Classical Music (Pro) vs. [Insert Genre of Music Here]

I would like to say, however, that I think you have made a mistake in choosing film score as your genre, a mistake made grander by specifying the style used in Star Wars. .. but I'll get to that in a little bit. Here are a few reasons that I say that classical music is the best genre: Skills that need to be taught and talents that are needed to do classical music, and their impact on how much quality goes into the music and how easily many of these skills/talents can cross over into other genres. Complexity without the sacrifice of musicality. Immense variety of the genre. Influence in other genres/cross-over genres, as well as the ease at which one can cross styles and skills over to other genres. Section 1: Skills and TalentsThe education for classical music (regardless if it's voice, instrumental, composition, etc. ) is a detailed and disciplined process that teaches classical musicians how to do their best with what they have and what they desire to do in music. They often have to be musically gifted as well as musically knowledgeable, so music should come more naturally to them in comparison to someone who is one or the other. Many who are classically trained actually go on to help musicians who are not classically trained (such as George Martin, producer for the Beatles who helped them musically, especially with their Baroque pop (see Section 4)) and write or cowrite for other genres (such as Stephan Moccio, a classical composer and pianist who cowrote "Wrecking Ball"). Even in the way vocalists are trained, classical music is there. Most pop singers have vocal training, and this training is often either straight classical or with elements of it. One may argue, "What does that have to do with the genre? " I'll tell you: it points to the fact that classical music is a genre that can be easily transmitted through other genres (see Section 4) through the skills required to make it and, as I'll discuss next, its complexity and musicality. Section 2: Complexity and Musicality(A few examples that help this section will also benefit Section 3, and thus will be shown there)Classical music can be very complex, and thus is more intellectually stimulating than most other genres of music. This complexity often includes changes in themes and orchestration, a technique that has been neurologically proven to keep an individual engaged in the music. This applies to all genres, of course, but it is very common in classical music and not so common in some other genres. When it comes to musicality, the complexity (or, in many cases, lack thereof) just enhances it. The music can be so variant by the amount of different instruments that are used in classical music and by the many different styles and emotions conveyed in it, whether they have emotional lyrics or none at all. .. and that part brings us to Section 3! Section 3: Variety of the GenreMost people who know only a little about classical music mostly hear the actual classical period of music, and not the entirety of the genre itself. Throughout history, Western art music has shifted and changed and evolved immensely. .. so much so that there was a riot after the introduction of "The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky, suspected to be due to a sort of collective neurological meltdown that occurred when it was first introduced, a meltdown brought on to the extremely unusual nature of it, especially for the time (. http://www.npr.org...). Classical music has been changing meanings and styles for nearly 2000 years, which has given it a variety that is completely unrivaled. Here are a few examples of pieces from different eras (you don't have to listen to them in their entirity if you don't want to, but most of them are relatively short, anyway): Baroque: A lovely Bach composition Classical: From Mozart's "The Magic Flute" Romantic: I'm sure you'll recognize this one. . http://en.wikipedia.org... Not many will recognize this one. 20th Century: A highly emotional piece by Samuel Barber "Rhapsody in Blue," by George Gershwin. A hugely important piece that changed what classical could mean and brought a new found respect to jazz in the scheme of Western classical music. Avant-Garde 20th Century (the most different of any of them): "The Rite of Spring," the one with the riots and stuff. Incidentally, he had it played a few months later and was praised for his ingenuity. Don't feel obligated to listen to the whole thing, if you don't want to. "Sonata II" by John Cage, using the prepared piano. A note on the John Cage piece. .. Cage created the most common form of the prepared piano, a piano where specific objects are put in specific parts of the strings etc. to make it sound different. In that piece, you hear it in action. Not many other genres have things so regimented along side things that are so unusual as John Cage's compositions, or Stravinsky's for that matter. An even more bizarre example is 4'33', which is four minutes and thirty-three seconds. .. of not playing music. I would say "silence," but Cage's point was that the noise heard by chance while the musicians were experiencing their nearly five minute tacit was the composition. Makes you think, doesn't it? Classical music is the greatest genre in part because it can challenge what music is and push the limits as far as possible. And here's why film score might not have been a great debate choice. .. Section 4: Influence and Crossover Genres John Williams is the composer for the six (and soon to be seven) Star Wars films, as well as for Harry Potter, Saving Private Ryan, E. T. , Lincoln, Jaws. .. the list goes on. I am a huge fan of his. There's just one problem. .. film score, particularly in movies that John Williams has worked in, is a genre that takes most of its influence from Western classical music. John Williams himself composes contemporary classical music outside of films that are not so different from the ones in the films for which he has composed. It may as well be classical music. Furthermore, much of his music is influenced by the likes of Holst, Mahler and Stravinsky. .. in fact, a lot of the Star Wars music sounds a bit too much like "The Rite of Spring" for some people's taste. I was actually going to include Williams to prove my point before you did. Here's a short video that compares some of his music to classical music (the first segment has no audio, fyi, so sorry if you experience more audio problems. Hearing the comparison is nearly enough, though): Here's a more in-depth comparison, if you'd like to take a quick glance or a long one: . http://www.quora.com... Anyway, I'd like to talk a bit more about its other influences/crossovers before I run out of room. There's baroque pop/baroque rock, pop and rock that takes instrumentation and style from classical music (particularly the baroque period), which includes the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" and "For No One," as well as the newer version of the Plain White T's song "Hey There Delilah. " But it's not just about genres that bare that close of a resemblance to art music; it's about style, chord structure, and emotionallity (This is a good read on it:. https://prezi.com...). Billy Joel often talks about playing Gershwin to warm up and Sting about Bach. As a final summation, I will be so bold as to say that classical music encompasses more than we are often aware. .. and I believe that it always will.