Best Classic Melodies: MustHaveClassicalMusic

Best Classic Melodies

Classical melodies have managed to stand the test of time for many reasons, including the vastness, complexity, and beauty of the repertoire, which have inspired audiences for hundreds of years.

You probably already know that classical music improves our minds and nurtures our souls. Studies have shown that exposing younger generations to classical music has been helpful in developing spatial intelligence, reasoning, and language skills.

With classical music, people are able to acquire problem solving skills, self discipline, cooperation, collaboration, creativity, and better motor skills. This is a form of self expression that fosters self esteem, a really important thing to have in life.

Classical music helps develop the imagination, too, which stimulates self-awareness and refines the emotions that we feel. There are several examples of timeless classical melodies that have become iconic thanks to their appearance in films, weddings, graduations, and even cartoons.

Best Classic Melodies Right Now

There’s a lot to choose from when it comes to beautiful classical music. However, only a few pieces contain so much beauty that they touch your soul and bring tears to your eyes.

If this is what you’re searching for, then you’re in luck, because today we’ll be looking at the best classical melodies on the market right now.

1. 100 Must-Have Operetta Melodies

On this album, you will be able to find some of the most popular operetta melodies, like Die Fledermaus, also known as The Bat, The Revenge of The Bat, or The Flittermouse. It was composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Richard Genee and Karl Haffner. Some other popular songs that can be found on this album include:

  • Die Fledermaus, Act I: Couplet – “Mein Herr was dächten Sie von mir”
  • The Beggar Student: Couplet – “Ich knüpfe manche zarte Bande”
  • The Beautiful Galatea: Kiss Duet – “Ach mich zieht’s zu dir”
  • The Beautiful Galatea: Couplet – “Wir Griechen, wir sind sicherlich”

This is one of the most successful collections of “operetta without voices.” There aren’t any singers featured on the album, the selection of the repertoire is broad and quite good, and it’s mostly made out of German pieces of music. Overall, it’s a nice collection that should appeal on different levels to amateur as well as classical music lovers. 

2. The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 1

On this album, you will find some classical melodies like the Four Seasons composed by Antonio Vivaldi. It’s a group of four violin concertos, and the composer of this piece found musical expression four the four seasons of the year. This is one of the most popular works by Vivaldi. 

It was initially supposed that the music was inspired by the countryside around Mantua, where the composer once lived. However, that turned out to not be true, since Vivaldi was engaged with the court in Mantua in 1718, and the piece was written in 1716-1717. There are many other classics just like this one that can be found on the album. 

Some of the styles available in this album are: Quartet, Etude, March, Minuet, Art Song / Song, Concerto, Tone Poem, Opera, Character Piece, Song Without Words / Character Piece, Sonata, Oratorio, Suite, Humoresque, Bolero, Incidental Music, Ballet, Incidental Music / Suite, Romance, Serenade, and Intermezzo.

3. The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 2

The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 2 has a lot of well-known classical songs, including Songs Without Words in E major. Songs Without Words is a series of piano songs written by Felix Mendelssohn. Pieces in the same genre were written by his sister Fanny Mendelssohn. The eight volumes that Mendelssohn wrote consisted of six songs, and all of them were written at different stages in the life of the composer. 

Some styles that can be found on this album include Bolero, Minuet, Classical, Serenade, Concerto, Gigue, Art Song, Incidental Music, Jig, Character Piece, Intermezzo, Sonata, Humoresque, Etude, Concerto Grosso, Canon, Tone Poem, March, and Occasional Music.

4. The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 3

This album has some stunning classical melodies, including Seguidilla from Act I of the famous opera, Carmen, by Georges Bizet. In this opera, the heroine is a gypsy who manages to successfully seduce her captor, Done Jose, a soldier. He sets her free and meets with her. Even though flamenco style is used for this number, the classic Spanish dance usually has a faster tempo, and on the other hand, the song used in this opera has a more complex structure. Aside from this masterpiece, the album boasts lots of other songs as well. 

The following styles can be found on the album: Impromptu, Symphony, Quartet, Suite, Song Without Words, Melody OpeRa-Comique, Romance, Song, Opera, Concerto: Double, Ballet, Moment Musicaux, Lullaby, Oratorio, and Waltz.

5. The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music, Vol. 4

On this album, you’ll be able to find some of the most beautiful classical music there is. Such an example is the piece A Midsummer Night’s Dream, composed by Felix Mendelssohn. He composed music for the original play written by William Shakespeare. Mendelssohn wrote The overture in E major when he was just 17 years old. The overture is scored for two clarinets, two oboes, two flutes, two bassoons, two trumpets, two horns, timpani, ophicleide, and strings. Some other popular classical songs that can be found on The Most Beautiful Melodies of Classical Music are: 

  • Waltz No. 1 Op. 18 In E Flat Major – ‘Grande Valse Brillante’
  • Clarinet Concerto In A Major, K.622 – II. Adagio
  • Chanson du Toreador (from Carmen, Suite No. 2)
  • On The Beautiful Blue Danube, Waltz Op. 314

The ensemble includes Dresden Staatskapelle, Vienna Mozart Ensemble, Orchestra of St. John’s, German Bach Soloists, and Budapest Strings. 

