Why I’m Taking a Class on Beethoven

You all know how much I’ve been complaining about how busy I’ve been. Of course you do–if you’ve been reading at all consistently, you’re probably sick of hearing about poor me. In fact, some of you are probably not reading this, since you wandered to other corners of the internet due to just how much I’ve been complaining about my business. It’s like the dentist chain of articles a couple of years ago, just with less Novocaine.

So it might surprise you all to hear that I’m taking a class for the first time in four years or so. An in-person class for the first time since by MA in American Lit from BYU.

“What are you thinking?” I know you want to say it. Well, I’ll tell you what I’m thinking.

I enjoy learning. There’s something massively therapeutic for me to be able to set aside all this business for an hour and a half twice a week, go to a classroom, and study something entirely unrelated to everything else I’ve been doing. No woodsheds, no YA fantasy, no cataloging–just Beethoven, the studies of symphonies, and opera clips. Yesterday we looked at pieces from The Marriage of Figaro and Fidelio. You know what? I felt like I started to finally “get” opera. It was a really enjoyable experience. On Monday, we listened to the Egmont overture while following along with the score. Fantastic.

I’m just auditing the class, which means no tests, no papers, no “did you do your homework?” At this point, I’d say this class is one of the few things keeping me sane this semester. The professor does a fantastic job making the material come alive for the class, the students are actively involved and seem eager to be there, and I get to learn and reminisce about my undergrad years, all at the same time.

I highly recommend it.

Even if you’re wicked busy.