Are you ignorant if you don't like classical music?

Filed in Music Philosophy on August 21, 2010



According to a blog I read recently, if you don't like classical music, you are ignorant.  (Yes, that is an exact quote.)

Put me down as someone who DOES like classical music.  I just don't like it enough to listen to it very much.

I guess that makes me half ignorant...

For the many of you who have no great love for classical music, don't worry too much about it.  Don't get me wrong; you should appreciate classical music for what it is.  The music that has survived the test of time is highly structured with great ideas and great form.  We owe a debt to many classical composers for what they contributed to man's discovery of how music works.

But don't let anyone try to convince you that you are uncultured or inferior because you just don't care too much for Bach.  That is just as true for Mozart, or even Beethoven, my favorite classical composer.

Classical music is often elevated to a position that makes me a bit uncomfortable.  Just because music is considered classical does not make it good.  Consider for example the farce of much Twentieth Century classical music.  Why any reputable university would encourage their music majors to play that silliness while ignoring true art music from the same period (such as jazz) is beyond me.  But many do.

There is a difference between appreciating the past and idolizing it.  So no, don't let a music Nazi accuse you of ignorance if their preference is just not your cup of tea.



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Lance
8/23/2010 11:29:18 AM

Balance is definitely key. I am glad you call modern classical what it really is many cases: a farce. Of course there is some good stuff from that period but too much is just silly.

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Daniel B
8/26/2010 11:09:16 PM

I don't think ignorant as much as deprived of some good music. I agree that lots of 20th Century music is a farce.

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jasmine johnson :)
9/1/2010 4:15:10 AM

yeah its not. igronent thank ya very much :P i love my musicccccccc. kk

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Piano Tutorial
9/17/2010 12:31:44 AM

You'll also learn important things like how to play the piano to communicate a feeling or emotion. Composers create a piece of music to express something, and by learning music language you will be able to understand the feeling the composer intended and be able to communicate it exactly!

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