Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner - Non Classical Who doesn't like classical music?

I like classical. I'm not much good at playing it. I do understand that in the U.S., classical (lumping together baroque, romantic, classical) has maybe 1% market share in terms of revenue, and listeners.

More than a few friends simply can not stand classical and will not listen to it, will not go near it. I see this as typical.

Unusual is a person that will enthusiastically attend a classical concert. There is a local classical concert series (Classical Crossroads in Torrance, CA) that I have told many local people about. Maybe 5% have any interest at all. Cost is not an issue, because the admission is give whatever you like, or nothing at all. No one is turned away.

Quality is unlikely to be the issue, because the performers are very good. Many are competition winners, others have advanced music degrees. All are excellent and accomplished musicians.

The issue is that most people would rather do something else than listen to classical music. The Piano World forums tend to be classically dominated so the responses do not surprise me. I'd guess 80% like and play classical and about 50% spend at least half their piano time on the genre.

I don't consider Debussy and Ravel to be jazz. There are jazzers like Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter who have taken their sounds and been influenced by them. There is a subset called "Impressionist jazz" from Herbie's early days that follows that.

Here's a guy doing a jazzy/classical song, a Russian composer:

Thanks for sharing the video. it was nice!

Ravel's piano concerto in G Major sounds quite a bit like Jazz to me. Also, some of Debussy's preludes sound like Jazz. For example, Général Lavine – eccentric from Book 2.

Anyway, to each their own. I enjoy most forms of music, but I just can't digest dubstep, which I consider to be semi rhythmic noise

I guess we all have that something which we just don't like.

I don't think anyone does. noobpianist said Jazzy classical, that is, classical with jazz influences.

I think most classical enthusiasts accept that their preference is a minority one and always will be. It certainly doesn't bother me to be part of this minority. I'm happy to like what I like and let others like what they like. But classical is a vast area, far wider than a few 19th century piano pieces. If someone really wanted to find some classical they could like, they'd probably be able to. But they might have to explore a bit.

We finally agree on something. Most classical music I don't like. Especially stuff before the late 1800s. A lot of 20th century stuff I don't like either, but there are some outstanding exceptions:

I love Debussy, Ravel, Mussorgsky, Elgar's 'Cockaigne Overtures" and some things along those lines.




I'm generally with you on this, but there's some hiphop I like a lot, it tends to be groovy: Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, Camp Lo.

Couldn't agree with you more.

Help! I'm drowning in ignorance!

Help! I'm agreeing with Polyphonist!

If you can't find something to like in all eras of music, you're listening with your biases and not your ears.

Can't stand most Hip-Hop but I get a kick out of the audacity and creativity of Lil John and Die Antwoord.

No, I can't stand any classical music. No matter what kind. I immediately want to jazz up the tune and throw in some cool jazz chords.

It's like a bad allergic reaction whenever I hear it.

poly you need a lifeline or a cracker pal. i'll throw you both.

Sure, sure.

Most times, on these extreme cases, it has something underneath this. I mean, you can dislike a genre, of course, but starting a thread on PW saying you're allergic to it, writing on a thread on the "pianist forum" (known to be predominantly classical) that classical musicians have no rhythm, no "sense of melody", etc... I don't want to be judgmental, I don't know you... but yeah, this is all very strange.

Now, where is Mark_C when you need him?

This is the non-classical forum or did you not notice.

I don't get your point.
And I don't wan't to sound rude, or by no means attack you. All I'm saying is to look up into this "allergic feeling" of yours towards classical music, it'll do you good, trust me.

I hope to hear a recording from you playing your beloved Jazz! I enjoy it very much too.

Cheers

cheers Francisco. We should all be so civil. In due time you will here my jazz. Perhaps you already have and didn't know it. In any case there are many masters of all music to supply us with joy for a lifetime.

What a nice homey family........

Cheers,
Johan B

Strange post.
It's like posting on a food lovers website that all you can eat is chips and cabbage and that eating anything else makes you sick.
Who cares? Go to a doctor or something.
There are plenty of people like you who hate most music.

What do u mean by classical? Anything that uses violins? Are u talking date wise e.g 1500 - 2014 or what. It would be interesting to know the exact phobia is called.

Sounds like a windup to me. However it did make me chuckle.

I believe "the wind" has left the building. If I had to guess, involuntarily.

I'm primarily a jazz player (in case you haven't figured that out by now ) but have been playing classical music, along with listening to it for close to 40 years.

While I don't consider myself anywhere near as proficient (in their world) as some of the "pianists" I've heard in the classical section of PW - I do know my overall jazz musical voice, from a technical and an emotional perspective, would be far less expansive and open - had I never studied and practiced (and listened to) Chopin/Debussy Etudes, Bach WTC, Ravel's Le tombeau de Couperin. As well as other miscellaneous pieces by composers ranging from Beethoven to Bartok to Scarlatti to Mompou to Brahms.

Many jazz pianists have made Classical music, both playing & listening, an integral part of their development. From big name guys like - Oscar Peterson, Jarrett , Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Brubeck, Ahmad Jamal, George Shearing, Brad Mehldau (to name just a very few). And that's not counting the hundreds , maybe thousands (if you figure in both past & present) , of jazz people not as famous or players you might never hear of..but still play their a** off.

Personally I find it musically stimulating to keep working on the pieces or occasionally learn something new I might hear on the radio that's within my technical reach. It can get old just playing Bb Blues, Rhythm changes, Stablemates, Moment's Notice, Whisper Not , How deep is the ocean, etc. sometimes..as much as I love Bird & Bud

The main thing is to have the inspiration to stay practicing and connected to the instrument as we get older. It can be hard.

Not the first time it's happened

Classical music effectively forms the basis for all Western music.

To say you don't like classical music is the same as saying you don't like music. Period.

There's a zillion forms of music and we don't need to like them all. I personally find a lot of pre-1800s classical music pretty boring and repetitive, so I don't listen to it.