# Classical Ringtones



## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

I was about to edit some of my favourite music for ringtones when my wife stepped in, aghast.

"You're trivialising the greatest works in the world!"

What you think? Is it musical sacrilege, or cultural posturing, to use an opera segment or the riff from Beethoven's Waldstein, 1st movement, as a ring tone?

In other words, do you agree with my wife?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I agree with your wife.

Is, uh,...Is your wife a goer, eh? Know whatahmean, know whatahmean, nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more?


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Praise God for wives who rescue us from ourselves. Having a classical music ringtone belongs to the same league as clapping between movements, buying a personalised numberplate, and joining Mensa.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Aramis said:


> I agree with your wife.
> 
> Is, uh,...Is your wife a goer, eh? Know whatahmean, know whatahmean, nudge nudge, know whatahmean, say no more?


Course she is! And she can cook and sew, put a vase of flowers on the mantelpiece and clean out the chimney.

She's lucky to have me, mind... :tiphat:


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Chris said:


> Praise God for wives who rescue us from ourselves. Having a classical music ringtone belongs to the same league as clapping between movements, buying a personalised numberplate, and joining Mensa.


This limits my options, sir! I may not renew my Mensa card, and maybe redeem myself a little...


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I think some of you need to relax a little with the ideological sanctity of music.

If you like classical music its logical that you would prefer to hear one of your favorite tunes rather than stick to some irritating and impersonal sound. Doing so will not in any way detract from your experience when you do listen to the entire piece properly.


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## GoneBaroque (Jun 16, 2011)

emiellucifuge said:


> I think some of you need to relax a little with the ideological sanctity of music.
> 
> If you like classical music its logical that you would prefer to hear one of your favorite tunes rather than stick to some irritating and impersonal sound. Doing so will not in any way detract from your experience when you do listen to the entire piece properly.


a poem by Kipling seems to apply:

"When Homer smote his bloomin lyre
He'd heard men sing by land and sea
And what he thought he might require,
He went and took; The same as me."

Rob


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> I think some of you need to relax a little with the ideological sanctity of music.
> 
> If you like classical music its logical that you would prefer to hear one of your favorite tunes rather than stick to some irritating and impersonal sound. Doing so will not in any way detract from your experience when you do listen to the entire piece properly.


It depends on what kind of theme would it be. Some lighthearted tune from Marriage of Figaro - sure, why not. But something like opening of Ludwig Van's 5th or Rach 3 sounding from mobile in crowded bus?


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Kieran said:


> "You're trivialising the greatest works in the world!"


Well, seeing that other people nowadays trivialize pop music to the worst possible point, it may be good to be different and put your foot down on it. Classical music isn't pop music, although it once was. 

I would say it depends. What if you purposefully want to trivialize a certain piece of music, hmm?  I would actually be too afraid to put classical music on my cell phone, everyone would stare at me in distaste while I went to pick it up.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I have to disagree with your wife. I have the Lovely Lukas singing this as my ringtone & I don't care what people think.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Well, Hot_townPhilly (my wife) once had "Ride of the Valkyries" as her Ring-Tone, so (to keep it brief) I agree with MY wife!

Subsequently, she's changed her Ring-Tone to Coldplay's _Viva La Vida_, so her thinking on that issue might be "evolving."

I've related the story elsewhere (just can't quite search correctly for the several-year-old post)... but once (on public transit) I noticed that a girl had a melody from Smetana's _The Moldau_ (from *Ma Vlást*) on her phone. I remarked on it- she looked blankly- said she didn't know what it was from-- it was merely part of a set of options- and it "sounded pretty."


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

It's very encouraging for me to see so many brave souls disagree with the missus. I might go right ahead and put Beethoven's Fifth as my work ringtone. It might make me answer the danged thing a bit quicker! :tiphat:


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

It puts money into the pockets of composers if it's repertoire that still protected, so yeah, do it, and avoid the public domain works


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Seriously...one of my friend's tone is Arabesque #1 performed by Isao Tomita...sounds way better than stock tones...I agree, however, that there are some that really shouldn't be used


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

I've been planning to make the first movement of Vaughan William's tuba concerto my ringtone for ages. I just haven't gotten around to it yet.


