Have you ever heard someone say something along the lines of 'I just don't get classical music,' or 'it just isn't for me'?
Many people assume that classical music is intimidating and are put off by its complexity, its long history, or the formal concert settings often associated with it. However, much of this hesitation stems from myths and misconceptions that simply aren’t true.
The reality is that classical music is for everyone—it can be deeply emotional, thrilling, and even accessible in ways you might not expect. Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions and myths about classical music, helping you to appreciate and enjoy it more freely, without any unnecessary barriers.
1. Classical music is only for the elite
So, kicking off our list of classical music myths: many assume classical music is for rich, highly educated, or snobbish concertgoers. But before the rise of recorded music and mass media, classical composers like Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin were writing some of the most popular music of their day. And while it never quite achieved the mainstream presence of today’s pop music, people would go to operas, and salons just like we attend concerts or stream music today.
Mozart, for example, wrote operas like The Magic Flute in the vernacular (German instead of Italian) deliberately so that everyday people could enjoy it. Later, composers like Franz Liszt and Niccolò Paganini were treated like modern pop stars. In fact, Liszt’s concerts caused 'Lisztomania', with audiences screaming, fainting, and scrambling to grab locks of his hair, foreshadowing the fan frenzy associated with modern celebrities and musicians, such as 'Beatlemania'.
Today, classical music is more accessible than ever, with free concerts, streaming services, and YouTube channels offering performances for everyone.
2. It's boring and too long
Not all classical pieces are lengthy symphonies! Many compositions are short, energetic, and deeply emotional. If you prefer bite-sized pieces, try Chopin’s Nocturnes, Debussy’s 'Clair de lune', or John Adams’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine, which pack plenty of drama and beauty into just a few minutes.
Also, since when did ‘long’ automatically mean ‘boring’? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is one of the longest children’s books I’ve ever read, but that didn’t stop people queuing round the block to get their hands on it when it came out in 2007. When a piece has enough of a narrative to keep us engaged, then the length becomes a non-issue. Case in point: Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. Clocking in at one hour, it's certainly long, but it's far from boring.
3. You need to be an expert to enjoy it
While some pieces have intricate structures, you don’t need to analyze them to enjoy them. As with any music, you can appreciate the mood, melodies, and emotions without breaking down the theory behind it. When I listen to classical music, I rock out to it as though it were pop music, with no intellectualising whatsoever. Even composers intended their music to evoke feelings, not just to be analyzed.
But let’s the flip the question round: do you not need to be an expert to enjoy pop music? Plenty of pop music has intellectual depth. ‘Arrow Through Me’ by Paul McCartney is jazzy and harmonically complex, while still following a pop format. The main riff of Led Zeppelin’s 'Kashmir' is pretty rhythmically sophisticated, featuring a four-against-three polyrhythm. And what about the brilliant, mad jamboree that is Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody?’
What’s more, the intricacies of classical pieces are often apparent to anyone who cares to hear them: listen carefully and over time, you’ll start recognizing styles and patterns naturally.
4. It's all old music
While many famous pieces were indeed composed centuries ago, classical music is alive and evolving. Contemporary composers like Philip Glass, John Adams, and Max Richter are pushing the genre forward, blending classical sounds with modern influences.
In fact, it’s often hard to distinguish classical music from pop music, with many composers merging aspects of the two genres. Listen, for example, to Caroline Shaw’s ‘Partita for 8 Voices’. Despite comprising four movements named after Baroque dances, there is nothing old about this piece of music. Erica Jeal in The Guardian dubbed it 'an explosion of energy cramming speech, song and virtually every extended vocal technique you can think of into its four 'classical' dance movements.' Some of its intimate vocalizations sound more like hip-hop than classical music, such as those in the first movement, Allemande, which provided the theme tune for the 2022 BBC drama, 'Marriage.'
5. It's too formal and serious
This is one of the most insidious classical music myths. Sure, some venues are fairly formal, but many aren’t. You can enjoy classical music in relaxed settings like outdoor festivals, pubs, warehouses, barges, gardens, graveyards, crypts, even buses.
