# why do you like classical?



## Jaime77 (Jun 29, 2009)

*why do you like and listen to classical? just a little insignificant question like that 
*

for me ...

classical is like a never ending voyage of both musical discovery and the resulting self-discovery it in turn offers.

it also allows space for me to be in and feel fully, something other musical types tend not to.

it goes deeper emotionally and higher spiritually than other music I know for me at least

how do you all feel on this topic?


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## Johnny (Mar 7, 2010)

I like Classical Music due to some combination of genetics and environment. :insightful:


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

I like Classical music because it makes me part-qualified to join www.talkclassical.com and hang out with you folks here. :blissful:


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

I like classical music because 1) I have the capacity to like music and 2) I'm a perfectionist. Naturally, I would love classical music, since there is so much to it (as well as the classical musics of East Asia). I used to like popular music, but I got bored with it after starting viola because pop music is so much the same music over and over again. Hence my liking classical.


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## Gangsta Tweety Bird (Jan 25, 2009)

it makes me look smart


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## SPR (Nov 12, 2008)

I have seriously listened to a wide range of music over the years.... pop, jazz, rock, alternative, new age, world, avant garde, art-rock, screamo, hip-hop, soul, blues, electronica, shoe-gazer, trance, folktronica, folk, gospel, industrial, reggae, new wave.. probably a bunch I cant remember..or dont want to... disco.. etc.

Classical seems to hit me right where my thirst for complexity, sonic structure and gorgeous harmonics lingers. All music can have something to say... can be emotionally revealing or devestating, can be cathartic, evocative, sublime. All of it can be very, very good. Classical for me offers something a bit more... compositionally it is interesting and beautiful in ways that are simply are not as available in many other types of music - simply because of the scope and scale of the product.... even in something like a string quartet.

If I want to feel uplifted I'll listen to Soweto Gospel Choir.. if I want to get fired up I'll listen to AC/DC or maybe Kid Rock... if I want to have fun I'll listen to Fountains of Wayne.. if I want to listen to something gorgeous I'll put on Over The Rhine... if I want to meld my mind with the 70s I'll put on Van Morrison, Fun Times - Jimmy Buffett, Bluesy - Lightning Hopkins or Sonny Boy Williamson... just pure good Music - Bob Dylan...

If I want all of that.... AND to really overwhelm my brain and my soul with music... there is classical.


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## fairyrak (Mar 28, 2010)

1 each musical piece its extremely different to each other, because it is complicated

2 it easily involucrates emotions

3 the musicians love it, to play isn't a boring work, it's exciting for them, then for the audience, and vice versa, besides they make a lot of gestures and i love the complicated things

4 it's very scientific, the musicians study for years


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## fairyrak (Mar 28, 2010)

and, about the emotions, there are a lot of emotions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emotions

and feelings...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

This question is so profound the space of a single post could not really cover it. It requires a book at the very least. I'll make a stab at it however, and tomorrow regret leaving out some better ideas.

I like most music and since classical often refers to music of the past, it statistically stands a better chance of my liking it because there is so much more of it. We are talking about maybe 400 years worth of music. With a few exceptions, many of the other genres are ephemeral or recent in comparison.

My two most frequented musical genres, classical music and progressive rock, share some qualities in common.* They are not aimed at the commercial world of sound bytes. They tend to favor complexity over simplicity and thus one can hear new things in a piece with repeated listening. They tend to mix innovation with tradition so that music becomes an evolution or progression. They tend to thoroughly explore a musical subject rather than just give a surface glitter.

In short I like music intended for listening more than music for dancing, more than music for background ambiance, and certainly more than cookie cutter music to fill up radio air time between commercials.

*Jazz does these things too -- I just haven't warmed to it quite as much because those rhythms and musical gestures are the sounds I rebelled against as a teenager, the time when most our musical tastes are developing. I do appreciate jazz on an intellectual level, and I listen to it at times, but may never quite _feel_ it the way I do classical music or progressive rock.


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## Eusebius12 (Mar 22, 2010)

I actually prefer thrash metal with bagpipes


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

I like music.


