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Paths / Path 16

Seeing, Hearing, Telling: The Arts

How to look at a painting, listen to a song and watch a film like someone who makes them.

For: anyone who has stood in a museum feeling they were missing something.

18readings
3.5 hoursof reading
3stages
3 quick reads · 13 reads · 2 courses
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Stage 1

Start

4 readings · 17 min
  1. 01Quick readQuiz4 min

    How to Look at a Painting: A 4-Step Field Guide to Seeing

    How to look at a painting in four steps.
  2. 02Quick readInteractiveQuiz3 min

    How to Actually Listen to Music: A Field Guide

    How to actually listen to music.
  3. 03ReadInteractiveQuiz5 min

    The Shape of Every Story

    The shape of every story.
  4. 04ReadQuiz5 min

    How to Watch a Film Like a Director: Spotting Subtext, Blocking, and Motifs

    Watch a film like a director.
Stage 2

Understand

9 readings · 55 min
  1. 05ReadQuiz5 min

    The Story of Art in 10 Masterpieces: From Cave Walls to Abstract Expressionism

    The story of art in ten masterpieces.
  2. 06ReadQuiz8 min

    Art Beyond the West: One Honest Tour

    Art beyond the West.
  3. 07ReadQuiz5 min

    Modern Art: "Why Is That in a Museum?" (And How to Get It)

    Modern art, and how to get it.
  4. 08ReadQuiz6 min

    The Family Tree of Music: How African Rhythm and European Harmony Built Everything You Hear

    The family tree of music.
  5. 09ReadQuiz6 min

    How a Song Gets Made: From a Hummed Idea to the Track in Your Earbuds

    How a song gets made.
  6. 10ReadQuiz5 min

    12 Films That Changed Cinema: The Masterpieces That Rewrote the Rules

    Twelve films that changed cinema.
  7. 11ReadQuiz7 min

    World Cinema: A Starter Map

    World cinema: a starter map.
  8. 12ReadInteractiveQuiz6 min

    The Family Tree of Languages

    The family tree of languages.
  9. 13ReadQuiz7 min

    Where English Words Come From: A Language Built in Layers

    Where English words come from.
Stage 3

Go deep

5 readings · 2.3 hours
  1. 14ReadInteractiveQuiz6 min

    Color, Explained

    Colour, explained.
  2. 15Quick readInteractiveQuiz4 min

    Music Theory Accelerators (Vol. 1)

    Music theory accelerators.
  3. 16ReadQuiz6 min

    Plain Writing: How to Be Understood on the First Read

    Plain writing: be understood on the first read.
  4. 17CourseQuizabout an hour

    How to Write a Book: The Default Course

    How to Write a Book: the full course.
  5. 18CourseQuizabout an hour

    Piano: The Default Course

    Piano: the full course.
When you finish

go to one museum, concert or film you'd normally skip, with one of these pieces in your pocket.

Next path →

Learn by Doing: The Courses

Skills that take an evening to start and a month to own, each with exercises and a 30-day plan.