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How to listen to new music

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You know it when you hear it in a scary movie or sandwiched between Mozart and Beethoven at a concert: contemporary classical music, or "new music" for short. Here are some ways to get the most out of music from the past half-century.

1. Trust your gut

Discomfort is a legitimate response to the loud, dissonant sounds in much new music. But just like the battle scenes in a movie or the harrowing details of a historical account of the Second World War, there are reasons for sitting with uncomfortable experiences. It is no accident that some of the most dissonant music of the twentieth century appeared after the Second World War, either to depict its horrors or as an attempt to start afresh. If the music you are listening to sounds violent or unpleasant, take a moment to ask why.

2. Mix it up

You probably don't want to be confronted with society's horrors over dinner (unless you keep the news on), so thankfully there's a huge variety of new music out there. Mix it up by listening to some new music using traditional harmonies and melodies in new ways. A case in point, Calvin Bowman's album of art song.

3. Read the program

A piece of new music might tell a story; the composer might explore new ways of playing an instrument; or the performers might be using movement, speech, projections, or staging to create a special experience for you. Feel free to come up with your own ideas about what’s going on, but hopefully there are some clues in the piece's title or program note. It is becoming more common for the performers themselves to introduce the work at a concert.

4. Walk out

It takes longer to listen to a piece of music than glance at a painting or skim a poem, and just like paintings and poems, not all new compositions hit the mark. If you are finding a piece truly unbearable, get out of there! Try an event that encourages the audience to drift in and out of the venue, like the Extended Play Festival or MOFO. Broadcasts are also a great way to get a taste of new music without committing to a full evening of hard listening. Try ABC Classic FM's broadcasts from the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music. Safe in the knowledge that you can leave at any time, you might even feel like hanging around a little longer. Or if you are a podcast listener, ABC Classic FM's New Waves podcast showcases a new work every week, including insightful interviews with the composers and performers.

5. Listen beyond the melody

If a piece of music sounds tuneless, you're probably right. But music is about more than melodies, just as painting is about more than portraits. Listen for the overall shape of the piece. When is it fast or slow? Is it the same volume the whole time? How many instruments are playing? Is sound being played through speakers? Are the sounds of the instruments rough, clear, hollow, or distorted? Once you get used to listening for timbre and texture, hearing a new piece of music bursting to life can be like standing before the shifting hues of an immense abstract canvas.

When there is a tune, does it drone around the same pitch like a flat horizon, or does it spiral and twist like a gnarled old tree? What kind of sculpture would it be?

6. Give it time

Tastes build on, rather than replace, each other. I love a romantic piano sonata with a clearly defined melody in the foreground and a vivid chiaroscuro of countermelodies and accompaniment, but still crave some two-dimensional post-war pointillism now and then. If you like piano music, try contemporary piano music. If you like strings, try a string quartet. Tastes don’t change overnight, but sometimes we love most what we have learned to love.

A database of contemporary Australian music including a concert calendar can be found at the website of the Australian Music Centre.

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