What are "the shoulds" for classical music listeners?
(These "shoulds" are of course meant as guides to polite social behavior, not equivalent to the Terms of Service of this site, which have the internet's equivalent to the force of law. These are merely my suggestions, and I have absolutely no affiliation with the moderators of this site!)
For example, I propose:
1. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the instruments used in classical music, especially the most common ones. It is not too much to ask every listener to be able to identify each instrument based on hearing a few seconds of typical playing. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
2. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the great works (in all forms: symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, masses, whatever) of the great composers, as defined by tradition and expert near-consensus, of every era from medieval to contemporary. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener to be able to identify any of these works from hearing any particular minute or so of the music, but that would nevertheless be ideal. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
3. To clarify: a classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the great works of the great composers, as defined by tradition and expert near-consensus, including those of the past half century, particularly composers who are still living. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. Listeners can safely neglect the Medieval and Renaissance periods, but listeners familiar with the great works of those periods will be rewarded with special respect by certain other classical music listeners.
4. A classical music listener, regardless of his or her personal tastes or preferences, should express unqualified respect for the great works of the great composers of all eras (as defined of course by tradition and expert near-consensus), unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener to understand and enjoy all those works, but at least they should refrain from critical comment if they don't. Anyone speaking about classical music should evince a deference proportional to the speaker's ignorance. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
5. Similarly, a classical music listener, regardless of his or her personal tastes or preferences, should NOT express too much respect for certain works which have been deemed unworthy of such respect by by tradition and expert near-consensus - light music, pops, popera, crossover, and the like - unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener NOT to enjoy all those works, but at least they should refrain from effusive praise if they do. Not doing so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
6. A classical music listener should also be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with a number of rather less great composers, "off the beaten path" music of any era, and should express some enthusiasm for some of those works. However, unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts, the listener should contain his or or enthusiasm for such composers within the limits stated in other "shoulds." Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
7. A classical music listener should attend live music performances regularly. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. Failure to do so for financial reasons will result in a mercifully unspoken excommunication from the community of classical music listeners. Conversely, attendance at particularly famous venues will result in greater respect from certain other classical music listeners. Personal relationships with famous composers or performers will also result in greater respect from certain other classical music listeners. Name-dropping, however, must be done very sensitively: no one, even a classical music listener, likes boasting.
8. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with famous recordings of the works included above, including both early recordings and very recent recordings, from major labels and the so-called "indie" labels of classical music. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
9. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with the basic historical context of those compositions and recordings, and with some of the biographical details of the most famous composers and performers. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. However, such information should not be confused with the kind of theoretical and historical analysis required to permit one to express critical opinions of the great works of the great composers.
10. A classical music listener should also be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with the proper pronunciation of the names of the famous works, famous composers, and famous performers. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
11. A classical music listener should have at least some respect and familiarity with the most widely esteemed music of other traditions, especially jazz, Indian classical music, and gamelan. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
12. A classical music listener (like fans of any art) should never admit to following the suggestions of tradition or expert consensus. He or she must always, explicitly, and forcefully deny the conformity and obedience required by these "shoulds." He or she must always maintain the fiction, preferably with complete sincerity, that his or her "tastes" correspond so nearly to tradition and expert consensus either by mere coincidence or, better, by virtue of his or her knowledge no nearly corresponding to that of tradition and experts. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
That's a good rough draft. But I assume I've overlooked something, or misunderstood something, so I have no doubt that with your input improvements can be made.
Afterword: This thread has some similarity to THE RULES (a thread for fun). That thread, however, was meant in jest, and this one is serious. I know that we as a society are so unused to honest evaluation of such issues - tied in as they are to social status, perhaps the single greatest conversational taboo in our supposedly democratic cultures - that it is hard to believe anyone would seriously address them outside of academic contexts (in which violating conversational taboos is regarded as virtuous) or internal discussions of corporate or political marketing strategies (where nondisclosure agreements are ubiquitous). If these "shoulds" annoyed you, you apparently do not like having this taboo violated. Nevertheless, I am doing so because I believe that this could serve as a useful guide to which we can refer people whose violations offend us.
If you do not think these are actually the "shoulds," then please offer corrections. In fact, I sincerely hope we can discover and discuss the "shoulds" together.
If you do not think any "shoulds" actually exist, please note "should" #12, which I regard - and will continue to regard, unless you can offer an alternative, mutually exclusive, and convincing explanation of the behavior of people discussing classical music - as encompassing all "blanket denials" of the existence, or of knowledge of the existence, of any "shoulds."
