# Is 'classical' music relevant to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217 "2011-08-26T20:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/1 "2011-08-26T20:30:42Z")
‘Classical’ here being defined in its broadest possible terms - including music from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern periods… Also, there is no judgment intended, no matter which way you answer. Rather as if I had asked ‘Do you like seafood?’, I don’t mean to say you should or you should not. The question is the result of a number of news articles, events and conversations of the last couple of weeks, and it has aroused my curiosity. Your commentary is, of course, welcome and encouraged. As for me, yes, it is extremely relevant to me. There’s not a day goes by when I do not play some classical music; I also listen to the live performances of others and recordings of others frequently. It is a central part of my life. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/2 "2011-08-26T20:35:12Z")
Yup. Most of the music I’ve loaded onto my daughter’s ex-iPod is classical ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/3 "2011-08-26T20:36:01Z")
Hell, yeah. I play it, I sing it, I record it, and most of all, I listen to it. I do also need other music in my life, though. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/4 "2011-08-26T20:40:37Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > I do also need other music in my life, though. Oh, fair enough - I didn’t mean ‘is it the _only_ music relevant to you’? I’m absolutely with you on that one. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/5 "2011-08-26T20:49:26Z")
I listen to classical music radio (WFMT and BBC Radio 3) most days at work and in the car. Most of the music on my iPod is classical. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/6 "2011-08-26T20:59:33Z")
Absolutely. I grew up surrounded by it (parents avid listeners, older sisters studying classical piano/voice), studied it through high school/university (opera mostly), and listen to it very very often. WQXR streaming has helped me through some very rough emotional patches of late. Of course I dig other types of music too, but classical is certainly extraordinarily important and relevant in my life. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/7 "2011-08-26T21:08:04Z")
Beyond the fact that my livelihood depends on it, absolutely. I listen to perhaps less than one might expect, probably because it’s such an integral part of my professional life that I need a break during my off times. I still go through periods of listening to nothing but, though. ---
**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 26, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/8 "2011-08-26T21:48:10Z")
Well, since you asked… No, I basically ignore classical music. There are pieces I recognize. Beethoven’s Ninth. Mozart’s _Eine kleine Nachtmusik_. Ravel’s _Bolero_. I appreciate its influence on modern music, including rock and roll. But I don’t particularly go out of my way to listen to any of it. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/9 "2011-08-26T21:54:57Z")
What **cochrane** said. I’ve got nothing against it. I just don’t listen to it. Actually, I rarely listen to music except on the car radio. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/10 "2011-08-26T21:56:49Z")
I would have preferred more gradations than “yes” and “no” to pick from, but since “no” would be a lie, I said “yes.” Just this week I was trying to identify a classical melody so I went through all 250 at [Top 250 Classical Music Songs 250 - 241](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZ4e_5S1iI) and following until I located the one I was after. I was amazed how many (and also how few) I know by name. But I can honestly say there’s not a one that I dislike. As a genre I prefer Jazz, but I don’t dismiss Classical. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/11 "2011-08-26T21:57:07Z")
Even people who “hate classical music” watch movies with orchestral soundtracks. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/12 "2011-08-26T22:00:57Z")
Yes. I love and listen to lots of classical music. Along with many other genres. Classical piano is what I studied during my very halfhearted and short college career. Favorites: JS Bach, selected Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Milhaud, Khatchaturian, Shostakovitch. My faves reflect my lack of appreciation for the Romantics. On the rare occasions when I sit down at a keyboard, I invariably play Bach. (Badly, unfortunately.) . . ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/13 "2011-08-26T22:01:32Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I would have preferred more gradations than “yes” and “no” to pick from, but since “no” would be a lie, I said “yes.” This. Quite a lot of “classical” music is not relevant to me. But, defined broadly, some is. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/14 "2011-08-26T22:41:18Z")
Damn skippy it is. I’m not well learned in it, but I’ll take classical music instead of jazz a thousand times over. I am a product of modern rock, but even old and new scores for movies (if that counts) are a huge consumption for me as well as the occasional classical/orchestral _classics._ ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/15 "2011-08-26T22:50:33Z")
My life would be utter misery without it. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/16 "2011-08-26T22:50:59Z")
I listen to music on my MP3 player almost three hours a day while commuting, done so for almost a decade now, and for every year that goes by, it’s more and more classical music. Before long, I reckon it’s nothing but classical music in my player. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/17 "2011-08-26T23:26:04Z")
Yes, for me: I’ve loved classical music my whole life. My parents introduced me to it when I was a baby. They put me to sleep to Mozart. Unfortunately there is no longer a classical music radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area to speak of. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/18 "2011-08-26T23:33:02Z")
I enjoy some, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/19 "2011-08-26T23:33:46Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Unfortunately there is no longer a classical music radio station in the San Francisco Bay Area to speak of. How about [KDFC 90.3 FM](http://www.kdfc.com/pages/9298684.php)? ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217/20 "2011-08-26T23:52:23Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Even people who “hate classical music” watch movies with orchestral soundtracks. Are “classical” and “orchestral film soundtrack” essentially the same style of music? If someone made a game where you had to correctly categorize unfamiliar pieces of music as one or the other, how challenging would it be? I don’t listen to much of either, but I hope someone more knowledgeable answers this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-classical-music-relevant-to-you/594217.md?page=2)