How to Listen to Music: Hints and Suggestions to Untaught Lovers of the Art

by Henry Edward Krehbiel

This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1904 edition by Murray, London.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art, Self Help

383 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Henry Edward Krehbiel was an American music critic and musicologist.

Reviews

[Jason Comely · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of music history, theory and opinion. A worthwhile read.

[Duckpondwithoutducks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for those who want to appreciate classical music, but know very little about it, this book has chapters on recognizing musical elements, the orchestra, what to expect at a concert/recital/opera, et cetera.

Some quotes I liked:

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter."

"As to the relation of programme to music Schumann laid down an admirable maxim when he said that while good music was not harmed by a descriptive title it was a bad indication if a composition needed one."

"But this is not because, as you think, music is vague. On the contrary, I believe that musical expression is altogether too definite, that it reaches regions and dwells in them whither words cannot follow it and must necessarily go lame when they make the attempt as you would have them do."

"Music goes out of existence with every performance, and must be recreated at every hearing."

[Donald Owens II · Rating 3 out of 5]

My main beef with this book is the title. It is decidedly NOT about how to listen to music, but about how to be a fair music critic. Neither is it for the "untaught lover of the art", but requires a fairly broad knowledge of musical terminology and the ability to sight read music, as well as a high immunity to tedium. Furthermore, the subject is not music in general, but what is commonly called 'classical music'.

So on second thought, I disliked quite a bit about the book. I was looking forward to some principles of listening to music for all its worth, and was disappointed, but as a general history of some select genres of music, this book was okay, despite the author's superior tone towards those more ignorant than himself.

[Timothy Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the Librivox recording. It is well done, and better than a book because it has people demonstrating described concepts on the piano, but I felt it was a bit too advanced for me. The author assumes I know what the average (liesured?) person knew about music in his time, and I know substantially less than that.

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[Lorelei · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was really a bit of a waste for me. I didn't learn anything new, and the writer is condescending and irritating. I'm glad I kept on, as the second half was rather more entertaining, had some (to me) new anecdotes about some famous composers and musicians, and generally was worth the time. I don't know that I would recommend it, but if you've nothing better to do you could do worse.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)
I listened to this as a librivox audiobook. It was difficult to understand it all, because there were multiple people reading different parts of the book., like each of them got every other chapter...
I'd rather they stuck to one voice...

This book was interesting, it's presented like an essay or a study of music in the author's personal opinions about music. It's meant for people who aren't professionals or musicians, to help them understand music.
I really enjoyed the bits with musical sample pieces being played, it helped further understand what he was describing. There is some music history, so that was neat. Some of these pieces he's taken apart meticulously. Examined the poetry and the way music effects people.
Harmonies, melodies, language barriers on certain pieces of music, there's musical comparisons, Opera and Aurias... It's very thorough on the types of music from his time and slightly before.

[Jared Funk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covers music through approximately 1900. Worthwhile if that is what you are looking for: theory, arrangement, history and criticism.

[Audiobook Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO761...