# Are Enough People Appreciating Classical Music for what it's Worth?



## krampster2 (Aug 4, 2015)

Classical fans today worry that not enough people are getting into classical music, my main worry however is not how many are taking a liking to it but how much they are actually getting out of it. It seems like plenty of people nowadays are into classical but it looks like the vast majority of them only have a very casual interest.

Now there's nothing wrong with being casually interested in something, I just think it's such a shame to miss out on everything classical has to offer. To illustrate my point, go to YouTube and search for things like "classical music for studying" or "for relaxing." Some of these videos of upwards of tens of millions of views! Tens of millions! It's great that classical can help people in this way but I just find it sad that people are putting on masterpieces of art as something to merely create mild sensation in the background of their mind while they do other things like study. I'm a student and have experimented with many different study methods and I do not understand how you can listen to music and study. If I play a piece of music I love and then at the same time try and focus on my boring text books which do you think gets my attention the most? I love music so much that I can not take my mind off it and just have it play in the background like that, it has power over me such that it can distract me from even the most important things like midterm exams. 

Let's be honest, most people today listen to Baroque music and think "oh that's some nice relaxing elevator music." How patronising!


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Boring text books? Then you're taking the wrong courses  My text books are fascinating! :tiphat: That's why I have my career.

I think I'm enjoying classical music too much  I need to get back to my text books


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## krampster2 (Aug 4, 2015)

brotagonist said:


> Boring text books? Then you're taking the wrong courses  My text books are fascinating! :tiphat: That's why I have my career.
> 
> I think I'm enjoying classical music too much  I need to get back to my text books


Haha, most of them are great but some subjects are a bit dull. I love teaching and that's why I study it although some of the subjects about teaching itself can be a bit bland


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

krampster2 said:


> Let's be honest, most people today listen to Baroque music and think "oh that's some nice relaxing elevator music." How patronising!


People like that should be thrashed until their attitudes improve! But in truth, much baroque music is simply music waiting for the right elevator to come along.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

krampster2 said:


> Let's be honest, most people today listen to Baroque music and think "oh that's some nice relaxing elevator music." How patronising!


One could hardly blame them!


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Yes, many people have only a casual interest in CM, but it's better than disliking it. What can you do? A lot of people aren't even looking for art. They want practical benefits (e.g., Mozart makes you smarter!).


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

krampster2 said:


> It's great that classical can help people in this way but I just find it sad that people are putting on masterpieces of art as something to merely create mild sensation in the background of their mind while they do other things like study. I'm a student and have experimented with many different study methods and I do not understand how you can listen to music and study.


I can't do this myself (I often had to wait until people had gone to bed and the house was silent before I could study) and I spent some years trying to "challenge" my offspring about their preference for studying to background music. Daughter got a good degree and son has got into one of England's top physics undergraduate courses, so what do I know? I don't think it's stopped either of them appreciating music as 'art' either.

Chacun à son goût, is what I say.


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## Dr Johnson (Jun 26, 2015)

This thread reminds me slightly of Artur Schnabel's worry that the people listening to his recordings might not be dressed properly. 

Whether someone listens to any kind of music as a background to something else has got to be up to them. 

Like TurnaboutVox I could never listen to music while studying but I do put music (of any kind) on and, say, do a crossword or a more mindless task like the washing up. 

That is not to say that I do not put something on and listen to it without any distractions. It all depends.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Dr Johnson said:


> This thread reminds me slightly of Artur Schnabel's worry that the people listening to his recordings might not be dressed properly.


That's hilarious - I never heard it before.

I'm sure every single pastime invented by humans has had its share of enthusiasts who think "not enough" people enjoy that pastime, or that they're not enjoying it properly.
To which I say, _meh_.


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## Dr Johnson (Jun 26, 2015)

^^

Absolutely. In fact, I refute it thus:


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## ricklee (Sep 5, 2015)

I liken a passion for CM to that of fine wine. Some days I put on a violin concerto and give it full attention like I do when I pour a grand cru burgundy. Other days I put on a symphony number 6 Beethoven and keep it in the background like when I open a village wine or a Bourgogne.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

I can´t understand this idea of sitting right there and listening to music. I have other senses and other parts of my body than my ears. I am listening to music right now with my ear reading posts with my eyes and writing this post with my hands. I always listen to music as background music.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I do both. Sometimes when a piece is new to me I'll put it on as background music while I do something else, then some of the things in the piece will catch my ears so I can use those parts as anchors or references when I give the work my full attention. But one of my favorite things to do is listen to music with the score, especially if the piece is about halfway between unfamiliar and completely familiar.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

krampster2 said:


> Classical fans today worry that not enough people are getting into classical music, my main worry however is not how many are taking a liking to it but how much they are actually getting out of it. It seems like plenty of people nowadays are into classical but it looks like the vast majority of them only have a very casual interest.


I don't worry about this matter; it is what it is, and nobody can change it.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> I don't worry about this matter; it is what it is, and* nobody can change it*.


As an aspiring music educator, I strongly disagree.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I don't think the OP's point was that listening while studying is bad. His point was that casual listeners are missing out on something. Also, I think that he meant "casual" not in the sense of "listens, but not very often" but "listens often but doesn't give it much thought, doesn't seek more information about the music, isn't enthusiastic and curious about it".

