Classical Geniuses!!! Can you Please help me think of some Reasons Why Classical music is better than Rap!!?

It is not any kind of talk that will bring someone to classical music, but the music.

Try these early classical pieces - they are short, like pop songs. One is very like a pop song, a couple of voices, a lute, some drums, immediately recognizable format (strophic), nice music, and early enough it is not 'that sound' which many associate with dead white men and powdered wigs, vests and knickers. Initially, that is all some people hear, by association, when first exposed to baroque, classical or romantic era music.

Claudio Monteverdi ~ Zefiro Torna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6tJWY2Vaz4

Jean-Philippie Rameau ~ Rondeau des Indes Galantes. Again, strophic, up - tempo, regular drum beat. It rocks, there are vocals: I think it sounds like 'a party!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKvd4tMkFHc

If you had those on your iPod, and were nodding your head and smiling, someone might ask you what you were listening to, and you could let them check it out.... that, friend, is the best you can hope for: it will pique their curiosity or not. If it does, you can, WITHOUT JUDGING, refer them to more of the same if they ask. Then, natural enthusiasm makes the best salesman there is.

Now for the rough part. You have been running roughshod over your classmates and it has to stop.

If you talk like that around your friends, dissing absolutely everything, and perhaps making yourself out as 'better' because you love classical, is it any wonder you maybe

A.) have few or no friends in high school.

B.) have no one saying yes to your offer.

C.) may have been so consistently nasty-offensive and noisy about this "I GET CLASSICAL AND YOU LOVE CRAP" campaign that you have may have turned all your classmates away from classical, like, permanently?

Now, to your question:

This is simple. Rap is ALL ABOUT RECITED TEXT, with a bit of a beat and a wisp of music here and there. That is All It Set Out To Be. Even the MTV music awards don't call it 'music,' Every other award is for some kind of music: "the award for "Country and Western Music / Rock Music" then they announce the Rap award... 'the award for RAP." period.

So there is no use comparing it to anything else.

You seriously seriously need to get over what amounts to mountainous snobbery about the fact you are into classical and others are not. All you do when you make noise about that and dis all other genres is increase the divide between you and your peers, and destroy any possibility of making some sort of bridge or connection to them to 'cross over' and taste classical.

Making people feel bad about something so they might like something else is extremely stupid, sorry, there is not another better word. It is reverse psychology to begin with, and it seems you ust have no idea. There are people who began composing at age twelve who never wrote anything anyone wanted to hear, ever. That is a silly point as well.

First, you owe many of your classmates an apology for dissing their music so hard. It seems you are going more out of your way to be hurtful to them than doing anything to genuinely promote classical music. All you are promoting is your superiority because you love classical music, and being, from your own description, the most unlikeable jerk on the block while you're at it.

Just ask yourself who likes or loves a snob, any kind of snob.

Not a great track record so far. Not instantly repaired, either.

Go to the opera by yourself, maybe you will meet other young audience members there, and you won't have to 'convert' them, because they, too like classical.

Best regards.

P.s. And, as my good colleague Raymond said, but more bluntly, Get off that soapbox you are standing atop of and screaming from. It is sorely obnoxious and repellent.

As someone who's played classical piano for 16 years (not that it's much, but it's enough to know what's going on) and played flute in several orchestras, do you know what the biggest complaint I hear about classical music from my non-clasically trained musician friends is? They think classical musicians have a snob appeal towards most other genres. Yes, everybody knows rap is pale in comparison to classical in many areas, but what purpose does this rant serve? Either people agree with you already (I'm assuming most do on this board), or they don't. And I very much doubt this is persuasive enough to change any minds. So what exactly did you think you have to gain from writing this rant out? Just wanted to spend a few minutes on your soapbox to perpetuate a negative stereotype?

Note that I'm not defending rap at all, I actually don't like the genre at all. But you can complain all you want, it won't change what people like, which unfortunately for most cases, is garbage.

P.S. What Raymond said.

First, if you want to introduce them to classical music, you shouldn't say that their music is inferior, because that is insulting.

But, if you and your friends engage in a discussion of which music is better, here are some good points as to why classical is considered great:

-Most classical music actually takes time to develop, rather than repeating itself for 2-3 minutes

-Most classical music doesn't require the same four chords repeated over and over.

-Classical music spans through all emotions, and there is a HUGE variety to enjoy.

-Depending on what you're listening to, classical music won't give you headaches.

-For those who say classical music is all cheery and light, you can bring back the variety argument point and mention composers like Wagner, Mahler, Grieg, Strauss, Liszt, etc.

-And finally, a lot of classical music does not have lyrics, so it is more universal and easy to relate to than rap. Also, without lyrics, one can pay more attention to the music itself, where in rap, all attention is on the words.

For against Rap/Dub-step/House

-Dub-step/House only focuses on beats, and is strictly meant for dancing. (How silly it seems to me to come home from a long day of school and unwind to computerized bass riffs)

-Also, these genre can be made by any average joe on a computer. That being said, it takes real talent to play and instrument, and write for an instrument.

-Because there is a high focus on beats, much of the music is very repetitive, so musically, there is little substance. That being said, the songs are short for a REASON.

But before you do talk to them about classical music, be for-warned: If the kids you are talking about look up to Eminem and Skrillex, they will most likely not have any interest in this music (BTW, from some of my friends who do like rap, Eminem is one of the worst. So, if you want to p*ss them off, you can talk about how he's one of the worst rappers.)

And if they insult you for it, or say that the music is dumb/old/boring/whatever, just shrug and say "You're missing out"

It's not going to get your point across to say your music is better than rap. But classical music is more appealing to people for a number of reasons.

