The conventional notion of what constitutes art is often quite narrow – going to museums to stare at paintings or dressing up and going to the opera. In India, the latter is replaced by concerts of Indian classical music. It’s supposed to be something so exotic that only few chosen ones can experience the magic of it. Sadly, this misguided notion is often perpetrated by the same people who engage in such rituals. Hence the artificial divide between the so called high-brow and low-brow art. Interestingly, what is considered high-brow often changes with time. When the opera started in the Baroque era (1600 – 1750) in Italy, it used to be a very popular affair, much like the blockbuster movies of today. In Venice alone, one season would produce as many as fifty new operas. The concerts of Mozart or Beethoven were also an informal affair. People talked during performances and often clapped in the middle of a movement as well. The etiquettes that are observed today in classical music performances came about in the nineteenth century when music composition came to be regarded as a work to be revered with silence.
The concept of abstract art is often strongly associated with abstract paintings, so much so that people are often unaware that other forms of abstract art also exist. I have seen people studying so hard to understand abstract paintings as if they are preparing for a test and then often getting disappointed if they don’t ‘get it’ as the connoisseurs say they should. I think if you have to try so hard to understand an art form, then that means that it is not for you. Certainly, paintings are not my cup of tea. I discovered this rather accidentally when I saw the Mona Lisa for the first time from a distance of few feet and my first reaction was, “Is that it?” Paintings don’t do anything for me – with exceptions like the Sistine Chapel but then that’s a special case. There is the grandeur of the Vatican, genius of Michelangelo and so much of history associated with it that you cannot help but be enthralled. Exceptions like these aside, Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan makes me more introspective about war than Picasso’s Guernica.
Paintings do not hold a monopoly over abstract art. Some music scholars consider instrumental music as the most abstract of art forms. A painting is static, fixed in space. A piece of music is dynamic, dependent on time and changes every time you hear it, depending on the musicians, conductor etc. That’s why there are so many interpretations of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony – maybe he is raging against destiny because he was going deaf or maybe he is extolling the virtues of freedom and equality.
It takes time and effort to get acquainted with any form of abstract art. The thing to look for is if it speaks to you. Fortunately, there is an easy way to find this out in case of western classical music. The first thing to do is get your ear used to the sounds. We are bombarded by all kinds of exotic sounds today and if you want to appreciate music that was played two or four hundred years ago, then you need to hear it as people did in those times.
So here’s what you do. Prepare a playlist of tracks. For instance
- Mozart, Symphony No 40, first movement.
- Vivaldi, Four Seasons (Pick your favourite season, mine are Spring and Summer.)
- Mahler, Symphony No 1, third movement.
- Tchaikovsky, Violin concerto, first movement.
- Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, first movement.
- Beethoven, Symphony No 7, second movement.
This list is not written in stone, feel free to add or subtract. You cannot go wrong with Mozart, Bach or Beethoven. Once you have prepared a list, listen to it in background while you are cleaning the house or cooking. Keep the volume loud enough so that you can hear every note clearly but not so loud that it interferes with your thought process. And then stop thinking about it. Let your ears and your subconscious brain do the work for you.
Alternatively, you can listen to a classical music radio station.
If this is the right art form for you, then in a few days a wonderful thing will happen. In a totally unexpected moment – when you are going somewhere or talking to someone – your brain will play a wonderful melody in your head. Here’s the most interesting thing about it. We all get annoyed when a song gets stuck in our head. But have you ever been irritated because a melody got stuck in your head? I would think not. A song has words so the brain latches onto them and repeats them in an out-of-control loop. With a melody, the brain has nothing to hold on to and it just flows freely through your head. My guess is that with a song the logical part of the brain is active while with a melody it is the creative part. When I first went on a diet of western classical music, I had beautiful violin and piano melodies flowing through my head. It felt as if my musical palate had been cleansed. It also had a remarkable soothing effect.
Finally, if any of this does not happen then that’s fine too. It means that this is not the right art form for you or maybe it’s not the right time. Maybe your natural inclination is for Classic Rock or Manga Musical.
There are enough art forms for all of us.