The Effects of Classical Music

Can a daily dose of classic melodies make changes to your life? Even though it seems like a very big claim to make, the answer is definitely yes.

It’s A Natural Pain Reliever

In this day and age, it can be quite difficult to keep your stress levels low. While some people turn to meditation, others try to reduce the stress they’re feeling by putting on some Bach.

Scientists claim that classical music helps reduce stress by lowering the levels of cortisol in the body. One study reported that pregnant women who listened to classical music every week relieve their stress and anxiety. Not only was this beneficial to mothers that were expecting, but also patients in the hospital noticed a reduction in anxiety before and after surgery.

It Can Decrease Blood Pressure

Oxford University conducted a study that concluded that participants who listened to classical music have lower levels of blood pressure than the participants who didn’t listen to any music. 

In order to reduce levels of blood pressure, the researchers suggested that the music should have only a few changes in rhythm or volume, should ideally have no lyrics, and several parts of the music should be repeated in intervals.

It Helps with Sleep

Parents know from their own experience that gentle rhythms and lullabies are able to help babies fall asleep faster. Fortunately, little children aren’t the only ones that can benefit from music before going to sleep. People from different age groups have better quality sleep after listening to music. 

Before going to bed, wind down by listening to classical music instead of listening to whale sounds. Your sleep quality can improve if you listen to your favorite piece for 45 minutes before you retire for the night.

A few studies have noted that in order to prepare for good quality sleep, the ideal rhythm is about 60 beats per minute.

The Mozart Effect

What’s the Mozart effect? In pop culture, the Mozart effect is the claim that listening to music by Mozart can help you increase your intelligence. The term has also been used to describe the apparent health benefits of listening to classical music, including benefits for those who suffer from hypertension and anxiety.

The claims that were made about music by Mozart have been the catalyst for a whole industry of developmental toys and baby products. Sadly, no definitive research has been conducted that can prove that listening to music by Mozart will have an influence on the general intelligence of a person. We might argue that the Mozart effect has yet to be supported by any real evidence.

However, when it comes to short-term cognitive improvements, the Mozart effect might be real. By listening to classical music, you can get a temporary boost in visual-spatial reasoning. The effect hasn’t been produced by any lab, however, when researchers studied this effect, they did conclude that it exists, even if it’s small.

Where To Start?

Following are a few tips that will help you get started with classical music.

Give Yourself Time

Classical music can take a bit of time to appreciate. If you’re trying to start listening to classical music but there are aspects of it that you don’t seem to like or get, you shouldn’t be instantly disappointed. Just be patient.

To truly understand classical music, you can’t just listen to a piece of music for a few minutes and be done with it. If you keep listening to most classical pieces, especially the ones that you don’t seem to like or get immediately, they have a lot to offer.

There’s A Lot More Than Orchestra Music

If orchestras aren’t your thing, don’t think you’re stuck with them. The term ‘classical music’ includes everything from contemporary instrumental music with an electric guitar, Gregorian chants, and solo piano works.

In order to better orient yourself, you can start with some of the smaller ensembles of three or four musicians.

It Isn’t Just About the Composers

Like with any other genre of music, the interest of the audience is usually piqued by the great performers of the songs.

A few artists that have particular magnetism are the singer Julia Bullock, the violinists Jennifer Koh, Leila Josefowicz, Hilary Hahn, and the pianists Yuja Wang and Daniil Trifunov. The concerts of these artists are always memorable and authentic.

You can also notice who’s the music director of the orchestra and see what you think about the approach they have.

Classical Music Does Things No Other Music Does

Classical music is longer than other music forms, has a particular kind of music statement, and does its thing in a very complex manner. There’s a special kind of beauty in weighing the crescendos and pauses, recognizing the reemergence of earlier themes, and listening to the different sounds that classical music offers.

Debating preferences and contrasting and comparing is a big part of the experience of any music lover, and as soon as you’re comfortable doing the same thing with classical music, you will know that you’ve taken a big step towards appreciating classical music.

Conclusion

Classic melodies have influenced every genre of music. Playing classical music will widen your knowledge of different styles and get you more in touch with your emotions. So put down the latest pop album everyone else is rocking out to, and stand out from the crowd by tossing some Mozart on your playlist.

In order to build a robust future, we need to take a cue from our past. We need to make classical music a priority in our lives and in our homes. We should not only make sure that classical music survives in the future, but that it also thrives!

About the Author Classical Music Pro