Is Classical Guitar dead?

[jeff_hatcher]

Classical guitar will never be the music of the masses, but considering the current standards of popular culture, this would be a testament to its enduring value.

I've been attending a series of recitals (student recitals as well as accomplished musicians) at the University of Central Florida recently, and there has been a good showing by a younger audience, many of whom are musicians that may play other styles in public, but have a deep appreciation for the classical style. I think we're good for a while.

[huck1far]

Im new to the genre, and on the young side of 30, so I'd say theres still some life left in it.... Not enough youth getting exposed.....

[dofrenzy]

Edit

[Pete Morrison]

I suspect possibly the underlying issue that encompasses most of the above statements is that the classical repertoire is really one that can only be truly assimilated and enjoyed once a certain depth of understanding and subsequent appreciation of music in general is reached. This depends critically on the sophistication and /or experience of the audience. Since the mainstream population does not often have the opportunity (or the inclination) to reach this level of insight i suspect that CG will always be at a disadvantage with respect to visibility.

[tuk]

nice analysis there pete I would guess that has always been the case..excluding places like Spain where it's part of the culture ...as to the question, cg has been around for 500 years or so & pre-dates science & democracy...I wouldn't rule it out just yet...this forum seems quite alive to me ..rap on the other hand is dead

[Richard Lawrence]

In the US I see ignorance, lack of corporate media support and level of technical difficulty make classical guitar not too accessible to the masses. I also think many people are "dumbed down" in modern society through many variables, such as, poor diet/exercise, bad public education, corporate media representing elite interests that promotes mindless music, etc. In my opinion, I think this "dumbing down" of the majority of people in the US greatly contributes to lack of popular support for the classical guitar. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule where one could find "small pockets" of interest in CG and one could argue that there is growth. There also seems to be more CG players because the world's population has been exponentially increasing and naturally there would be more CG players. I am not sure if the ratio would have decreased or not.

[Praeludium]

CG is not dead. There are probably more classical music fan and instrumentalists than ever.

It's just that if the number of classical music followers has been multiplied by, say, 15; the number of persons listening to a few pop artists has been multiplied by, for instance, 100 000 000 (well, you get the idea).

About the youth, I'd say we (between 1 and 30) are :
- way more exposed to pure garbage and brain-washing pseudo-culture and
- have much more possibilities to discover the true Arts

The choice depends of the individuals... I guess that's were education is so important.

On an other forum, I think members reported that in Scandinavian countries, children were much more exposed to arts and classical music in school, and that as a result there were many young musicians dedicated about their art. Maybe someone from there can confirm or invalidate that, but this seems plausible.
Since the taste and the ability to understand Arts are things that are taught and acquired, school and parents have a great role in this. I actually don't understand why in schools we were barely taught to draw ugly things and sing some dumb chorals songs and why we were not exposed to Art - at all, I mean.
If you teach to children to be mediocre - or just let the TV, the trends and the trademarks do it -, there are great chances they'll just become mediocre persons.

[Neptune]

It seems to me a lot of things are "dead" that used to "be". I've seen iPhones with virtual guitars you can "strum". haha!

Classical guitar is very alive at least in my little world:)
We might not see a massive movement of people rushing to learn the classical guitar like it was in the 60's through 80's,
yet in someway it's a joy to still do that which we love, regardless of the Justin Biebers and Tom Bradys and the all gadgetry
and guitar heroes. lol

[60moo]

Some excellent responses all round, and I have to agree with those relating to the "dumbing down" of music.

Don't know about the following though:

...cg has been around for 500 years or so & pre-dates science & democracy...

[tuk]

Some excellent responses all round, and I have to agree with those relating to the "dumbing down" of music.

Don't know about the following though:

...cg has been around for 500 years or so & pre-dates science & democracy...

it would be more more interesting if you added some dates to underline what you don't know ..but choosing when things start and end are somewhat subjective anyway ..what democracy means to me is less about landowners having more say over monarchy and more about peasants having more say over landowners ..a representative majority if you like

Overview of the classical guitar's history

During the Middle Ages, guitars with three, four, and five strings were already in use. The Guitarra Latina had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The so-called Guitarra Morisca, brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard. By the 15th century, a four course double-string guitar called the vihuela de mano, half way between the lute and the guitar, appeared and became popular in Spain and spread to Italy; and by the 16th century, a fifth double-string had been added. During this time, composers wrote mostly in tablature notation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_guitar#History

