Whaaaaaaaaat!?: I Don't Get Classical Music: A Self-Help Desperation Guide

by Dennis Bathory-kitsz

“Whaaaaaaaaat!? I Don’t Get Classical A Self-Help Desperation Guide” is a tonic for the perplexed, and a companion guide for those who feel classical music is forbidding, complex and grandiose. It is a concise and helpful book with humor and insight written by a composer and performer with a lifetime of experience. Beginning with patterns, pitches and instruments, author Dennis Bathory-Kitsz covers topics from performers to shrieking singers to the mysterious classical codes, from Beethoven (“the great hulk of a man”) through space music, tone poems, nationalism, and even composers insulting each other. Written in response to a student’s plea for help (“I’m desperate! I don’t get classical music!”), the book is not stuck in the distant past. Instead, “Whaaaaaaaaat!?” includes classical music—which the composer prefers to call “nonpop”—from ancient times right up to the present day, from Gregorian chant through electrons and gongs to nonpop fused with pop. Writes one of his students, “it accomplishes what a textbook does without being a textbook.” Another says, “It gets right into the dirty details of Western music and does so in a way that makes even the most novice listener feel like a professional.” Explored and critiqued by more than two dozen readers from complete amateurs to working professionals, “Whaaaaaaaaat!?” is insightful, exuberant, funny and, according to one music professor, “terrifically valuable as a corrective to bad thinking and its offspring, bad teaching.” In a short, readable 100 pages, Bathory-Kitsz shares the madness and mystery of classical music.

126 pages, Paperback

Published May 13, 2016

Reviews

[Garyt2013 · Rating 5 out of 5]

If, like me, you don't know much about classical music but would like to learn, then I highly recommend this short, informative, and highly entertaining book. I'm amazed at the amount of information packed into these very readable 100 pages, covering not just music theory, but history, instruments, composer biographies, and enriched with humorous, informative anecdotes. I especially enjoyed listening to the performances provided via youtube links, and hearing such great examples of the theory that the book was helping me to learn. The example performances really brought the information in the book to life. I think that reading this book and listening to the recommended performances is a great way to improve understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of classical music.