Are you like me, curious about classical music but find it intimidating? For novices like us, a classical music app – and I’ve truly been enjoying Apple Music Classical as of late – transforms listening from a passive background experience to an active engagement through features specifically designed for beginners
Digital Booklets: Understanding Górecki Beyond Film Soundtracks
When I explored Górecki’s Complete Works for String Quartet using this classical music app for novices, I only recognized his name from Peter Weir’s “Fearless” soundtrack. The app’s digital booklets provided essential context, completely transforming my experience.
These digital notes explained:
- The historical significance of each movement
- Techniques used in the compositions
- How these quartets fit into Górecki’s broader artistic development
This feature helps bridge the knowledge gap for newcomers to classical music. Instead of simply hearing pleasant sounds, I understood the artistic intentions behind each piece. All About Jazz agrees that liner notes provide valuable details that enhance understanding and appreciation. In fact, I’m of the opinion that this should be done in the regular app as well for all genres, not just classical.
Listening Guides: Rediscovering Barber’s Adagio for Strings
The time-synced listening guides in this classical music app for novices completely changed how I experience familiar works. Barber’s Adagio for Strings—a piece I’d heard countless times in movies and commercials—became new when I used the listening guide.
The guide points out:
- Harmonic shifts at crucial moments
- Building tension techniques
- Subtle details easily missed by untrained ears (for this piece, pay attention to when (and not when) the double bass is used)
This transformed a piece I thought I knew into something far more special. I heard instruments I didn’t expect to hear. I listened to the music under the main theme. It made the familiar new.
The Apple TV Gap: Bringing Classical Music to Families
My seven-year-old has developed genuine enthusiasm for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In the car, this doesn’t pose a problem because the classical music app for novices is on CarPlay. However, at home, we would have to do this on an iPad or iPhone, and let’s face it, that isn’t the optimal way to listen.
Yes, Beethoven’s Fifth is on regular Apple Music. The listening guide isn’t because it is only on Apple Classical.
This highlights Apple Music Classical’s biggest shortcoming: the lack of an Apple TV app.
This limitation matters because:
- Most quality home speakers connect to television systems
- Classical music particularly benefits from superior sound reproduction
- Shared family viewing of listening guides would enhance education
- The app’s high-resolution audio (up to 24-bit/192 kHz) deserves proper speakers
Experiencing Beethoven’s iconic “fate knocking at the door” motif through quality speakers would dramatically improve both the listening experience and my family’s classical music education thanks to the learner guides being on the TV for all of us to see.
Additionally, while every recording in Apple Classical is available through regular Apple Music, it can sometimes be more challenging to locate a specific recording within the standard app. For example, how many versions of the Fifth Symphony have been recorded? Hundreds? Thousands?
If I’m looking for a specific one, it is a lot easier on the Apple Classical app as it takes into account composer, conductor, soloist, orchestra, etc. Additionally, this classical music app for novices often provides a recommended version to try if it’s new to you. This is how I use it on my iOS devices and the web app. When using the AppleTV, which I often use for music, this would help a lot in finding what we are looking for.
Again, it’s a perfect app that’s just begging to be slightly improved by being available on Apple TV!
Why This Classical Music App for Novices Works So Well
Apple Music Classical removes barriers for newcomers through:
- Specialized search functions for composers, works, and conductors
- Complete, accurate metadata so you always know what you’re hearing
- Personalized recommendations based on listening history
- Biographies and editorial picks that make complex music accessible
For families exploring classical music together, the app provides a shared learning experience. Despite the Apple TV limitation, it remains a great alternative to the best app out there for classical music.
I love Idagio which is considerly the best for classical music. I highly recommend that app if you aren’t an Apple user, as it is light years better than Spotify. Because I already pay for Apple Music for the family, I didn’t need to pay for two apps.
Once Apple Classical came out, I made the decision to switch from Idagio to Apple. Idagio is probably better for experts, but I’m not there yet so I’m more than happy with my decision.
From Passive Hearing to Active Listening
The transformation from casually hearing classical pieces to actively listening with understanding represents the true value of this classical music app for novices like me.
Whether you’re discovering Górecki’s string quartets or sharing Beethoven’s Fifth with your children, the app provides the context and guidance needed to appreciate these timeless works.
Once they get the Apple TV app, they should consider the other music form that could benefit from it’s own app – Jazz.
Join the Discussion
I’ve always enjoyed classical music, but I never deep-dived into learning about it outside of music appreciation classes. Sparked by my little one’s interest, I can see this will be my summer hobby. I might do a set of blogs on classical music this summer.
Have you tried Apple Music Classical? What features do you love—or wish it had? Let’s discuss in the comments!
If you liked this blog, check out our other blogs about music!