Is classical better than other music?

from Jim Snedeker

What a loaded question!   Well, I can see how some people might say yes.  Classical has more of a lot of things and to a greater degree than other styles.  It has a wide variety of instruments, which lend to a large palate of texture and color; it has extreme subtlely and nuance; it has whispered pianissimos and thunderous fortissimos (and everything in between).  It can possess almost unbelievable complexity while still sounding accessible.  It has brilliant composers who have stood the test of time (anywhere from 50 to 500 years).   No other music has remained "popular" for so long.

But then look at jazz.  Jazz has all of these things but on a smaller scale. Timbres and colors are different (due to the different instrumentation), but therein lies what makes the music jazz rather than classical.   And jazz musicians improvise much of the time, which classical musicians don't do.   A classical musician is beholden to what the composer has written on the page; jazz soloists aren't.  Thus the jazz musician is not only the player but also the composer.  Could that make the jazz musician "better" than the classical musician?

Look at rock.  Long maligned by classical and jazz lovers alike, it has its own vocabulary.  Most rock musicians are also massive improvisers, preferring to work out their music collaboratively in jam sessions similar to jazz players.   The obvious difference is the instrumentation: electric, amped-up instruments as opposed to acoustic.  This doesn't mean the music is necessarily less sophisticated than classical or jazz; it means that rock music creates a different type of atmosphere.  The old joke is the line, "Why does it have to be so loud?"  The reason is because that's how rock music expresses itself, with volume and excitement.   Much rock music is meant to be loud, period; if you tried to play it not loud, it would sound silly.  And another thing rock has going for it that classical and improvised jazz don't: you can dance to rock. 

But what about all the other styles of music?   Country.   Bluegrass.  Disco.  Pop.  Reggae.  Crooner.   Heavy metal.  You could go on and on.   The bottom line is that each type of music has its own vocabulary and way of expressing itself.   And some people will like some of them, and some people won't.   But that doesn't mean anything when it comes to what makes a music "better" than another.  Every style of music has two thigns in common:  it demands that the player knows how to play it, and the listener knows how to appreciate and enjoy it. 

It all comes down to personal taste and the lift we can get in the moment that a particular style of music can give us.  I remember when I was in my college jazz band and we were driving home one night from a gig.   We were all exhausted after playing high-intensity jazz for two hours and were enjoying relaxing in the car on our five-hour drive back home.  Someone suggested we put on the local jazz radio station.  After a moment, we almost all said, "No!  Put on Top 40!"   The point is that what we wanted and needed was not more complex, intellectual music at the moment:  we wanted simpler, easier-to-listen to music.  We said no to cerebral, elaborately rhythmic and colorful jazz.  Classical would have also been way too complex, brainy, and, quite frankly too pompous for us at that time.  At that moment, Top 40, with its catchy melodies, simple harmonies, and infectious beat,  was indeed better than any other music we could ask for.