Classical music refers to the art music of the Western world. Classical music is characterised by its formality and complexity in its musical form and harmonic organisation. While classical may seem too formal and boring, there are some interesting facts about classical music that may pique your interest in this post!
1. Heavy Metal Fans Listen to Classical Music
Both heavy metal and classical music attract listeners with similar personalities but with varying ages. Younger people of the personality type like to listen to heavy metal while their older counterpart enjoys classical music. They share the same reason for listening to both genres: “To listen to something dramatic and theatrical”. They are drawn to heavy metal and classical music due to their “love of the grandiose”.
2. McDonald’s in Australia Used Classical Music to Repel Teenagers
McDonald’s in Mount Annan, Sydney has used classical music to force teenagers off of its premises. The strategy to play a mix of classical and opera music worked at preventing adolescents from congregating in and around the area.
3. Spiders Love Classical Music
According to research by Miami University, spiders are drawn to classical music. When they played techno and rap, spiders built their web far away from the speaker as much as possible. But when they played classical music from Bach, the spiders made their webs as close to the speaker as they can.
4. Stanley Kubrick’s Last Minute Use of Classical Music
Stanley Kubrick originally did not want to use classical music for his iconic film “2001: A Space Odyssey”. But he changed his mind during post-production at the last minute. Alex North, who had written an entire film score for the film only discovered his music had been discarded at the premiere.
5. Classical Music Deters Crime
While McDonald’s at Mount Annan used classical music to repel teenagers, places in the U.S. have been experimenting with it to lower crime rates. In the mid-1980s, 7-Eleven played classical music in the parking lot to deter teenagers from crowding and congregating there.
In 2001, police in West Palm Beach, Florida blasted Mozart and Beethoven on a crime-infested street corner and saw incidents of crime drop dramatically. The transit authority in Portland began playing classical music at light-rail stops in 2010 and calls to the police dwindled.
6. Paul McCartney Composed Classical Music
Sir Paul McCartney, the iconic Beatles singer-songwriter and bass player with an illustrious rock and pop music career also composed classical music. He released five classical music albums. His last and fifth album titled “Ocean’s Kingdom” was released in 2011.
7. A Blind Toddler Stuns With Wagner on Piano
Branko Dvorecky stunned his parents and neighbours at the age of three when he played classical music on the keyboard. Despite never having had piano lessons in his life, Branko entertained the local villages in Slovakia with his rendition of Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde”, and Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”.