Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Does classical music really make you depressed?

Do your windows roll up?

It's not actually the music itself, but being a pianist is making me horribly depressed right now. I practice my butt off, and I think I've made tons of progress, but then in my lesson my teacher will say something like "Piano is not going well." It just makes me so sad that I love piano music so much but I can't do well at it no matter how hard I try.

You're going to encounter all kinds of crap in the field of music. Sometimes there'll be days when even after hours and hours of practicing, things just will not be working right, breakdowns, or you'll get a stack of music to learn for collaborative, or you'll find out the violin juries you're accompanying are on the same day as your recital (only earlier), and the office will refuse to move your recital because they don't give a [censored] how you end up playing (might as well be playing with my feet).... etc etc.

They do, sure, but when I can still hear the lyrics with the windows up and FEEL what they're listening to (and it doesn't necessarily have to be the car next to me) then you're dealing with an idiot who feels that everyone else should be subjected to his "taste" (of which, of course, he has none).

i hope you caught the 'message' of windows rolling.. I haven't had one of those cars in a while.

perhaps "joyous" is the wrong choice of words... maybe "carefree" is better. i do think that a great deal of classical music doesn't 'swing' due to its innate requirement for a certain type of precision, which presents a facade of uptightness even exemplified in kevinb's example of uplifting classical music.

generally speaking, when i want to unwind & relax i don't listen to classical music because it demands work from me; i listen to jazz, latin, world, popular, because it speaks to my body and not my head.

not implying anything regarding good or bad here, just my very subjective observation.

I guess partly that's a presentational thing -- you're unlikely to find a public performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio where the performers are wearing jeans and sneakers and high-fiving the conductor. There is a certain -- I'm not sure 'uptightness' is quite the right word -- restraint and decorum about the whole business.

But I take you're point: if 'carefree' means 'I'm not very much bothered about things' then I think you're probably right -- serious music is, well, serious. Very few composers have managed to make serious, intellegent music light-hearted. Magic Flute, maybe? It's the nearest I can come up with, anyway.

But the point I'm trying to make is the 'serious' need not equate to 'dull' or -- Heaven forefend -- 'depressing'. A lot of classical music is, to mind mind, dull and depressing. Self-indulgently so. So is a lot of popular music. But that's not a characteristic of the genre or, at least, it doesn't have to be.

What an extraordinary and ridiculous idea. Classical music makes me feel exhilarated.

Incidentally I listened to Mozart for the best part of two days and nights back in January when Radio 3 was broadcasting solid Mozart and I was ill in bed with flu. Nothing could have been more cheering.

i agree.

one comparison i'd make: i'd liken classical music to a poetry reading: the content has been painstakingly created and the delivery meticulously prepared to convey the nuance of each written word, for which the audience had better pay strict attention to comprehend the intended meaning. other genres of music like jazz or traditional irish i'd liken to a conversation, which presents a framework within which the participants (sometimes audience included) enter into an improvised dialog which injects the element of spontaneity, which is inherently light.

i believe that before classical music was classical (when, for example, the cadenza lived) it presented many more opportunities for spontaneity and levity. when improvisation became extinct in classical music (in lieu of strict adherence to technique & interpretation of the written note) is i believe when it became much more "serious".

I get depressed when I can't listen to classical music! During the day I can't listen to the radio much because I'm out of my office on the run. I never have a chance to really hear anything that's good while it's on except for in the morning and evening commutes.

In fact the other day I had one of those radio moments. The local public radion station was playing Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. I went into work flying high. The traffic was light which is unusual, the sun was out, the snow was melting, and there was the Fourth Piano Concerto. I went into work with my head still wrapped around the finale, and I couldn't hold back my joy.

Then reality hit. I had 12 emails and 7 voicemails about various problems I needed to attend to right away. POOF!!

John

That's YOUR problem. It's your perception...formed by you. There's is more than plenty of excitement in the darkest, most serious music. I'm sorry that you don't hear it.

Maybe it is dull because you don't understand it. That applies to a lot of things, like classic novels. Why do people read trashy love paperbacks? Because their minds haven't had the opportunity to expand a little outside of the garbage and appreciate good literary works. They find them dull because they can't be bothered to dig in a little deeper.

Same applies to music.

It's his OPINION, but sounds like YOUR problem in understanding how music may affect someone other than yourself. Music can and does evoke different emotions in different people. To think your way of understanding/hearing it is the only way, is to have a very narrow view. Furthermore, one should not have to UNDERSTAND music to enjoy it. That defeats the purpose. Music is not written by musicians for musicians. No art is done that way.

Also, cheer up mate..

I understand that it's an opinion, but dull and depressing, to me, speak more to a frame of mind.

True, but that frame of mind can certainly be arrived at by listening to something that evokes sad memories/emotions, nostalgic ones, etc. Or if someone finds a piece not moving, then it can certainly be called dull. I for one don't find music of any form depressing, but can see how some would describe it that way - classical or not. I DO however have plenty of music I can label as dull/boring though. I don't think it's about the music itself, but rather the individual. Though some pieces are so dark, it's hard to see them as cheerful, no matter how hard you try.

Umm, that's what I've been saying.

Yes, but you said it's a problem, and I disagree.

If you find music to be dull and depressing, then you have a problem.

If you find ALL music that way, then yes, otherwise I disagree for reasons already stated.

There's a huge difference between 'dull' and 'dark'. And between 'depressing' and 'serious'. At least, that's how it seems to me.

I did not complain about music that is dark and serious. Some of my favourite music is as dark and serious as it comes. I complained about music that is dull and depressing. 'Rite of Spring', for example, is -- I would say -- dark and serious. But it's not depressing, and it's certainly not dull.

On the other hand, I find a lot of Vivaldi's music dull and depressing, even when it is lively and light-hearted. Sorry, I know he has many fans. But I find some of it rather, well, businesslike ad uninspired, and it makes me think "here we go again". Of course, given Vivaldi's prolific output and the conditions in which he worked, it's hardly surprising that he had to be businesslike about it.

I certainly wasn't intending to pick on the classical era. There is good and bad music of all era and all genres. It's completely unreasonable to expect that every piece of music in a particular genre, or even from a particular composer, will fill your bucket. Even Bach (sorry) had his off-days.