# I love talkclassical



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Not to say that I love every single thing - but on the whole it is great.

I learn a lot, and that's the main thing. The lists, such as the top X-hundred string quartets or whatever, guide me as I continue to learn about music. The current listening thread and the recent purchasing thread also introduce me to good suggestions. 

I also really enjoy some of the silly/clever threads, because we have some good personalities here and it's fun to interact with them. 

I also like the format: the layout is attractive, easy to navigate, the "likes" boost our self-esteem, etc... A top-notch message board. 

In short, this has become my favorite place on the internet. Strangely perhaps, almost everything I like about the place is a reason for someone else not to like it or consider leaving.


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## Dodecaplex (Oct 14, 2011)

I play with my organs!!

Bet you don't like this part of TC, do ya?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Dodecaplex said:


> I play with my organs!!
> 
> Bet you don't like this part of TC, do ya?


I can't answer that bet until I see a performance.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Don't encourage him/her/it!


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

Recently there have been threads and posts which point to perceived negatives about TC - silly threads, polls, lists, and lower intellectual content. I understand these complaints. TC contains very diverse content both music and non-music related. I doubt there is anyone here who enjoys all aspects of TC. Personally, I probably open fewer than 20% of the threads.

_BUT_... I also love this site so thank you science for starting this positive thread. I know many people here who, like me, have learned so much from exposure to TC. Not only have I been exposed to new music and new composers, but also I have been challenged to think about music in ways I did not previously. I am not a musician and know very little music theory. I cannot listen to music in the way many here can, but I adore classical music and love interacting with others who adore it as well.

There are numerous threads which I personally could do without, but I can easily ignore them and concentrate on what interests me. Within threads I enjoy, there are also posts which contribute little or perhaps even detract from the thread content, but I can also quickly pass over them and focus on the more interesting ones.

I look forward to a long future of learning, contributing, and sharing on TC. Thanks to all of you who have made my time here so enjoyable.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I basically agree with science's & mmsbls' positive thoughts above.

There's a good vibe here & it's generally tolerant of even some of the more whacky views we sometimes get (& I've probably gone overboard with my rants a lot, but anyway).

I esp. like when members post something I would definitely not come across in the more mainstream media I consume, eg. passing away of great classical musicians who are lesser in the spotlight (eg. Kurt Sanderling recently), or things like EMI being sold in the past week or so.

But I also like things like the current listening thread, which offers me a glimpse into many things, it's about what people tend to like rather than what they don't, it's positive.

So yes, three cheers for TC & also Mr. Magle and the others who fund and run it. Music is about bringing people together far and wide, amongst other things, of course...


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Wow, what can I say that hasn't already been said above...I love this place, too...I came on here just to vent a little since it had been so long that I'd had any discussion whatsoever on the subject...few months later, I'm still here...I've learned tons and have so much more to learn...I, too, thank the folks who make this such a nice place to spend some time.


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

It's just a forum, any one of us can set up a free one in a matter of minutes. So what makes it so great? The contributors? The moderators controlling what is acceptable?


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

bassClef said:


> It's just a forum, any one of us can set up a free one in a matter of minutes. So what makes it so great? The contributors? The moderators controlling what is acceptable?


Polednice.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

One of the better things about this place is reading other folks' posts about pieces of music that you may not have known of / listened before, whether the piece came from periods and composers you know very well, or from what you know of little to none. This includes recordings, which is the main focus of continuing the listening experience between folks. (Concerts are a unique one-off experience).


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## presto (Jun 17, 2011)

I like it here, everyone seems like they would be nice people if you actually met them in person. 
I couldn’t say that about some other forums I subscribe to.


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

I love TC too. This forum is more polite and its members more considerate than any other I've come accross! And I really appreciate it! Yeah spread the love! woooo


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Dittos, as they say. It's unusual to find a classical group that is not only fun-loving and pretty much tolerant of others' tastes (disregarding the recurrent barbs at 4'33") but well-informed at the same time.


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

science said:


> Polednice.


Who is this apparently more likeable Polednice?!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Polednice said:


> Who is this apparently more likeable Polednice?!


Not you, that's for sure.

Science means _Polednice_.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

kv466 said:


> Wow, what can I say that hasn't already been said above...I love this place, too...I came on here just to vent a little since it had been so long that I'd had any discussion whatsoever on the subject...few months later, I'm still here...I've learned tons and have so much more to learn...I, too, thank the folks who make this such a nice place to spend some time.