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## starry (Jun 2, 2009)

Same as last post.


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## Mozartgirl92 (Dec 13, 2009)

I like classical because it feels like I get invited to a different world in lack of a better description.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Because it's highest and the most musical music. The richest. And among this most veried genre I find music that is as high, winged and magnificent as my brave sould, which finds (in this music) understanding and it's well-known desires and thoughts, sometimes even itself in the purest form.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

because it is expected of me due to my position in society


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> because it is expected of me due to my position in society


Provocation or joke?


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## UniverseInfinite (May 16, 2009)

beautiful music soothe minds and souls, that's all


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Music is an index of the human experience. Any music that receives the tag of classical music (most folk and art music), has had an earnest effort put into it, and should by all means be received with both a sober mind and an eager anticipation for the deeply affecting material. The fact that all of it can be verified as something good to learn from, easily overrides any individual preference. It is all good, because it all has it's substantial merits.

It helps to foster maturity, a studious mind, often an emotional understanding of the religious fervor in various composers. It makes the mind into a self sufficient playground, independent of the endless assumptions of society. Music is a realm that you can neither perturb nor convince yourself of it's utter sanctity. Ultimately, it makes for an excellent learning tool; The LSD trip without any physical repercussions.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I like classical because it develops my perceptions of the music itself & other things. A work by a composer means a different thing to different people, based on their individual experience & perception. This is what I find exciting. My view of the music always changes, as I get older I hear new things in pieces that I got to know 10-20 years ago. Also, in classical, the singer is not the song. Every different performer brings a different take on whatever piece of music, be it something composed 500+ years ago to something composed in the last decade or so. There's also this visceral, profound, startling quality I find, especially in seeing live performances of classical music. Doubtless a rock or jazz or soul fan will say the same thing about their favourite genre, but the fact is that (for me) classical embodies a whole world of experience that goes way beyond those genres. Some pieces - Beethoven's late string quartets, Varese, Carter - I will never understand fully, but that's part of the beauty of it. There is no right or wrong, no left and right, it's all varying shades, moods and textures that come together (thanks to our perception) to make a work whole...


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## cleo_928 (Apr 8, 2010)

The reason why I love classical music so much is because I really believe there's something for everyone to be found (Romantic concerti, baroque quartets, classical sonatas, etc.). And what a wide range there is to find! I can hardly believe that one can sift through all the classical music there is and find something they don't like. Especially with the technology there is today, it's so easy to gain access to classical music: YouTube alone, look what one can find!

Also, as a big fan of art, I do really believe that classical music especially moves me. Hearing beautiful music can really inspire me, it can make me think, make me cry, make me close my eyes and take a deep breath. I believe the beauty of something can really touch someone, and it really does help me open my eyes to the world: to beauty, to others.

Sorry if that was really cheesy.


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## rojo (May 26, 2006)

^ I don't think that was cheesy. I think it was nice. Besides, I'm not averse to cheese. 

Beauty is hard to define, though.

Why do I like and listen to classical? Well, I guess like other posters have said, there is so much variety, and so much complexity. I can get more out of one classical work than a month's worth of listening to other genres. Give or take, depending on the work, and the other genres, of course. I will listen to other things too, lots of other things. But the music that does the most for me, on so many levels, and that means the most to me, is classical.


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## davidjb100 (Apr 11, 2010)

I like Classical music because it stimulates my mind in a way nothing else can. Nothing gives me greater joy than to listen to and appreciate the theory, creativity, and genius each composer presents in their music, an absolute pleasure nothing else can match.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I think one of the coolest experiences I have ever had with classical music is when I'm a part of it. I played in an outstanding All-State Orchestra some months ago, as good as professionals, and really nothing is better than that (except when you're paid too  ).

That may be my greatest reason: it's the most awesome experience ever to be a _part _of classical music, especially when you're in love with the music, and can actually play it. It's like the music comes to life. And for me, no other genre of music comes to life in the same profound and ineffable way.

♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫


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