Hm our theme is quite the pickletickler. I'm going to assume a twosome of extreme standpoints on this one. It's not exactly my opinion, because i try to avoid the black and white scale that the following statements exhibit.
One: classically trained musicians are very often elitists, two: they're correct.
The first statement is greatly based on personal experience and therefore probably false. It is however a nice extension to the next statement so i'll attend to it anyway. A lot of classical musicians that i've met (which is a substantial amount, although not even nearly enough to base a valid statistical assumption on) have often displayed a kind of happen-to-be-superior-becauseoftheirknowledgeandexperience-esque behaviour. This frequently leads to annoyance and antipathy from other musicians. Which is understandable. Because, well, it's rather fucking stupid to have someone else tell you that your favourite music actually truly genuinely sucks ballses.
But now on to the more intriguing and debatable issue at hand. These elitist snobs are in fact not far from the truth. I do need to mention that i try to look at this objectively; emotional values regarding music tucked away that is, because emotionally, Dolly Parton can sit at higher heights than Chopin (please note the word can).
Looking at classical music from a musician's, or writer's (composer's) pov, one should namely say that it's probably the most sophisticated music around. I don't want to engulf this place in technical terms and comparisons, but the amount of possibilities and requirements that a composer needs to reconsider while writing a piece is ridiculous. Plus the fact that you could be writing more than twenty different parts, for different instruments with different keys and different registers, which on its turn triggers all the laws on harmony and movement and god knows whatnot.
I can now happily conclude that music's technicality is nice and all, but it's all about the enjoyment factor. You go Parton. Please discuss, otherwise this blog's purpose is rather..erhm..not its purpose...
x
I'm just happy I get to enjoy both sides: Classical and Popular. Enjoyment is to be found in all music that has been made with true feelings, I reckon, and that's the way it should be.
ReplyDeleteOf course it's worth the effort to enjoy as much as you can, but it's also quite the easy way out when you're attempting to find the quality of certain music.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is, but my definition of quality is enjoyment when it comes to music. Good music, to me, is music I enjoy. Of course, technically the 'classical' side of music is way superior, but I'm not too great at looking at music objectively, hehe.
ReplyDelete