(These "shoulds" are of course meant as guides to polite social behavior, not equivalent to the Terms of Service of this site, which have the internet's equivalent to the force of law. These are merely my suggestions, and I have absolutely no affiliation with the moderators of this site!)
For example, I propose:
1. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the instruments used in classical music, especially the most common ones. It is not too much to ask every listener to be able to identify each instrument based on hearing a few seconds of typical playing. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
2. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the great works (in all forms: symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, masses, whatever) of the great composers, as defined by tradition and expert near-consensus, of every era from medieval to contemporary. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener to be able to identify any of these works from hearing any particular minute or so of the music, but that would nevertheless be ideal. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
3. To clarify: a classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAFP, with the great works of the great composers, as defined by tradition and expert near-consensus, including those of the past half century, particularly composers who are still living. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. Listeners can safely neglect the Medieval and Renaissance periods, but listeners familiar with the great works of those periods will be rewarded with special respect by certain other classical music listeners.
4. A classical music listener, regardless of his or her personal tastes or preferences, should express unqualified respect for the great works of the great composers of all eras (as defined of course by tradition and expert near-consensus), unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener to understand and enjoy all those works, but at least they should refrain from critical comment if they don't. Anyone speaking about classical music should evince a deference proportional to the speaker's ignorance. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
5. Similarly, a classical music listener, regardless of his or her personal tastes or preferences, should NOT express too much respect for certain works which have been deemed unworthy of such respect by by tradition and expert near-consensus - light music, pops, popera, crossover, and the like - unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts. Perhaps it is too much to ask every listener NOT to enjoy all those works, but at least they should refrain from effusive praise if they do. Not doing so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
6. A classical music listener should also be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with a number of rather less great composers, "off the beaten path" music of any era, and should express some enthusiasm for some of those works. However, unless he or she is truly a world-class expert capable of analyzing and evaluating such works in their historical and theoretical contexts, the listener should contain his or or enthusiasm for such composers within the limits stated in other "shoulds." Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
7. A classical music listener should attend live music performances regularly. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. Failure to do so for financial reasons will result in a mercifully unspoken excommunication from the community of classical music listeners. Conversely, attendance at particularly famous venues will result in greater respect from certain other classical music listeners. Personal relationships with famous composers or performers will also result in greater respect from certain other classical music listeners. Name-dropping, however, must be done very sensitively: no one, even a classical music listener, likes boasting.
8. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with famous recordings of the works included above, including both early recordings and very recent recordings, from major labels and the so-called "indie" labels of classical music. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
9. A classical music listener should be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with the basic historical context of those compositions and recordings, and with some of the biographical details of the most famous composers and performers. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners. However, such information should not be confused with the kind of theoretical and historical analysis required to permit one to express critical opinions of the great works of the great composers.
10. A classical music listener should also be familiar, or be becoming familiar ASAP, with the proper pronunciation of the names of the famous works, famous composers, and famous performers. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
11. A classical music listener should have at least some respect and familiarity with the most widely esteemed music of other traditions, especially jazz, Indian classical music, and gamelan. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
12. A classical music listener (like fans of any art) should never admit to following the suggestions of tradition or expert consensus. He or she must always, explicitly, and forcefully deny the conformity and obedience required by these "shoulds." He or she must always maintain the fiction, preferably with complete sincerity, that his or her "tastes" correspond so nearly to tradition and expert consensus either by mere coincidence or, better, by virtue of his or her knowledge no nearly corresponding to that of tradition and experts. Failure to do so will result in scorn from certain other classical music listeners.
That's a good rough draft. But I assume I've overlooked something, or misunderstood something, so I have no doubt that with your input improvements can be made.
Afterword: This thread has some similarity to THE RULES (a thread for fun). That thread, however, was meant in jest, and this one is serious. I know that we as a society are so unused to honest evaluation of such issues - tied in as they are to social status, perhaps the single greatest conversational taboo in our supposedly democratic cultures - that it is hard to believe anyone would seriously address them outside of academic contexts (in which violating conversational taboos is regarded as virtuous) or internal discussions of corporate or political marketing strategies (where nondisclosure agreements are ubiquitous). If these "shoulds" annoyed you, you apparently do not like having this taboo violated. Nevertheless, I am doing so because I believe that this could serve as a useful guide to which we can refer people whose violations offend us.
If you do not think these are actually the "shoulds," then please offer corrections. In fact, I sincerely hope we can discover and discuss the "shoulds" together.
If you do not think any "shoulds" actually exist, please note "should" #12, which I regard - and will continue to regard, unless you can offer an alternative, mutually exclusive, and convincing explanation of the behavior of people discussing classical music - as encompassing all "blanket denials" of the existence, or of knowledge of the existence, of any "shoulds."