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## Schnowotski (May 13, 2011)

Yes, I do use classical music as my ringtone. I used to have the generic "old phone ring ring" but then I wanted to do something different when I noticed everyone tried to look like mature by using that same tone ("we don't need no fancy ringtones!"). Now that I've found out that using classical music annoys some people and makes them fear that it trivializes great art I'm only more certain that my decision was right; I only hope that pop music fans think that I'm trying to prove that my taste is better than theirs. How easy it is to annoy two so different social groups with one so simple thing as a ringtone. The world is beautiful!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I once had a fragment of Carmen. Then I got tired of it. Now my ring tone is like this: riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing
So I'm neutral. Since there is no neutral option, I won't vote.


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

Chi_townPhilly said:


> I've related the story elsewhere (just can't quite search correctly for the several-year-old post)... but once (on public transit) I noticed that a girl had a melody from Smetana's _The Moldau_ (from *Ma Vlást*) on her phone. I remarked on it- she looked blankly- said she didn't know what it was from-- it was merely part of a set of options- and it "sounded pretty."


Ha, that's what my mom did with the beginning of Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto a number of years ago! (Actually, at the time, _neither_ of us knew it...)

My brother set a Bach invention as his ringtone and it kind of works because his tinny cellphone speakers sound rather like some harpsichords.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Kieran said:


> I was about to edit some of my favourite music for ringtones...


Can someone tell me how to do this? (Not that I want to get rid of Lukas but I'd like to have bits of Simon & bits of Dima for a change)


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Can someone tell me how to do this? (Not that I want to get rid of Lukas but I'd like to have bits of Simon & bits of Dima for a change)


Hi sospiro,

It depends on your phone. If you have an iPhone or smartphone that takes apps, you can upload free apps to your phone and edit music from your ipod. You'd find these in the free aps section of your app store on the phone. Some of them only sell music, but others let you edit about 30 seconds of music to make ringtones.

You can use stuff like this, which usually comes with a free trial, before they ask you to purchase it.

:tiphat:


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## Schnowotski (May 13, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Can someone tell me how to do this? (Not that I want to get rid of Lukas but I'd like to have bits of Simon & bits of Dima for a change)


Kieran's solution is reasonable (or I believe so: I've never myself have done it that way but I assume he knows what his talking about).

First I would rip the audio CD to mp3 files on my computer and then I would use a simple free audio editor to cut the audio file. Audacity is simple enough and will do the trick but I would personally prefer Reaper since its a bit more versatile (the version 0.999 is free. It is a bit tricky to find from the site but it is in the archives somewhere. Well I looked it up, there it is: http://www.reaper.fm/download-old.php?ver=0x ).

Then you just have to move the edited file on to your phone. There are plenty of solutions for that: via a data cable, bluetooth, e-mail... I assume you have a basic knowledge of your phone and know how to transfer data to it. But in case you don't, don't hesitate to ask, though I admit that I don't know much about different phones so I am not sure if I can help you with that.


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

My aging parents have a 'land line' phone, but in the house it ends into two wireless handhelds. On one of them a nice and lenghty piece of the 'Sleeping Beauty' is playing, on the other 'Swan Lake'. When I'm visiting them, it's always a surprise from which rooms the festive music will begin to play. For them it is of great help to find them and to be aroused, that the phone is ringing! Thanks to the Japanese firm Panasonic for putting such nice classics in their phones! At our own home for years already a Hungarian Waltz by Brahms (phone from Philips) is joyfully making us aware that somebody is waiting on the other end of the line.


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## Schnowotski (May 13, 2011)

TxllxT said:


> . . . is joyfully making us aware that somebody is waiting on the other end of the line.


