response 75 of 97:

Feb 21 18:45 UTC 2000

Have you ever read "The Real Frank Zappa Book" by Frank Zappa?  There's some
really interesting insights about western music and how orchestras operate.

response 77 of 97:

Feb 22 03:30 UTC 2000

Mind summarizing some of the insights for us, Scott?

response 79 of 97:

Feb 22 15:16 UTC 2000

I don't remember that much about the specific insights, just that they were
good.

Zappa can be considered a serious composer.  He had funny lyrics, but it was
definitely not "joke" music.

response 81 of 97:

Mar 9 21:58 UTC 2000

I can lend my copy of the Real Frank Zappa book.  I think he'd not be too
insulted by the satirist label.

response 83 of 97:

Mar 13 23:51 UTC 2000

I don't mind classical music, but the bulk of it suggest the context of 
the audience it was written for: the aristocracy.  I am not an 
aristocrat, so I'm not always in the mood for classical music.

I have a theory that people's musical tastes change and evolve as they 
grow older and mature.  Part of this I could account for in sensitivity 
to loudness increasing with age, partial hearing loss, especially in 
the upper frequency range, and a greater desire to listen to music to 
relax rather than get riled up.

Of course, I'm overgeneralizing.  But I do think quite a majority of 
classical pieces are not necessarily suited to the very young in 
listening or playing, and more often than not, the majority of 
classical music listeners tend to be older than younger.

However, Ellen Taafe Swilich did recently compose "Peanuts Symphony," a 
work with movements devoted to various characters.  Charles Schulz gave 
his full approval and support before he died, and preschoolers 
responded very favorably to it.

response 85 of 97:

Mar 14 21:24 UTC 2000

I am referring to the context in which much of it was written in and to 
the audience it was written for.  Granted, theme Classical era music 
were a departure from those of the Baroque in more portrayals of the 
common man, but much of this music *was* written for the aristocracy.

The breakdown of previous musical structure and increasing dissonance 
that continued after the late Romantic period and through the 20th 
century reflected a growing middle class that favored more tension in 
musical expression.  These middle class folks didn't favor the light, 
pleasing melodies that the nobility often did.  At the same time, 
musical compositions were beginning to be played much more often than 
once.  I believe it was discussed in another item, but I also think 
that improvisation began to dissapate from Eurocentric music.

response 87 of 97:

Mar 15 08:46 UTC 2000

Try this:  there's nothing inherently aristocratic about a bunch of notes on
a page, but if as a culture we've decided to consider Mozart aristocratic,
that impression isn't going to change overnight because a few people disagree.
The impression of loftiness isn't _part_ of the music, but it clings to it
pretty strongly.

response 89 of 97:

Mar 15 18:43 UTC 2000

There's a fact of the matter as far as the accuracy of Ptolemaic astronomy
goes, which eventually won out over "weird fixed ideas."  When it comes to
the proper interpretation of Mozart, there's nothing _but_ weird fixed ideas.

response 91 of 97:

Apr 1 00:56 UTC 2000

I think I know what lumen is trying to say about Mozart and aristocrats, 
and it ties in with another remark from the same keyboard, about the age 
of listeners.  A reasonbly full appreciation of most classical music 
requires that it be approached in a certain way, with patience and an 
ear for larger-scale structure.  (I've seen the word "epic" applied to 
five-minute pop songs.  What then is left to call Wagner's 15-hour Ring 
Cycle?)

And this ear tends to be lacking among children.  It was certainly 
lacking in me at my first exposure to classical music at the age of 8 or 
9, but 3-4 years later I took to it immediately.

This ear could also be more present among 18th-century aristocrats than 
18th-century peasants, for reasons ranging from childhood training, to 
cultural assumptions, to what might as well be called eugenics.

response 93 of 97:

Apr 1 16:39 UTC 2000

If 15 minute songs are the mark of "aristocratic" music, why aren't the
Grateful Dead considered elitist high culture?

response 95 of 97:

Apr 3 14:44 UTC 2000

I don't know about elitist, Dan, but the Dead absolutely -were- considered
'high' culture.  ;->

response 97 of 97:

Apr 5 17:38 UTC 2000

Recurl writes, "Bopping to a beat seems to be genetic."  It probably 
is, because I have never learned how to do it: I must lack that gene.  
(I like my music highly rhythmic, understand: I just don't _move_ to 
it.)

I think the willingness to learn that is being written about is close 
to what I call patience.  The other component of the patience, of 
course, is the ability to sit still for music that's longer than 5, or 
even 15, minutes.  There's definitely an age-related aspect to that, as 
smaller children find it more difficult to sit still for anything.  
Some classical listeners, though, never develop a patience for longer 
works, and prefer 15-minute light classics all their lives.  That's OK 
too.