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Sorry.. maybe you have a point about the training of young musicians... but, nobody WITHIN the classical industry thinks it's going strong. Maybe live performance is. Maybe. (The Opera Company of Philadelphia cut back the number of productions for next year. The Philadelphia Orchestra saw subscriptions DROP during the current season, which was the first season with new music director Christoph Eschenbach. Maybe it's just us.) But people seem to agree recordings are dead in the water. This is a sample opinion (only somewhat extreme).

I wonder if there is an equivalent of 'functionally illiterate' in musical terms. I think a great deal of the younger crowd these days is like this. The closest they come to classical music is movie soundtracks. They might recognized Beethoven's 5th and other monster compositions that the media beat into your head over and over, but that is the extent of their knowledge.

Remember when cartoons used to include classical music? Bugs Bunny did the Rabbit of Seville and some Wagner. Tom and Jerry played piano. Has any recent cartoon done anything like this?
This generation is growing up not knowing which end of a violin you blow into.

I don't think the future of classical music is very promising. Yes, it will exist for people to listen to, but talent is not being nurtured. Today's virtuosos and good orchestras just don't rake in the money, and things don't look to be changing for the better.

Animaniacs used to do a lot of it. Of course, Animaniacs was a conscious homage to the older Warner Brothers cartoons.
I have to play devil's advocate and ask, "so what?" If nobody really cares why should we bother? There are plenty of other museum-worthy pursuits that have declined, and while those people who have developed a following for those things may wish their interests were more mainstream, it's hard to argue that people "ought" to be more interested in Mozart than Britney Spears.

This is hysterically funny, and very, very sad.

Who needs to learn to play an instrument, anyway? All you need to know how to do is operate sampling and looping software on your computer, and maybe how to program a drum machine.

I would like to make the prediction that 100 years from now, far more people will be listening to Mozart than to Britney Spears. Any takers? :p (of course, by then the real big thing will probably be a new, yet unborn teen idol everyone drools over (and her clone backup singers, all lip synching to their 'flawless' digitally enhanced heavy metal/bubblegum pop/rap atonal arhythmic psuedo-random fusion music)

Okay, SteveDallas, you say 'so what', and in a way, you are right. Tastes change, and sometimes they change to the extreme where something that was priceless becomes worthless generations later. Its not the music that has changed, it is only one's point of view.

There is one thing that withstands changing opinion. Human genius tends to shine out of whatever genre it is in. Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Einstein, all genius. I for one wish I had the math skills to be able to understand the music Einstein composed with his theories, but those that do understand it, all agree, genius shines from his equations. English is almost reaching the point where Shakespeare becomes gibberish, but genius still shines in his work. These days, kids aren't learning the music listening skills to appreciate the geniuses of thousands of years of music. The music may be outdated as all hell, but if a genius composed it, it will shine - you just have to be able to understand the language it is in, even if just a little bit. Appreciating the work of genius is sublime, whatever form the masterwork takes.

Then again, the French think Jerry Lewis is genius, so what the hell am I talking about.

But I don't want another hobby, ie learning another language. Music that sounds good to my ear, is all I want. I'm not a musician (1 year of Jr High clarinet) and don't want to be. I don't want to take Italian to appreciate opera, either. I've been exposed to all kinds of music and liked some of it from every catagory. You can tell me that a particular piece of music is sheer genius in it's intricacy but I'm more impressed with a finely crafted piece of machinery. Different interests, and I don't feel obliged to support other peoples interests just because it's "high class", "classic" or "stood the test of time".

O f course we can all agree on:
Bad boy, bad boy, whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do, when they come for you?
Ahh..the classics.:D

Yeah, I'll buy that. But who cares? I'll be dead and so will you. The question is whether people NOW should go out and listen to the Great Classics(tm) or the latest bubblegum fluff. I'm not going to be the one to sit everybody down and make them choose A.

Yeah, and they aren't learning enough math to appreciate Einstein, and they aren't learning enough English to appreciate Shakespeare.. and... and... hmmm. Am I in a little bit cynical tonight?

Is that what it looks like from the top? I know those musicians that walked the walk, paid their dues, learned their craft and more. BUT they couldn't get a deal, because the music "business" stinks. MADD killed the clubs, so the few venues that are left are controlled by a few agencies that are pushing whatever is hot at the moment. Boy bands, grunge, snake charmers...crap of the moment. There's no room for innovation...guitar riffs?..how gauche!
We aren't running out of musicians, they're out there. They may still get together and jam or even play an occasional party for friends. BUT, they're still working their day jobs, because they can't get a deal...or even a gig...in the "music business". :vomit:

I just find that some people don't get anything but one type of music. Everyone should at least be exposed to stuff like jazz, orchestral, opera, indian, african, etc. Maybe I think this because I like to try out new things. If I go to a restaurant, I'm going to be trying all sorts of weird stuff. Sometimes I don't like what I get, sometimes I find a new favorite dish.

I guess noone really needs to be exposed to art, museums, literature, classical music, and all that other artsy fartsy stuff. I just don't think it ever hurt anyone, and it probably has helped some people discover new things they are interested in, as well as new thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

Bruce, you've at least heard a great deal of different music, and know what you like and don't like. What's bad is when a person doesn't even know what is out there. Imagine thinking gansta rap is the only music worth listening to, and never listening to anything else because nothing else is 'real' the way rap is real, that's the mindset of some teens.

and back on the thread, I have to say Blue by Eiffel 65 is worse that Cher's Believe if that is possible.

If this is the top, I want my money back. Let's call this the middle, with a view to the top.

Just to clarify, I'm not so much talking about "artist" musicians, who are out to get signed and play stadiums. Those chaps are in full supply.

I'm more talking about the players who actually make records - the professional studio musicians. When editing lowers the standard, and we lose that top 1% of players who can own their instruments with complete command, speak the language of music with intelligence and eloquence, and deliver inovative and entertaining ideas, then I think my comment stands. We're running out of musicians.

-sm

On the other hand, all this technology has also given the average joe or jane the ability to create an average quality recording all the way to the end product. While at the same time, getting truly high fidelity into the end consumer's hands. Who knows how it could all play out!

Those two terms don't EVER belong in the same sentence. Gansta rap is not even related to music, it's poetry with a noise background. If you like it, hey, fine with me, just don't tell me it's music. :p

It's music Bruce! :P

Music is much like poetry...some folks still think rock and roll isn't music.

Bruce

You wanna take a crack at defining music in a plenary, concrete way that doesn't rely on example or exclusion? Not meant to be sarcastic, honestly. It's an ongoing project of mine, to further refine my own definition.

BTW, this is a class project. Feel free to grab a partner and share notes. We'll meet back together 5 minutes before the bell to compare answers.

-sm