It is universal and anyone can listen to it and find it appealing.

It takes more time to make, and it is harder than just playing the same four chords or few chords (and sometimes just one or two chords) like in rap.

People can listen to the actual music without having to concentrate closely on listening to the words.

People need time and patience to actually play this type of music correctly, and anyone can be a good rapper if they put their mind to it (rapping a few rhymes isn't as hard as memorizing or perfecting a very hard Liszt Ballade, for example). So in other words, this music should be more respected because of how amazing it is.

Best wishes.

I like some such as Franz Joseph Haydn, Gioachino Antonio Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Ludwig van Beethoven's piano concertos.

Making them feel bad about their tastes in music isn't going to help your case. Instead if trying to get them to just stop liking rap and start listening only to classical, slowly introduce them to classical music that you think they might like. Everyone's musical tastes are different, some of them might like it, others might not.

That being said, I prefer classical music over the kind of rap that is repetitive and violent. I do admire the hard work that any artist, even rappers, puts into their work. Don't force them to enjoy classical music and start belittling their taste. They like what they like. If you're nice about it and show them the passion that you have for classical music, maybe they'll catch on.

If I were a music appreciation teacher with a classful of students who think classical music is sissy and gay and boring, this is what I would do:

■ point out cases in which classical music is borrowed by the mass media.

I doubt if I could collect all of the uses and abuses of Carmina Burana and the Taco Bell Canon, but I could collect enough to make my point.

■ point out cases in which classical music is borrowed by popular musicians

A few years ago, someone on this forum collected three pop arrangements of the second movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. That's just one example.

■ show humorous treatments of classical music

A symphony concert may not be stimulating to most people, but Mickey Mouse's band arrangement of the William Tell Overture is. So is Peter Schickele's sportscast of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. So is Anna Russell's synopsis of the Ring Cycle.

■ tell humorous anecdotes about classical music

I don't know if the story about Tosca coming back on the trampoline is true, but it makes a good story.

Or how about the story in which Ernestine Schumann-Heink sat down in front of a steak which was big enough for two people. Caruso asked, "Are you going to eat all that alone?" Schumann-Heink said, "No, I'm also going to order potatoes."

I certainly wouldn't forget the one about Bach being found in his tomb, sitting at a table and erasing a music manuscript. When asked what he was doing, he replied that he was "decomposing."

You can tell the one about Bach having twenty children because he didn't have any stops on his organ, but a music appreciation teacher couldn't.

Viola jokes may be degrading to violists, but they prove that classical musicians are not cold and humorless.

■ draw parallels between popular songs and classical compositions

You know what Monteverdi's Orfeo and "Michelle" by the Beatles have in common? They both have instrumental ritornellos!

or if I'm teaching a music theory class:

You know what Grieg's Album Leaf op. 12 no. 7 and "Mother's Little Helper" by the Rolling Stones have in common? They both modulate betwseen relative major and relative minor!

You know what Schubert's Serenade and Hoagy Carmichael's "Heart and Soul" have in common? They both employ the turn-around progression!

You know what the Vitali Chaconne and the Pete Seeger version of "The Cat Came Back" have in common?

They both have a lamento bass ostinato!

Here is a treatise which I wrote on Alice Cooper and Beethoven:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201110...

i dont think it will work to tell them that the music they like is not good.

you will have better luck if you meet them halfway... so you need to learn what it is that they like about rap and try to appreciate their music.

then SHARE what you like about classical.

something you can try...

meet them where they are (instead of insisting that they drop their opinions instantly and replace them with yours)

-pop songs are usually 3-4 minutes long. so dont start with complete operas or major symphonies. start with arias, show pieces, character pieces.

-a lot of rap and hiphop music samples classical music. why not show an example of that and then say "see, even ludacris samples dvorak, maybe you should be listening to this stuff"

-classical music "samples" too, but they call them "quotes" or "homages"

heres a cool site for looking for these connections

http://www.whosampled.com/

a list of "facts" for how classical is "better" means nothing if they have an honest emotional reaction to rap. you cant use logic to show them that their "feelings" are wrong.

it will also make it sound like you dont even have an emotional reaction to classical. because you have to use a list of "facts" for why you like it... instead of just saying "i really like this, will you listen?"

and some of your tactics just arent effective!

saying rap has "no good vocalists" because rappers cant sing?

well they ARENT SINGERS! they are RAPPERS, if they need a singer they can get one.. and sometimes they do.

its a different discipline.

as far as the fans are concerned:

you may as well criticize a violinist for being a bad opera singer.

may as well criticize a dancer for being a bad swimmer.

uh... besides, there ARE rappers who can sing and play instruments. if you assume there arent, you are dismissing the genre without learning about it. fans of that genre will ignore you if you dont know.

(some of the things you say about rap make it sound like you havent heard any GOOD rap. so get out of the oversold overproduced glamthug junk and find some actual artists!!)

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edit.

i am not "getting it all wrong".

i know exactly what you mean.

i am telling you how what you are saying will SOUND to them.

you have to consider it if you want to change their opinion.

saying "you must be immature if you like that, listen to this instead" will not convince them.

but saying "oh i see what you like about that, but this is cool too if you listen for _____ " might make them pay attention to what you have to say.

if you insult their music, they will simply dismiss what you say.

so even if you feel that way, it is just not a useful place to start a conversation.

Make a compilation of cool easily accessible , tuneful classical music and give it to them.

Damn Mike, aren't you an admirable young fellow.