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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
I was in Vegas a few weeks ago and went to watch Circ De Soleil with the music of the Beatles. I've never really paid any attention to the Beatles because the best songs I've heard on the radio weren't that interesting, so I would wonder what the "no so popular" songs would sound like.
After a torturous hour watching this Circ De Soleil listening to all the Beatles music I couldn't help but compare it to something like Chopin piano concerto or pretty much any composition of composers I enjoy: Schumann, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert etc...
Obviously I was also thinking, is it even fair to compare? But my decision was YES. Why not? Humans are humans and the song writers of today should focus and put as much energy as the composers in the past no?
The popular music of today are songs. And that's ok, things change... But why the lack of complexity? Almost like shier laziness of the song writers where verse-chorus-verse are composed of 4 repetitive chords.
I keep waiting for a new band, or song that would be more complex, more emotionally deep. Lead throughout multiple variations of the main theme, long sustaining melodies, flying out in tangents for the development section, changing keys without the listener's ears noticing, and coming back to the main theme, but this time in the minor key... No such thing today. Lack of talent? Lack of effort? Or is it simply that today's listeners demand way less and in turn not pushing the composers towards a new level?
My knowledge of modern music is extremely limited and perhaps I am way wrong. My knowledge is that of backstreet boys, Beatles, Nirvana, and some of the modern compositions you hear at the symphony when you go watch a piano concerto etc...
The modern compositions never sat well with me. I know many people who really enjoy them, but my ear is not accustomed. Even Ravel and Debussy is a bit too modern for my taste but at least with those two, I can understand where they are trying to go with their music. Very modern stuff, I couldn't detect a melody or in which key we are currently in to save my life.
I've been suckered into 3 of those Cirque de Soleil shows in Vegas.. O, Ka, and the beatles one. Hated them all, especially O. They do one trick and repeat it for 15 minutes and then do another and repeat. What a snoozefest.
now sort of back on topic... I did enjoy that China Gates piece that the Cliburn winner played in an early round.
[...] Lack of talent? Lack of effort? Or is it simply that today's listeners demand way less and in turn not pushing the composers towards a new level? [...]
How 'bout evil music industry gatekeepers with an agenda to crude-i-fy and coarse-i-fy society to the point of destruction? (Think about it for a minute before dismissing the idea out of hand...)
I can think of four composers whose work I really like who are/were contributors to Piano World. In order of discovery:
1) Joshua Seth. ("jscomposer" seems to have disappeared, and his YouTube videos are removed. Here is a link to the score of one of his compositions that really resonated with me, and that I am working on:)
2) Maxwell Janis. (pops in from time to time when he has a new piece to share. He was kind enough to send me the score for this one, which I am currently working on:)
Love you Andy! Do see if you can edit your post to fix my last name... Hint is on the actual youtube page (Sideris)... But in any case I don't think I've met anyone outside of Greece who can actually spell my last name correctly on the first go! French are very nice in pronouncing it right (the accent goes in last syllable), but other than that... teehee!
noambenhamou: You start off with doubts and quite a bit of negativity. Your judgement is your own of course, but your mentioning of minor, major, going back to the key, etc, shows that indeed you don't seem to enjoy much of modern music... Whatever genre it may be!
If you're looking for something that still sounds like Chopin, or Beethoven, I think you're out of luck! I think it's dead difficult to write like these guys did. I won't put it down to the lack of talent, but I will say that the economic and social situation is SO vastly different that we are completely different human beings!
Here's a few pop/rock songs that are worth something I think... each one for their own reasons...
I won't even link it, because I think the video will steer some trouble, but it's wroth checking out "Ghost (from keep you close)" in youtube! REALLY DO NOT WATCH THIS UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED FOR SOME INSULTING GORE AND STUFF!
Yes, normally it should, but it actually depends on what part of Greece you come from. There's 3 ways to accent the name. The way that MY name is accented is because I come from the islands of the Aegean. Other parts of Greece accent it differently!
The OP chappie seems to have a bit too much starch in his collar ... to have developed a sore bum
"After a torturous hour watching this Circ De Soleil listening to all the Beatles music".
John, Paul, George and Ringo (the drummer chappie).
Wish I had invested some money in the group in 1960 when they first blazed their way into the public eye ... and to think that after "A Hard Day's Night" Paul McCartney bought himself a Castle in Scotland ... from where he can keep the English riffraff out.
But imagine still being galled by the music of Ravel and Debussy ... the OP chappie needs to get out more ... perhaps he should get up out of his atom bomb shelter ... and smell the roses.
From 1969 to the mid-80s, I listened to no pop music at all, only classical. I travel 3000 miles in the summer to play in a Mahler orchestra, and I can't tell you how many hours I've spent playing Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, on the piano, in the orchestra, or both.
I could go on, but the point is: I'm a classical music guy.
I still think the Beatles wrote some lovely and very clever songs. I also find the Cirque performers and shows very entertaining.
Popular and folk music has always been with us, and by definition it's simpler and more accessible than art music. That doesn't make it bad. Folk music has inspired more than a few art music compositions.
"Don't let the devil fool you - Here comes a dove; Nothing cures like time and love."
From 1969 to the mid-80s, I listened to no pop music at all, only classical. I travel 3000 miles in the summer to play in a Mahler orchestra, and I can't tell you how many hours I've spent playing Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, on the piano, in the orchestra, or both.
I could go on, but the point is: I'm a classical music guy.
I still think the Beatles wrote some lovely and very clever songs. I also find the Cirque performers and shows very entertaining.
Popular and folk music has always been with us, and by definition it's simpler and more accessible than art music. That doesn't make it bad. Folk music has inspired more than a few art music compositions.
I think you offered a great explanation. I really like how you separated "popular & folk music" and "art music". I think you might be very right. Popular music has probably always been around even 200 years ago. It seems as if I only think that 200 years ago great music was composed when in fact, we and I automatically receive a very filtered version of what music from 200 years ago was like. I guess the chances are that there were thousands of composers, and thousands of common "simple" folk songs in that era that did not make it to our day and age.
So in 200 years from now, people will look at our era and only have available to them the "gems" from the past...
Here is a link to the score of one of his compositions that really resonated with me, and that I am working on:)
French are very nice in pronouncing it right (the accent goes in last syllable), but other than that... teehee! 
REALLY DO NOT WATCH THIS UNLESS YOU'RE PREPARED FOR SOME INSULTING GORE AND STUFF!
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