and modern. Although some of the book's emphases have a whiff of political correctness, most of the information is valuable.

Authors Robert Sherman and Philip Seldon have chosen to combine both instrumental music and opera in one volume (unlike Classical Music for Dummies, which has a sister volume in Opera for Dummies). As a result, buyers who want to save money may turn to The Complete Idiot's Guide rather than to the competition. It also has a tear-out "Complete Idiot's Reference Card," with the "Top 20 Classical Works," "Top Ten Singers," "Top Ten Conductors," and so forth to take with you to the record store. Note: the categories are ranked in a highly idiosyncratic manner--based on a radio station's listeners' survey.) On the downside, unlike Classical Music for Dummies, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music doesn't have an accompanying compact disc with musical samples on it. As Victor Hugo wrote of music, it expresses feelings humans cannot put in words, but is something humans endlessly try to explain in words.

From the Back Cover

You're no idiot of course. You know something about classical music, whether it's the "da-da-da-dum" opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony or that a famous shaggy dog was named after that same composer. But when it comes to knowing your Vivaldi from your Berlioz, you find it less stressful to tune your radio dial to some old time rock and roll. Don't give up yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music shows you how easy it is to understand and appreciate classical music--from recognizing musical pieces to distinguishing composers. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1st edition (June 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028616340
• ISBN-13: 978-0028616346
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For a few dollars more, buy Classical Music for Dummies, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music (Paperback)

This book is not bad at all. It may deserve 4 stars had I never read Classical Music for Dummies. A book on classical music ought to come with a sample CD. This one doesn't. And you won't know what you miss until you get the other book.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair to good, March 3, 1998

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music (Paperback)

Felt that Classical Music For Dummies was a superior read to the Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music. It also included a CD of classical music as examples of what was taught in the text of the book with an entire chapter devoted to explaining the examples on the CD. Idiot's Guide did not contain a CD.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe I'm not the right level of idiot, December 24, 2001

By 

Katherine (California's Great Central Valley) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Music (Paperback)

I bought this book because I wanted to develop a better understanding of the music I was hearing at concerts. I was disappointed. The authors spent so much effort trying to make the book interesting that they didn't include the information I was seeking. I can understand the wordplay in the section headings, but I got VERY tired of the "Bet You Didn't Know" sections with tidbits like "Salmonella was reputed to be such a wonderful piano player because he had two left hands." I tried to just skip them, but the remainder of the text assumed the reader had read those sections.

The music theory portion of the book - the part I wanted to understand the most - is only 13 pages and still left me lost. Some of it may be from oversimplification. One question I had - and still have - is the meaning of a piece described as being In C Major. The book states that this is "the basic tone on which the rest of music is constructed." I don't know if that means the most common note, the midpoint, or something else. Examples of specific works would go a long way to making this discussion more useful.

This book might be an amusing resource if you're looking for biographical trivia about composers, singers, or performers. But I would not recommend it for someone struggling to understand the music.