Glad to be of assistance.  To be serious for a few seconds (about all I can manage), I can't say that I _love_ this place, but it is enjoyably educational because of the enthusiastic young people here. Very few TC members of any age appear to be in my social stratum, and your opinions and interests are... at least interesting, sometimes enlightening. You folks may not be as screwed up as I thought you were.

:devil:

Ah well, ran out of time in there somewhere.


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## Oskaar (Mar 17, 2011)

This is my favorite websight for the moment too! It is so much to learn I just have to be a bit aware. I struggle with caos and consentration problems. Therefore I try to structure my listening a bit. Following every advice will give me pleasure, but make me only scraping the surface. And forget it all... (I have a short musical memory) And since I have access to EVERYTHING (with moderations) through Spotify, it is easy to get driven away. And sometimes that is just delightfull to be driven away!.

The combination of the forum, spotify, and my own listening structuring ( with occational "let me just floate away" periodes, I really get much out of my hobby at the moment; classical music!


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## Oskaar (Mar 17, 2011)

AND the forum is (almost? I dont know... I am not everywhere) quite free of trolls! And that is quite rare with a forum of this size.


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## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

I must say that the visual orientation of this forum is also splendid, better than any other forum I've seen on the web. The white background makes everything seem a lot more open, unlike other forums I've visited where they've experimented with brown, blue, black even... all to no avail. 

The technical aspects of this forum are top-notch too. The nifty multi-quote function is unique to Talk Classical. The Search function here works like a boss, at least a lot better than many of the other forums I've seen. The Similar threads at the bottom is also interesting, and makes me crack up half of the time! Likes are a wonderful way of supporting each other and building up self-esteem, as science has said. Hand in hand is the notifications tab, which naturally makes Talk Classical a lot more active place (at other forums PM's don't get read until three months too late). 

I also want to put in a good word for the edit function, which as many of you know, I use to no ends. But as a compiler of list threads and a member who is known for giant posts at times, it is sometimes hard not to make mistakes while typing, and the edit function is an insurance that I am able to communicate what I want to communicate. I feel this is crucial. Finally, the group and blog functions, though still in their inception, are great additions to this forum. There are already a handful of wonderful groups active on this forum, and these are great places for special interests, as many posts can get loss in the hundreds of posts that flood the site each day. The Unread Posts function also mitigates this problem quite effectively. The blogs are just as brilliant, and though I haven't really been able to post there lately, I still try to read everything that other members like science and Sid James have to say.

Kudos to Frederik and the others who have brought Talk Classical this great software, because it really helps enhance this place and make an already great forum even more of a blast for me.


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## Oskaar (Mar 17, 2011)

Oh... I am shamefull to admit that I have never noticed the simular thread option! It probably will glue me more to the page!


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## CountessAdele (Aug 25, 2011)

You know I never realized till now that there is no dislike button, oh aren't they clever, that way there's no temptation to be mean spirited. Only the positive! OH I've just found my new motto!!!


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

CountessAdele said:


> You know I never realized till now that there is no dislike button, oh aren't they clever, that way there's no temptation to be mean spirited. Only the positive! OH I've just found my new motto!!!


A dislike button would be the end of this site, for me at least. I couldn't take it.

I love it here, and over the filter of the net I feel comfortable saying that I love the people here as well.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

clavichorder said:


> A dislike button would be the end of this site, for me at least. I couldn't take it.
> [...]


It _is_ hard to make an effective *Oh Yeah?* in writing, though bold/italics do help.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

clavichorder said:


> A dislike button would be the end of this site, for me at least. I couldn't take it.
> 
> I love it here, and over the filter of the net I feel comfortable saying that I love the people here as well.


Dislike buttons invite trolls, too. Although perhaps non-anonymous dislike buttons would not be so bad. I have no experience with that. Probably better not to get any!


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## Oskaar (Mar 17, 2011)

A dislike button is not needed, but dislikes with well argumentation is needed. Dislikes with unargued negativism is not needed, but temperature is!


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## Meaghan (Jul 31, 2010)

science said:


> bassClef said:
> 
> 
> > It's just a forum, any one of us can set up a free one in a matter of minutes. So what makes it so great? The contributors? The moderators controlling what is acceptable?
> ...


AAAAAWWWWWWW

 I think I'm gonna be sick.

But this actually is pretty cute.


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

bassClef said:


> It's just a forum, any one of us can set up a free one in a matter of minutes. So what makes it so great? The contributors? The moderators controlling what is acceptable?


