# Poll: All Classical Music, or All Non-Classical Music



## BrahmsWasAGreatMelodist (Jan 13, 2019)

Which do you prefer?


----------



## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I miss option both


----------



## RogerWaters (Feb 13, 2017)

Both. 

However, this is a classical music forum, so obviously most will vote 'classical'.


----------



## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Unethical. If I had to, I would go with classical. It would be easier to rebuild from there than vice versa.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I would be heartbroken to lose either of them. Even being that 90% of my listening is classical these days, I couldn't possibly give up all the great non-classical music of the world. Not going to vote.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

*flips a coin*
"Heads classical, tails pop/rock"





*coin lands standing up*


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Classical makes up the lion's share of my listening these days but having to make such an arbitrary choice is like being asked which of my legs I'd prefer to have sawn off.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Yes. But if forced to choose - Non-Classical.


----------



## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I went for ten years listening to no music at all, so I guess neither would phase me.


----------



## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Easiest decision for me. All-Classical, unless it happens to be only Wintereisse.


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Easy for me too - classical hands down. I listen to classical 98% of the time so pretty obvious choice.

I would miss some non-classical, for sure, and am glad I don't have to make this choice in real life.


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Rogerx said:


> I miss option both


It would be a pretty boring poll then.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Another extremely tough poll!

I went with all non-classical, but I might be already regretting that choice.

But all non-classical, for me, includes all the various subgenres of progressive music (avant-prog, Canterbury, Zeuhl, technical-metal, etc) and some of the different subgenres of jazz (fusion, chamber jazz, post bop, avant-garde, free jazz). 

So, if I go with all non-classical, I have more variety of music to listen to, that still has most of the attributes I like about classical, i.e., complexity, very high level of musicianship, broad range of emotional content.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

^^^ I also went with Non-Classical but not for the reason you cited.

Jazz, 1920s-1960s ... acoustic jazz from the 1980s-present, ECM
Folk/Old Time/Bluegrass, 1920s-the present 
Blues, 1920s-1960s
Country, 1930s-1960s with some isolated later albums/artists
Songwriters, 1970s-the present.

This is what I listen to the majority of the time, anyway, and if I had to leave out Classical entirely it wouldn't bother me that much.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

No need to think about this one - classical all the way.


----------



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Most of my major favorites in music come from classical, so it wasn't really a difficult choice for me.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

As big as the world of classical music is, the world of non-classical is bigger, even more diverse. When you add YouTube and/or live concert into the equation, the gap grows larger still.


----------



## Fabulin (Jun 10, 2019)

Strange Magic said:


> As big as the world of classical music is, the world of non-classical is bigger, even more diverse. When you add YouTube and/or live concert into the equation, the gap grows larger still.


Big and great are not the same.


----------



## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Took me no time to even think about it, classical for sure.

I would miss some other genres though.

During my college days (1980s) and shortly thereafter I went through a pronounced jazz stage; and just in time to catch the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Lionel Hampton, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and Sun Ra, live in concert (and later on, Ray Charles and David Brubeck). In fact, I've seen more big names in jazz than in classical which would only include Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma. 

I like a lot of easy listening singers like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin; lately country-western, and especially female country-western vocalists such as Juice Newton and Emmylou Harris. They just seem to sing with a lot of heart.

I like all kinds of folk music, everything from Celtic, to Latin, to Eastern European, Hawaiian, Calypso, etc; but I only like folk music for a little while, because after about half an hour it starts to sound repetitive to my ears.

I have absolutely no use for rap, hip-hop, heavy metal, punk, or hard rock (no use for it, whatsoever), and even with rock in general, the Beatles are about as far as I'm willing to go.


----------



## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

I don't get the "all" in the question. Does it modify the repertoire or the listening?


----------



## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet (Aug 31, 2011)

Given that this is a classical music forum, it's not surprising to see the classical music choice easily beating the non-classical music one. While I do enjoy lots of non-classical music, I derive significantly more pleasure from classical. I can't listen to non-classical for too long and mostly listen to it while doing something else as it doesn't have the richness of content to demand all of my attention; i tend to bore of non-classical pretty quickly unless I'm doing something else. I realize I'm painting a lot of different genres with the same stroke, and there are some genres that have a lot more musical content than others, but compared to classical music (not all classical, mind you, I am not thinking of a Strauss waltz here but rather of a Beethoven symphony as an example), all of them can be seen from this perspective.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Well thankfully I can prefer one without completely eliminating the other.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Fabulin said:


> Big and great are not the same.


Thank you. I have made a note of your observation.

On a serious footing, I long ago remarked here on TC in response to another poll that my musical interests divided up roughly into 30% each of Classical, Rock/Pop, and classic _cante flamenco_, with the final residuum being Other--which itself is largely World Music of various sorts and kinds. All CM? No, not suited for such an exclusive diet.


----------



## eljr (Aug 8, 2015)

Rogerx said:


> I miss option both


There is good music and there is great music, there is no bad music! :tiphat:


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Strange Magic said:


> Thank you. I have made a note of your observation.
> 
> On a serious footing, I long ago remarked here on TC in response to another poll that my musical interests divided up roughly into 30% each of Classical, Rock/Pop, and classic _cante flamenco_, with the final residuum being Other--which itself is largely World Music of various sorts and kinds. All CM? No, not suited for such an exclusive diet.


Okay. I was born for the exclusive route.


----------



## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

Definitely classical. Cannot listen to anything else


----------



## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

Extremely easy for me - all classical. I have no strong attachment to any other musical tradition. That's why I don't participate in polls like "Winterreise vs. Pet Sounds."


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Judith said:


> Definitely classical. Cannot listen to anything else


Judith, you and to possibly a lesser extent Bulldog are quite emphatic about your inability to listen to--let lone enjoy--non-classical music. Is this to be taken as fact or rather as hyperbole for demonstrating the primacy for you of CM? I can more easily understand the latter interpretation.


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Strange Magic said:


> Judith, you and to possibly a lesser extent Bulldog are quite emphatic about your inability to listen to--let lone enjoy--non-classical music. Is this to be taken as fact or rather as hyperbole for demonstrating the primacy for you of CM? I can more easily understand the latter interpretation.


Hold on. I never indicated I had an inability to listen to and enjoy non-classical music. It's a matter of prioritizing my time which will run out in a few years. I look at what's in front of me and decide how to maximize my enjoyment.


----------



## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Coach G said:


> During my college days (1980s) and shortly thereafter I went through a pronounced jazz stage; and just in time to catch the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Lionel Hampton, The Modern Jazz Quartet, and Sun Ra, live in concert (and later on, Ray Charles and David Brubeck). In fact, I've seen more big names in jazz than in classical which would only include Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma.


Me too. In L.A. when I was in college, I not only got to see a lot of the greats in jazz but I was able to even hang out with some of them and play with (or at least in the presence of) a few. It seems like in the college years you have the energy, passion, and connections (unfortunately, not the money) to get you to places you can't get to as easily later in life.

I came to classical later, and I don't have the same in-person connection with classical artists that people like Knorf have. I just have to experience what they did through their eyes.


----------



## Skakner (Oct 8, 2020)

The outcome, given the orientation of the forum, it's quite predictable.

Personally speaking, my music library has classical (65%), jazz (25%), prog rock (8%), other (2%).


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Bulldog said:


> Okay. I was born for the exclusive route.


I went by this post and "exclusive route." My error?


----------



## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Strange Magic said:


> I went by this post and "exclusive route." My error?


I got the word from your posting.


----------



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Bulldog said:


> I got the word from your posting.


And embraced it, it would appear. Glad to have provided just the right term!


----------

