Need help with today's NYT strand? Deciphering today's theme, “Keep it classical,” isn't too difficult, but it does require some specialized knowledge.

Below are some helpful hints and answers to Strand #302 when you need them. Please read on if you need a little help, as we will start with a few tips before we get to the full answer to Strand #302.

WARNING: There are spoilers for Strands #302.

The official theme for NYT Strands #302 is... “Classically.”

And here's an unofficial tip from me: “Musical Phrases.”

If you're still in the dark, here are some useful words that will give you valuable hint tokens:

Still struggling? Spangram gives you a hint on conjunctions. Today's word starts with C and ends with N.

COMPOSITION.

So what is the answer to today's strand in game #302?

Drum roll please.

... Spangram was COMPOSITION.

Strands #302

“Keep it classical”

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Hello Strands fans. I have something simple and good for you today. I can only assume that a theme such as “Protect Classical” ultimately refers to classical music.

And while I may have spent some time looking for the composer's name on the grid, I quickly saw the COMPOSITION spangram.

With that in mind, I found PRELUDE with the last three letters overhanging the spangram; SONATA was above it and SYMPHONY was to its left, completing the top half of the grid.

In the bottom half were two long words. CONCERTO was found in the lower right corner, spelled backwards, and OVERTURE was found diagonally above it, completing the puzzle.

Are you reading this late in the day? Here is the full article of the solution to yesterday's game #301 on the Strand.