# Classical music haters: Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957 "2019-08-20T20:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/1 "2019-08-20T20:19:15Z")
Question for people who absolutely can’t stand classical music: Why? ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/2 "2019-08-20T20:36:04Z")
If I may… I love classical music, and not just the “lite” stuff but difficult works that take years to fully appreciate. I also love tough-to-parse, challenging things in general. Like coastal navigation and sailing. And advanced university degrees. I’ve noticed a certain kind of hate directed at such things…like hate directed at sailors, by powerboaters, or classical music lovers, by classical music haters, and even Tesla drivers, by coal-rolling pickups. Perhaps we might call this “defensive” hate? As in, such haters hate because they think we’re “better” than them for having more “refined” tastes? Then this makes them mad? I’d suggest, let your likes be a positive thing, rather than a reason to feel bad because your likes aren’t the same as someone else’s. Don’t get mad at others for liking things you don’t. That’s just silly. It takes all types to make a world, after all. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/3 "2019-08-20T21:02:21Z")
Ok, the most important thing first: I’m a rock’n’roll guy through and through and have been all my conscious life. That includes a broad range of styles, from punk to prog, from soul to country, from from electronic music to folk, you name it. Music in this broad spectrum is what I almost exclusively listen to, but I have deep respect for classical music and Jazz, but I’m afraid to step into these musical universes because I already can’t handle everything I want to listen to in the pop/rock genre. I appreciate that most classical and Jazz is deep and sophisticated, and I even listen sometimes (but too rarely) to classical symphonies and classic Jazz albums. But there’s one thing I can’t stand, though I also appreciate that it’s good music in a way, and that’s opera. I just cannot stand the opera style of singing, it just grates on me, similarly like Bon Scott’s or Ozzy Osbourne’s voice will grate on many opera fans. But I acknowledge that those singers can sing, but it’s JUST NOT MY STYLE. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/4 "2019-08-20T21:05:46Z")
As someone who played classical piano music for many years, much classical music is just dreadfully boring. It’s a great deal of work for very little benefit, for the performers, and tedious for the audience. I don’t like rock, rap, hip-hop or most modern stuff either, but (most) classical is just a chore. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/5 "2019-08-20T21:12:48Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > As someone who played classical piano music for many years, much classical music is just dreadfully boring. It’s a great deal of work for very little benefit, for the performers, and tedious for the audience. > > I don’t like rock, rap, hip-hop or most modern stuff either, but (most) classical is just a chore. Is there any kind of music you _do_ like? I can understand why someone who didn’t like/appreciate music at all (e.g. because they’re tone deaf) wouldn’t like classical music. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/6 "2019-08-20T21:22:11Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Question for people who absolutely can’t stand classical music: Why? Why do some people like vanilla and some people like chocolate? I mean, I do have a preference for songs with words and strong beats, but it ultimately comes down to “Classical music just doesn’t do it for me”. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/7 "2019-08-20T21:24:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is there any kind of music you _do_ like? > > I can understand why someone who didn’t like/appreciate music at all (e.g. because they’re tone deaf) wouldn’t like classical music. I generally like soundtracks (the more peaceful or innovative ones, not the loud bangy drums ones) and some jazz. Some computer-game soundtracks are great as well. But classical music often feels like the aural equivalent of opening up a 400-page volume of _War and Peace,_ and rock and roll is just too loud. ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/8 "2019-08-20T21:27:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > As someone who played classical piano music for many years, much classical music is just dreadfully boring. It’s a great deal of work for very little benefit, for the performers, and tedious for the audience. > > I don’t like rock, rap, hip-hop or most modern stuff either, but (most) classical is just a chore. I agree with Velocity, much of old classical music is rather boring. The thing is, artists are still writing classical music that is more than very good. For a starter try Anthony Phillips’ Seventh Heaven…classical, piano, medieval and 12 string guitar. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/9 "2019-08-20T22:25:14Z")
> [@Doyle](#): > > I agree with Velocity, much of old classical music is rather boring. The thing is, artists are still writing classical music that is more than very good. For a starter try Anthony Phillips’ Seventh Heaven…classical, piano, medieval and 12 string guitar. Yes, most people don’t realize that “classical” or “serious” music is still being written and performed… a lot. And like anything else, it evolves into new territories. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/10 "2019-08-21T01:50:42Z")
Classical music, like any other genre, is all over the map. I have a few CD’s of various composers and some I like and others make me cringe. I prefer something along the lines of Mozart because the music tends to be separated out so I can mentally track it. There can be a whole room full of musicians playing but structurally they are grouped so I can pick out specific melodies and beats. I don’t like music that ends up in some kind of individual competition for attention. However, I HATE opera. Upper register opera even more. it all sounds like a cat kicking contest to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/11 "2019-08-21T01:53:35Z")
The people I know who hate “classical” music do so because they think people who like it are snobs. It’s a defense, like hating the well-educated if you haven’t attended college. Kind of a shame, because they’re missing out on one of the pinnacles of Western culture. And it’s not all that hard to get into. Remember **Moonstruck** , with the baker character played by Nicolas Cage, who adored the opera? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/12 "2019-08-21T01:57:48Z")
