Do you Tweet? Recently I’ve been exploring Twitter. And while the 140-character-limit is frustrating, and the anonymity and pace are daunting, I’m intrigued by what one can observe.
What are people tweeting about Classical Music, for example. And not just the words “classical music,” but also Klassische Musik, musica classica, musique classique, Klassieke muziek, etc.—it’s a big world out there!
There are lots of tweets along the following lines, especially late at night:
Bad storm outside, sitting by fire, listening to classical music. So relaxing.
or
Stressful day. Listening to Classical music to relax.
And then I see this kind of tweet:
I’m taking a class where we have to listen to classical music. Some of it’s not bad. It’s relaxing.
Relaxing. Let’s think about this idea of Classical Music being relaxing.
People use the word “relaxing,” in part, because it’s hard to describe the effect of “classical music” in words. In fact, it’s hard to describe the effect of any music. So “relaxing” might be as good a word as any.
Still, as a music historian, I want to challenge that word a bit. Composers like Mozart and Haydn wouldn’t know what these “tweeters” are talking about! These geniuses tore their hair out, struggling to create the newest sounds. They had to impress their patrons and grab audiences’ attention. They had to write “edgy” music without crossing the borders of good taste. I don’t think they’d recognize a blanket description of their music as “relaxing.” No-sir-ee.
This classical music experience is challenging. You encounter unfamiliar music written across several centuries in response to an ever-changing world, music that evokes a full spectrum of emotions (“relaxing” being just one).
Those of you reading this have begun (or are perhaps continuing) to discover music that generations of listeners have found compelling. We will talk more about strategies for doing that – ways to make it more enjoyable and productive.
But let’s not limit ourselves to looking for something relaxing. Good music should give you the wildest artistic ride of your life.
So let’s keep Discovering Music.
Carol, Not sure where but somewhere you were going off about people referring to classical music as “relaxing” or “soothing” or something like that. I’ve heard that too but never understood it. My father with his seventh grade education used to say something like that but only AFTER he had listened to a concert on radio or television-we could never afford records. He would rise from his rocker saying something like “hmph, that felt good”. As an eleven year old who would have much rather been watching something else, I asked once what was so good about it? He said that it was just being in the presence of “beauty and brilliance”.
OK, fast forward and back to the relaxing bit. If I’m driving late at night and I need to stay awake, get me some classical music in the car and get it there fast. Any kind of music with a beat will get me nodding off and hitting the side of the road. Folk music with tons of words to listen to will do it but not like classical music. So, classical music “relaxing”? That’s a concept I cannot grasp at all.