You are *joking*, aren't you? :lol: Although I didn't see any smilies attendant with your statement, so maybe you're not!  I would challenge you or anybody else to set up such a well run and tightly organized forum using the two parameters/constraints mentioned by you, namely time and money. :scold:


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## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

imagine a voting tool that if more than 5 negative votes were cast, the thread would be deleted. That would help out this forum greatly!!! 

Just joking, we shall see who takes the bate.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)




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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Manxfeeder said:


> Dittos, as they say. It's unusual to find a classical group that is not only fun-loving and pretty much tolerant of others' tastes (disregarding the recurrent barbs at 4'33") but well-informed at the same time.


Agreed and this kind of all confirms that not all classical music lovers are snobs and highbrows. That's a good thing and that's the best way to encourage people to get into all of this great music!...


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)




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## Oskaar (Mar 17, 2011)

Igneous01 said:


> imagine a voting tool that if more than 5 negative votes were cast, the thread would be deleted. That would help out this forum greatly!!!
> 
> Just joking, we shall see who takes the bate.


And at last kill it! Kill all initiatives and (sometimes clumsy) effords. Kill the creativity. 
(I took the bate!)


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

One thing I love about Talkclassical is reading peoples passionate descriptions of the music written by their favorite composers. Rabid fanboyism does kind of annoy me after a while...but if they are able to describe what they like about the music in a very well thought out way it really helps me come closer to that composers music as well. During my time on this forum, Polednice's descriptions of Brahms has led me to enjoy his music heaps more than I previously did. Tapkaara's descriptions of Sibelius' music did the same for me, both composers I wasn't too fond of when I came to the forum. Air's descriptions of Schumann's music are currently working their magic on me, but I'm still working on that one. 

Does that mean I have a malleable mind that bends at anyone else's opinions? Hmm maybe, but in this case it is quite a good thing. I have no qualms about liking a certain composer and if I can, I would rather like everything possible. So these descriptions have really helped me to understand what the music is about or what I should listen to.

On the other side of things too, although I don't portray myself as a "super fan" of any particular composer, I can only hope that my own description of a composers music that I have written on the forum has helped someone else come closer to that particular composer as well. If it has, please, share your example with me heh heh


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^I liked your impressions of Villa-Lobos' string quartets, works that I have not heard, even though I love this guy's music, what I've heard/got of it. He's also getting an airing live here a bit, which is good, he did much more than the famous _Bachianas Brasileiras #5_, wonderful though those pieces are.

I am taking a break from buying cd's now for about a year. I have a few discs I want to buy before this year is out, then that'll be it for a long while. I have music overload & I want to take a breather. Still listen to classical music, of course, but get through things that I've bought but haven't listened to yet, or haven't listened to that much.

So rest assured I will get to things like the V-L string quartets. My fellow Aussie Conor has also listened to these, I think, as well as Mendelssohn's and Cherubini's amongst others. It's good to know that these are all available on the Brilliant Classics label, which I think we all agree here are just brilliant!

& it's good to have a person in you here that has also listened to the symphonies of Rued Langgaard and agrees they are, well, I think rehash is the honest word, that expresses it well enough for me. I have done some listening of them on youtube, and the only thing I've come across that doesn't speak to rehash is his _The Music of the Spheres_. But I digress...


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Sid James said:


> ^^I liked your impressions of Villa-Lobos' string quartets, works that I have not heard, even though I love this guy's music, what I've heard/got of it. He's also getting an airing live here a bit, which is good, he did much more than the famous _Bachianas Brasileiras #5_, wonderful though those pieces are.
> 
> I am taking a break from buying cd's now for about a year. I have a few discs I want to buy before this year is out, then that'll be it for a long while. I have music overload & I want to take a breather. Still listen to classical music, of course, but get through things that I've bought but haven't listened to yet, or haven't listened to that much.
> 
> ...


Awesome! Thanks for sharing  It's always encouraging to hear that people actually pay attention to what I type on here haha

and yeah, please do listen to the V-L quartets at some point. Knowing your tastes, I think they are right up your alley (chamber music, not too heavy and dark. Tuneful, but still creative with an experimental edge).


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

I have to say I love it too. It's great because first off I get to learn a lot about classical music. (which I greatly need to do since I still am fairly new to it)

I also love it because it is a close knit community unlike larger forums. 

People also make hilarious comments and give good advice.


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