**Magiver:** Plenty of boobs received an entree to opera (and classical music in general) by watching **Amadeus.** **Die Zauberflote** is a simple fairy tale elevated by transcendent music. Just YouTube the two arias from the Queen of the Night. Or the overture, if you can’t take lyric sopranos. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/13 "2019-08-21T02:24:27Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > **Magiver:** Plenty of boobs received an entree to opera (and classical music in general) by watching **Amadeus.** and plenty of people who listen to a broad range of music thinks it SUCKS. It’s flat out irritating to listen to. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > The people I know who hate “classical” music do so because they think people who like it are snobs. well I think people who call other people boobs because they don’t share the same musical taste would qualify as snobs. Maybe someone can write an opera about it so you could appreciate the irony. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/14 "2019-08-21T03:16:00Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Ok, the most important thing first: I’m a rock’n’roll guy through and through and have been all my conscious life. That includes a broad range of styles, from punk to prog, from soul to country, from from electronic music to folk, you name it. Music in this broad spectrum is what I almost exclusively listen to, but I have deep respect for classical music and Jazz, but I’m afraid to step into these musical universes because I already can’t handle everything I want to listen to in the pop/rock genre. I appreciate that most classical and Jazz is deep and sophisticated, and I even listen sometimes (but too rarely) to classical symphonies and classic Jazz albums. But there’s one thing I can’t stand, though I also appreciate that it’s good music in a way, and that’s opera. I just cannot stand the opera style of singing, it just grates on me, similarly like Bon Scott’s or Ozzy Osbourne’s voice will grate on many opera fans. But I acknowledge that those singers can sing, but it’s JUST NOT MY STYLE. **EinsteinsHund** put it very well. And to repeat what others said, I find classical music to be tedious, plodding, and boring. I like jangling guitars and a good drum beat, and music that gets my toes tapping and my head nodding. There’s none of that in classical music. The closest thing to classical that I appreciate is [Roll Over, Beethoven](https://youtu.be/CxXl4oS9wss) by the Electric Light Orchestra. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/15 "2019-08-21T03:37:46Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is there any kind of music you _do_ like? > > I can understand why someone who didn’t like/appreciate music at all (e.g. because they’re tone deaf) wouldn’t like classical music. I’m tone deaf, and I love classical music though I realize there are nuances I don’t get. I like rock just fine, but I dare anyone to listen to the first movement of the Eroica or the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony or the first and third movements of the Fifth Piano Concerto and find them boring. Before I started listening I was biased against classical movement, perhaps from listening to Roll Over Beethoven. But Beethoven was far more revolutionary than Chuck Berry - and some pieces are hilarious. I’m not fond of opera, but that is from my deficiencies, not because opera is bad. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/16 "2019-08-21T03:45:24Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > **EinsteinsHund** put it very well. And to repeat what others said, I find classical music to be tedious, plodding, and boring. I like jangling guitars and a good drum beat, and music that gets my toes tapping and my head nodding. There’s none of that in classical music. The closest thing to classical that I appreciate is [Roll Over, Beethoven](https://youtu.be/CxXl4oS9wss) by the Electric Light Orchestra. Yeah, that too! Classical music mostly has no beat, and I almost exclusively react to music I can (theoretically :D) dance to. Or move my feet. Play air guitar or air drums. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/17 "2019-08-21T04:13:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Classical music mostly has no beat Erm… Beethoven was constantly playing with syncopation (5th symphony first and last movements), and any number of classical composers used the dance rhythms of their day in different pieces. The first names coming to my mind are Brahms and Dvorak, but Spanish dance rhythms had quite a vogue too And try Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. But if you mean, it isn’t bound by the limitations of a fixed tempo for a roughly three-minute piece, then you’re not wrong. But that’s a feature, not a bug. It"s the whole point. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/18 "2019-08-21T04:17:36Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Erm… > > Beethoven was constantly playing with syncopation (5th symphony first and last movements), and any number of classical composers used the dance rhythms of their day in different pieces. The first names coming to my mind are Brahms and Dvorak, but Spanish dance rhythms had quite a vogue too > > And try Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. > > But if you mean, it isn’t bound by the limitations of a fixed tempo for a roughly three-minute piece, then you’re not wrong. But that’s a feature, not a bug. It"s the whole point. But does anybody dance to it ;)? (the listener, not the ballet) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/19 "2019-08-21T04:30:04Z")
To clarify: I know that classical music has beats, but just not the ones that make me move my feet or shake my ass. With the music I like, I involuntarily get involved physically, and that happened rarely to me when hearing classical music. To put it this way: pop/rock music makes me want to dance, and classical music makes me want to direct with a virtual baton. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2019, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957/20 "2019-08-21T04:47:57Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > To clarify: I know that classical music has beats, but just not the ones that make me move my feet or shake my ass. With the music I like, I involuntarily get involved physically, and that happened rarely to me when hearing classical music. To put it this way: pop/rock music makes me want to dance, and classical music makes me want to direct with a virtual baton. The closest I’ve found in classical music that might fit that criteria is also one of my favorites. The 3rd movement of Mozart’s 17th piano concerto “rocks” and gets me tapping the steering wheel when I listen to it while I’m driving. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/classical-music-haters-why/838957.md?page=2)