That's all very true and I think it applies to all the arts and culture in general. One thing is that technology makes it easy to just sample and taste first impressions, then move on to a next thing. This phenomenon has been with us ever since the remote controller, maybe even since public libraries, although the internet does make it even more easy. But another thing is prevalent attitudes towards art and consumption of cultural products in general. Matisse said at an old age that the constant stream of pictures that assaults our senses every day is the same to our visual sense that prejudices are to our thinking, and I think he was spot on right. It is impossible to gain real pleasure or real understanding if we just act as receptacles to words, pictures and sounds. We need to put our senses and brain to a real challenge if art is to be meaningful to us. And that sure does not mean that we could never relax with art. Doing sweaty analysis is one thing, learning the cultural background and then relaxing with the product is another; both are good ways of appreciating art.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Are Enough People Appreciating Classical Music for what it's Worth?
Probably not.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

I agree with Bulldog, it is what it is. Something more than superficial interest has to come from within.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Schnabel is best appreciated in an old pick-up truck with the windows down. It cuts through the road noise.

But seriously, I think the whole act of listening to music has lost most of its meaning to many people, especially younger ones, because of the way we listen.
Computers, I-phones earbuds, portable players, and cars: recorded music is now a background for doing other things.
Cinema might save it; home theatres are the new hi-fi environment. On the other hand, there are people watching Lawrence of Arabia on tiny I-phone screens.
Maybe recorded music has come full circle; now that it's easy to get, and fidelity is good, maybe it has become irrelevant. Maybe "live" music will once again rule, as it did in the days before recording.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

violadude said:


> As an aspiring music educator, I strongly disagree.


I think you could take all the music educators in the country, and they wouldn't make a dent. But I do admire your determination and wish you the best.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Bulldog said:


> I think you could take all the music educators in the country, and they wouldn't make a dent. But I do admire your determination and wish you the best.


Do you think people are just born with their interests? That outside influence can't inspire anyone towards any point of view? I think that's demonstrably false.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Classical music will always be part of mankind's musical heritage. The great composers are the musical gods. Any differences of opinion are really just transient consequences of fashion and taste. I am thankful to be alive today that I have so much great music by great composers of the past to keep my musical tastes happy.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

violadude said:


> Do you think people are just born with their interests? That outside influence can't inspire anyone towards any point of view? I think that's demonstrably false.


I think we might be talking about very different numbers. I'm talking about changing the perspectives of millions of folks, most of whom likely don't ever give much thought to music of any kind.

Outside influence can be very effective, but it's also something to be wary of.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

"Classical music has always been the taste of the minority, usually a highly privileged minority. What makes the members of this minority believe that their tastes are -- or ought to be -- popular, or that the failure to appreciate them is equivalent to a failure to appreciate life?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-kurtz/who-cares-about-classical_b_49294.html


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2015)

KenOC said:


> "Classical music has always been the taste of the minority, usually a highly privileged minority. What makes the members of this minority believe that their tastes are -- or ought to be -- popular, or that the failure to appreciate them is equivalent to a failure to appreciate life?"
> 
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-kurtz/who-cares-about-classical_b_49294.html


Answer...

D. Nothing. (of any value in relation to classical music)


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

It's not restricted to classical music. Many or most of my closest friends are more interested in the words of a pop song than any kind of musicality it might offer. Most are more interested in the subject of a painting and whether it "looks real" than in its composition and gestures and confident technique. 

Likewise I probably madden literary types by getting about the same enjoyment from a pulp space opera as I do from a Shakespeare play.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

Are enough people appreciating classical music for what it's worth? 

What is classical music worth? That's what I'd like to know. It's worth a lot to me, I couldn't imagine life without it, I feel rather barren without listening to or playing classical music a few times a week. (I'd prefer it everyday, but the practical daily life sometimes prevents that.)

I just hope enough people are listening to keep it going. If there ain't no audience, there just ain't no show.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

How many people is enough of them? For what? To keep classical music alive? It seems that those of us here are passionate enough, but are we a large enough audience?


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2015)

I'm with brotagonist on this one. I want to know how many is "enough." Give us a number, krampster2. (I will also want to know how you derived the number you give us. I know; it's a tough world.)

Also the "for what?" I want to know that, too. The audience for really edgy new music is miniscule. It would be possible to know everyone in it. I mean, if your memory is good. It's measured in the thousands, only, for the entire world. And really edgy new music seems to be thriving, so maybe passion is as good as or better than numbers.


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## krampster2 (Aug 4, 2015)

The purpose of this thread was to raise discussion on how much people are appreciating classical music, not to put an exact figure on how many are appreciating it at any certain level. Sorry for anyone who misinterpreted it somehow or takes thread titles literally and does not read the OP.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2015)

krampster2 said:


> Let's be honest, most people today listen to Baroque music and think "oh that's some nice relaxing elevator music." How patronising!


Not sure who's being patronising here.

You make wholly unjustified assumptions about the purpose for which people listen to music, and what they get out of it, and assert that they should really appreciate it for what it's worth (which really means they should appreciate it for what _you _think its worth.)

In my experience, people listen to music for a variety of purposes, not just one, and having it on in the background is as justifiable as any other. As for what they get out of it, that's their business, not ours.


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## TradeMark (Mar 12, 2015)

I do often listen to classical music while doing other things, although I can't study with it, but I think the people the OP was referring to are the kind of people who just listen to the classical Pandora station. They don't care about knowing what their listening to. They just want the music to be serviceable. This type of thing seems to be pretty common. I wouldn't actually call them classical music listeners because they have no actual interest in classical music.


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