Oh my. I think you just changed my attitude to a ringing phone for the rest of my life.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Kieran said:


> Hi sospiro,
> 
> It depends on your phone. If you have an iPhone or smartphone that takes apps, you can upload free apps to your phone and edit music from your ipod. You'd find these in the free aps section of your app store on the phone. Some of them only sell music, but others let you edit about 30 seconds of music to make ringtones.
> 
> ...












Thanks for the information Kieran & for taking the trouble to post the link.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Schnowotski said:


> Kieran's solution is reasonable (or I believe so: I've never myself have done it that way but I assume he knows what his talking about).
> 
> First I would rip the audio CD to mp3 files on my computer and then I would use a simple free audio editor to cut the audio file. Audacity is simple enough and will do the trick but I would personally prefer Reaper since its a bit more versatile (the version 0.999 is free. It is a bit tricky to find from the site but it is in the archives somewhere. Well I looked it up, there it is: http://www.reaper.fm/download-old.php?ver=0x ).
> 
> Then you just have to move the edited file on to your phone. There are plenty of solutions for that: via a data cable, bluetooth, e-mail... I assume you have a basic knowledge of your phone and know how to transfer data to it. But in case you don't, don't hesitate to ask, though I admit that I don't know much about different phones so I am not sure if I can help you with that.


And Schnowotski thank you as well & for well done for remembering where to find the link!

I'll investigate both methods.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

Is this the thread where we pretend we know what the original purpose of the music was and what the composer or some sort of music-god had in mind for it?

If you can’t accept that a mobile phone is an instrument than that's your loss. You certainly won't be doing the music any favour by making it even less accessible.

if someone hears moonlight sonata, toccata and fugue or canon this starts conferstation and friendship or maybe introduce the person to the piece.

Many people including yourselves perhaps have been introduced to a piece of music through forums, soundtracks, adverts, tv, and i don't see a phone being any different. They are basically mp3 players now anyway. And your ringtone is an mp3 like your ipod or computer.

i think it's a positive thing in many ways and if people look at you oddly that's even better.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

Imagine the fear you could put into people if you could put the sudden choral fortissimo of "Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras" from A German Requiem on your phone?

But, I'm afraid that really *would* be trivializing...


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## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

I agree with your wife to a point. It is cultural posturing, it's saying hey check me out I like this music but it's no different from using Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd or any of that music that the bright young things listen to now.

I did have classical music on my phone and it went off in a coffee house, a girl then came up to me and asked what it was. I replied and she was quite taken back it was not your cookie cutter ringtone music, I felt so snooty I had to take it off my phone.

If you like the music and are happy with hearing it in public when your phone rings go for it and don't let anyone stop you.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Agree with your wife - the safe option


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

I use classical music as my ringtone. 4'33". I don't think I'm trivializing anything. 

Perhaps you should set your phone to 4'33" as well. If nothing else, you won't have to take any calls from your wife.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Klassik said:


> I use classical music as my ringtone. 4'33". I don't think I'm trivializing anything.
> 
> Perhaps you should set your phone to 4'33" as well. If nothing else, you won't have to take any calls from your wife.


Hey was that the intent Cage had: Partner: "What are you doing Cage?" Cage "just working on 4'33"


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## Oldhoosierdude (May 29, 2016)

Kieran said:


> I was about to edit some of my favourite music for ringtones when my wife stepped in, aghast.
> 
> "You're trivialising the greatest works in the world!"
> 
> ...


She's right.
They are always right.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Oldhoosierdude said:


> She's right.
> They are always right.


You're not going to be a very good polygamist with that kind of attitude!


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Klassik said:


> You're not going to be a very good polygamist with that kind of attitude!


I bet that's what he tells all the wives


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## Capeditiea (Feb 23, 2018)

speaking of Cage My ringtone is 4'33 (but only my favorite 10 seconds of it. 2:12-2:22)


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Capeditiea said:


> speaking of Cage My ringtone is 4'33 (but only my favorite 10 seconds of it. 2:12-2:22)


With Vibrate or no Vibrate..............


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