I was wondering... when you hear a piece of music on the radio, how long does it take you to recognise the composer and the musical period it`s from.
I can recognise the musical period in anywhere between the first chord to the end of the first phrase.
Composers are a bit harder, but if I am familiar with the composer I can usually tell within the first couple of phrases who a piece is by.

You`re right, period recognition is easy, especially if you know what you should listen for. It usually takes me few measures. I can usually tell what composer it is if I am familiar with other works by the composer. At the least I can tell what composer inspired the piece but, again, only if I am familiar with that composer`s style.

The quickest I`ve ever done is to hear the first chord and recognise the piece as being from the Classical period.

that`s quick, I can`t say I have ever done that. I usually have to listen for a little while to tell. do you ever separate the sections of a classical piece? Like listen and say `OK that`s the end of the scherzo or this is the B section.` Maybe I am juste wierd but after learning how to do that I kinda do it automatically now.

I don`t really seperate the sections of a piece- larger form isn`t of a huge amount of interest to me. I usually pay attention to the overall sonority of the piece- I guess I have absorbed a lot of information about chordal spacing and instrumentation of the different musical periods.

Another way that I can recognise the musical period is by listening to the cadences, but I hardly ever need to do that.

if you have already heard the piece you should know BY THE FIRST NOTE.except maybe the composer if you don`t know him!?!?but isn`t this a bit pointless??unless you play a game of musical literature that is.

I meant if it was an unfamiliar piece.

Classical period? Just wondering what you mean earlier than Mozart or the Romance?
And knowing a piece by the first note is impossible, there is after all a whole lot of pieces starting on the same note. The first bar, I would say and you`re good if you know both composer, year and therefore also sort.

Classical refers to the Classical Period in music ca. 1750-1820. Before Romantic, after Baroque. Mozart lived in that time.