[FrankinUsa]

There is a huge amount of information on TC. Which is great. Just the “general music) thread can be overwhelming. There is the cliche,”Too much info.” And then there are other subdivisions. Some threads are basic(your favorite Beethoven recording etcetcetc) but some can be quite esoteric. But I don’t have an answer. At the minimum,let “natural selection “ takes its course. The threads that get comments will endure while threads that get little comment will wither away. But it’s just hard to keep up. You can spend hours per day trying to keep up. This is not a negative opinion of TC. I just wonder how others approach this blog.

 

[christomacin]

This discussion board is a bit too successful for it's own good at times. As you mention, there's the large number of topics and the speed in which they cycle off of the first page to almost certain oblivion. That's only the half of it. The old Classical board over at the late lamented IMDb forum was more more intimate and less over-trafficked than this one, which could be a good thing at times. Also, this site seems to have a lot of very hardcore and serious Classical fans, which can be a bit disconcerting and intimidate for well-versed though non-musicians like myself. I sometimes forget and have to keep reminding myself how rare the level of knowledge and appreciation (non-Academic though it may be) which I possess compared to the average person, and even then I feel like an ignorant know-nothing sometimes on this site. If it gets to "advanced" for even me, then I can only imagine how intimidating it must be for others. You can learn a lot but you can also be totally befuddled as well.

 

[Bulldog]

My view is that the more threads the better; also, there is no over-traffic.

 

[KevinW]

Why do you necessarily have to keep up? Just pick those you are interested in or you are familiar with to view.

 

[Ethereality]

No. Not enough threads, or diversity as it were. I've posted some new and very important topics about Classical music, and never got much response. People were even confused about why we should talk about new subjects, and complained about the threads. I think people here are happy with the small diversity of basics they have.

I really wanted to see if some would want to discover new theoretical styles they've thought about or heard potentials of, in regards to certain form principles, or analyze even basics of some essential moments and overall structures, or how hearing two styles side-by-side perceptively affects them, even contemplating new and unique aesthetic masteries using classic form, and lots of things. But people aren't too interested beyond what they know. They believe we've already achieved the best.

 

[Heck148]

Why do you necessarily have to keep up? Just pick those you are interested or you are familiarity with to view.

Exactly - pick the ones that are interesting to you, and go from there....

It's true, there are some very knowledgeable listeners, music aficionados, professional musicians on this forum, but that's a good thing, imo....there's a wealth of knowledge available to those who seek out more on classical music and want to increase their enjoyment of it...I do hope that the wealth of information available is not intimidating to new listeners or form members...it's certainly not meant to be....

 

[Heck148]

My view is that the more threads the better; also, there is no over-traffic.

Right, look them over, pick out the ones that pique your interest.....

 

[KevinW]

Well different people have different preferences. Some just don’t like fresh classical music, just like most people here don’t like pop music. Instead of blaming on TC members, better blame on why so few people love classical music in modern times. As one of the only few hundreds of classical lovers globally on this website, we’d better not conflict with each other. Think about that 7 billion people on this world don’t like our musical preference. There will be one day that classical music audience becomes a more endangered species than the pandas.

 

[Ethereality]

I've blamed it solely on forum structure, in the past. My research showed how simple it is to make this community more diverse, by adding certain niche forums by density only and not popularity, instead of having this place become more samey every year where people leave because it's monotonous or they're nable to find others with common ground.

 

[Heck148]

Think about that 7 billion people on this world don't like our musical preference.

I'm not sure they don't like it....more like they've never really been exposed to it.

A couple of months ago, I pulled into the big grocery store parking lot....found a spot, pulled in....a middle-aged lady was just opening her car to put her groceries into the back seat...
I had Sibelius #5/Finale on the car player [Bernstein/NYPO] - as I exited the car, the woman said to me "Oh, my, what beautiful music that is!! I've never heard anything like that before" - I told her what it was, that I was glad she liked it it, she thanked me profusely, and we went our separate ways.....

Education is a huge factor - it's no surprise that professional sports has such a following - many kids partake in interscholastic sports while in school....very few, if any, will ever become professionals, but, they develop a knowledge, an appreciation for what it takes to become professional...
Schools used to have very active music programs - band, chorus, orchestra, jazz band....students would partake, learn about music, learn about being part of a team, doing your part, all of those skills that can be developed thru sports as well....music is among the first thing cut with budget issues...we simply aren't creating audiences at present...it is no surprise at all that those who do become music professionals come from schools with still-active music programs....

 

[FrankinUsa]

Well different people have different preferences. Some just don't like fresh classical music, just like most people here don't like pop music. Instead of blaming on TC members, better blame on why so few people love classical music in modern times. As one of the only few hundreds of classical lovers globally on this website, we'd better not conflict with each other. Think about that 7 billion people on this world don't like our musical preference. There will be one day that classical music audience becomes a more endangered species than the pandas.

I am not blaming TC members. Not at all. No blame. Just like all other threads I am curious about the thoughts from TC posters.

 

[Merl]

You don't have to read everything. Just cherry-pick. You can return to other stuff at a later date. The members here continue to teach me so much.

 

[Phil loves classical]

I just pick the controversial topics.

 

[Ethereality]

A couple of months ago, I pulled into the big grocery store parking lot....found a spot, pulled in....a middle-aged lady was just opening her car to put her groceries into the back seat...
I had Sibelius #5/Finale on the car player [Bernstein/NYPO] - as I exited the car, the woman said to me "Oh, my, what beautiful music that is!! I've never heard anything like that before" - I told her what it was, that I was glad she liked it it, she thanked me profusely, and we went our separate ways.....

But that's not really what the Classical experience is about, is it? Little impressions. Given, impressionism is the foundation of Classical music, but it must exist within the game parameters itself, not take advantage of nice unknowing people on the street with shock value. I've even made a thread on this too, about the least-resistant momentary appeals to the public, but garnered very little response on that thread too, so I'm not going to go there.

 

[SanAntone]

But that's not really what the Classical experience is about, is it?

The "Classical experience" is anything resulting from exposure to a Classical work. There is no "more appropriate" Classical experience.

 

[Ethereality]

I'd disagree. The Classical experience is understood best by those who partake in it most, that is, any multifarious game rules one's become accostomed to or cannot verbalize.

That is to say, this is the starting foundation where leveling eventually slows and impasses. Hence I'm with people here to a degree, but overall there is no consensus on greatness beyond average perception. So I grant every eccentric their interpretation, and even agree with them on the basis of internal rationale, as long as they marry it with the experience itself. Thinking of a slice of cake and a pint of beer isn't enough.

 

[ORigel]

I have Google's search a site function. Just yesterday, I became a bit curious about American composer Howard Hanson so I searched for "howard hanson site:talkclassical.com" and got some information on this relatively obscure composer.

So I can use Google to search for threads on here containing important info and see what's new on the site itself.

 

[Kreisler jr]

I was a mod in another forum and I strongly dislike the sprawl of ever new threads for the same or similar topics as well as the futility of subforums with a lot of threads not being in the appropriate forum anyway.
But there is no practical solution. The mods cannot spend so much time with such things and what's worse, members tend to get annoyed when their freshly started threads are put into a different forum, fused with an older thread or at worst closed/deleted because of doubling already existing ones. It's just not worth the effort.

 

[PlaySalieri]

I think we should restrict each member to 1 thread per week.

That will reduce the quantity and improve the quality.

 

[Heck148]

But that's not really what the Classical experience is about, is it?

I'm not sure what the "Classical" experience is....my point is that many people simply have not heard the music....when they do hear it, they may well respond very positively