# Does classical music make you a better person?



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Are we talking about music as it affects just us, as insulated, protected listeners in a forum, or the people who have to actually go out and perform this music for people who are there engage in various "rituals" to consume this music?

Everyone seems to have forgotten all the extra-musical social functions of music in performance, as if "music itself" exists in a vacuum. Here are some common-sense generalities, which everyone knows, but seem to have been conveniently forgotten:

• Classical music originated in the Church, and is still associated with churches: church organs and choirs being the most obvious vehicles of performance. 

• Jazz, blues, country music, and rock music are often played in bars & lounges, where alcohol is served. In this sense, they are Dionysian by nature, Bacchanalian celebration rituals, basically pagan in nature. 

Even if, as listeners-only, we are insulated from these "extra-musical" trappings, we are still affected by the "spiritual/social fingerprints" which infuse these genres, as they are reflective of their performance contexts, as well as their compositions and songs being infused with content which acknowledges and celebrates these Bacchanalian aspects.
Recorded music does not eliminate this aspect: recorded music is often used in bars and other social "street" contexts.

Would you rather have your children singing in church choirs?...or smoking joints in back of the rock club where their band is playing, on Friday and Saturday night up till 2 A.M? Maybe that hooker over there will give him the clap!

Would you rather have your son play the electric guitar in Joe's Bar, or perform a classical guitar recital in a Church auditorium?

No, Classical music itself, per se, will not improve you; it's the social trappings that are associated with various genres of music that are important. If you lay with dogs, you will get fleas!

Techno: Raves, alcohol, drugs, sex, contact with undesireables
Rock: Drugs, groupies, disease, alcohol, playing in bars, etc
Jazz: Drug addiction, alcohol, sex, disease, playing in bars, etc
Country: Drugs, alcohol, sex, disease, playing in bars, etc

All of these popular genres basically revolve around Bacchanalian celebrations, exemplified by both performance practices and subject content.

Even if, as listeners-only, we are insulated from these "extra-musical" trappings, we are still affected by the "spiritual/social fingerprints" which infuse these genres, as they are reflective of their performance contexts, as well as the compositions and songs being infused with content which acknowledges and celebrates these Bacchanalian aspects.

So does classical music make you better? Not necessarily of itself, but at least it is played in concert halls and churches. 

So you decide: Is listening to music with "religious/spiritual/artistic purpose" better than listening to popular music which celebrates:

•Drugs: (Cocaine by Eric Clapton, Sister Morphine by The Rolling Stones) 

•Sex: (Pearl Necklace, Legs, Fool for Your Stockings by ZZ Top), most "rap" music 

•Alcohol use: Country songs like Pop A Top, One Fool On A Stool, She's Acting Single (I'm Drinking Double)

Which one is more "spiritually uplifting?" Which represents "better people?" No, it won't make you a better or worse person, necessarily, unless you go to these places to see it performed. What happens then? How does the "eco-system" affect the water you drink?

(Right now: listening to "Dancing With Mister D" by The Rolling Stones)


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

I love the provoking nature of your article.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

jani;bt1651 said:


> I love the provoking nature of your article.


I stole it from a preacher my mother sic'ed on me.


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## Bone (Jan 19, 2013)

Hmmm...plenty of death from drug abuse, STD's, and mental disorders on the classical side. As a working jazz musician, I can tell you that the skills needed to be a superior performer require similar training to those of a classical musician.


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