One of my most memorable experiences of classical music was an unexpected performance in the foyer of Kings Place in 2011. Dotted around the vast space, the trumpeters of the Aurora Orchestra surprised unsuspected customers at the cafe with the opening of Janáček's Sinfonietta. It was gloriously noisy, visceral and all the better for feeling so relaxed and spontaneous.
Plus, composers had a sense of humour: Haydn loved musical surprises, and Mozart had a great sense of humour. One of his funniest pieces is 'A Musical Joke' (1787), a playful satire of amateurish composers and musicians.
Mozart deliberately includes “mistakes” like awkward harmonies, out-of-tune notes, and clumsy counterpoint—things he would never normally write. The final movement is especially hilarious, as it ends with the instruments seemingly falling apart in a chaotic mess. It’s essentially Mozart having a musical laugh at the expense of bad composers! Have a listen:
6. It's not relevant today
Classical music influences pop, rock, jazz, and film scores. Think of the dramatic soundtracks in Star Wars (inspired by Wagner), Jaws (inspired by the last movement of Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, the 'New World') or Inception (influenced by classical minimalism).
Many of our biggest pop artists, from prog rockers such as Genesis and Yes to the likes of Billie Eilish, have drawn from classical techniques. One of the Beatles's best loved songs, 'Eleanor Rigby', features a string quartet arrangement. Plus, the main melody of Celine Dion’s ‘All by Myself' is borrowed from one of the main themes in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2.
7. It's all the same
From Baroque via Romantic to contemporary, classical music spans centuries and features a huge variety of styles, emotions, and instrumentations. From the intricate counterpoint of Bach’s Baroque fugues to the sweeping romanticism of Tchaikovsky’s ballets, each era has its own distinct sound. The music of Maurice Ravel, for example, often aligns more closely with jazz than with that of Bach or Beethoven, despite all three being categorised as classical.
The dramatic intensity of Beethoven’s symphonies contrasts sharply with the dreamy impressionism of Debussy’s piano works, while 20th-century composers like Stravinsky and Schoenberg experimented with bold, unconventional harmonies. Even within the same period, composers had unique voices—Mozart’s elegant melodies differ from Haydn’s playful humour. You could just as easily say that all jazz and pop music sounds the same.
8. Classical music is just background music
While it can be relaxing, classical music isn’t just for study playlists or fancy dinners. Unlike generic ambient music, which is designed to blend into the background, classical music was composed to be deeply expressive and to demand emotional engagement. It has been used to inspire revolutions, accompany epic film scores, and challenge listeners with bold, avant-garde ideas.
Of course, some works are less suited to background music than others. Would you expect to hear some nihilistic number by Slipknot or Nirvana at a spa? No? Well similarly, you’re unlikely to encounter something of the ferocity of, say, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 or Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring in that same setting.
But all classical compositions are crafted with intricate structures and dynamic contrasts in order to tell a story and showcase the skill and intent of its composer. Even ostensibly genteel music that is often relegated to the background, such as Mozart’s Eine kleine nacht musik, often has a depth of drama and exhilaration about it that belies such dismissive treatment.
That said, I think it would be hilarious to have the Rite of Spring at a spa. Now that’s my kind of spa.
9. Classical music is only for older people
Do older people have a monopoly on love, loss, joy, triumph, sorrow, or any of the other countless emotions we experience over our lives? If your answer to this is ‘no’, then you’ll see the absurdity of confining classical music to a specific subgroup.
Classical speaks to fundamental human experiences that are not tied to any specific generation. A teenager can feel the same exhilaration in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture as an elderly listener, just as a young child can be moved by the tenderness of a Chopin nocturne.
Many young musicians, composers, and listeners are passionate about classical music. Film scores, video game soundtracks, and even pop music often draw inspiration from classical traditions, making it relevant for all ages. And with streaming services making classical music more accessible than ever, young audiences are discovering its emotional content — proving that it is not bound by age but by appreciation.
10. You have to dress up to attend a concert
While some performances encourage formal attire, many classical concerts have relaxed dress codes. Outdoor festivals, casual recitals, and online performances make it easier than ever to enjoy classical music in a laid-back setting, and in recent years many classical concert series, such as Noisenights, have made a point of doing away with any kind of dress code or formal concert etiquette. There are even some classical performers who prefer the casual look, not least the pianist James Rhodes, who often performs in jeans, trainers and t-shirt.