The use of the term “parliament” first occurred in 1236 in England. Previously, this group of the king’s closest advisors had been called the “council”. After agreeing to the principle of “common consent” in the Magna Carta, King John had to increase the size of this group of advisors and include more commoners. He then had to submit his requests for increased taxation to this newly expanded group. Two distinct groups emerged among the commoners: the landed gentry, and the rich merchants and lawyers.
The word “parliament” comes from the French “parler”, which means “to talk” or “to discuss”. English parliamentary procedure, such as Jefferson’s Manual of Parliamentary Procedure, developed not to facilitate talk, but to facilitate decision-making. Although the British model of parliament, known as the Westminster Model, is held up as the “Mother of all Parliaments”, it is unique in that it developed over time from tradition, as opposed to being democratically enacted by way of a constitution.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament#Origins

..but

The Parliament of England had its roots in the restrictions on the power of kings written into Magna Carta, which explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether free or fettered – and implicitly supported what became English writ of habeas corpus, safeguarding individual freedom against unlawful imprisonment with right to appeal. The first elected parliament was De Montfort's Parliament in England in 1265.

However only a small minority actually had a voice; Parliament was elected by only a few percent of the population, (less than 3% as late as 1780[27]), and the power to call parliament was at the pleasure of the monarch (usually when he or she needed funds). The power of Parliament increased in stages over the succeeding centuries. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the English Bill of Rights of 1689 was enacted, which codified certain rights and increased the influence of Parliament.[27] The franchise was slowly increased and Parliament gradually gained more power until the monarch became largely a figurehead.[28] As the franchise was increased, it also was made more uniform, as many so-called rotten boroughs, with a handful of voters electing a Member of Parliament, were eliminated in the Reform Act of 1832.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy#Middle_Ages

Age of Enlightenment
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the project of modernity, as had been promoted by Bacon and Descartes, led to rapid scientific advance and the successful development of a new type of natural science, mathematical, methodically experimental, and deliberately innovative. Newton and Leibniz succeeded in developing a new physics, now referred to as Newtonian physics, which could be confirmed by experiment and explained in mathematics. Leibniz also incorporated terms from Aristotelian physics, but now being used in a new non-teleological way, for example "energy" and "potential". But in the style of Bacon, he assumed that different types of things all work according to the same general laws of nature, with no special formal or final causes for each type of thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science#History

[60moo]

tuk - you used the words 'science' and 'democracy'; not 'rapid scientific advancement' or 'English parliament'.

'Science' didn't start in the 17th century; and 'Democracy' didn't start in the 18th century. You already quoted Aristotelian physics - he was an ancient Greek; and ancient Greece is also where democracy first formally flourished.

Both of those occurred over 2,000 years ago.

[tuk]

tuk - you used the words 'science' and 'democracy'; not 'rapid scientific advancement' or 'English parliament'.

'Science' didn't start in the 17th century; and 'Democracy' didn't start in the 18th century. You already quoted Aristotelian physics - he was an ancient Greek; and ancient Greece is also where democracy first flourished.

Both of those occurred over 2,000 years ago.

I wasn't using your definition/understanding of the words but my own ..although I doubt many people would agree science started 2000yrs ago ..science is not just about abstract numbers but also 'world view' ...& just because somebody used the word 'democracy' back in ancient Greece doesn't mean that system resembles anything like what we have today and how that word is currently used & understood, which is a relatively recent phenomena..as is Science...and to repeat: deciding when things begin and end is largely subjective which makes any argument pointless

but it would be interesting to hear why you think science started 2000yrs ago and not say 2010yrs

The term comes from the Greek word δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) "rule of the people"

The concept of representative democracy arose largely from ideas and institutions that developed during the European Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment and in the American and French Revolutions.[5] The right to vote has been expanded in many jurisdictions over time from relatively narrow groups (such as wealthy men of a particular ethnic group), with New Zealand the first nation to grant universal suffrage for all its citizens in 1893.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy

[60moo]

tuk - O.K., so you meant modern science and modern democracy. That now puts the relationship with classical guitar in proper perspective.

[I'd also be interested in hearing why I think science started 2000 years ago and not say 2010 yrs. But there's a slight hitch. You see, I didn't actually say that. Nor did I imply that.]

[tuk]

[I'd also be interested in hearing why I think science started 2000 years ago and not say 2010 yrs. But there's a slight hitch. You see, I didn't actually say that. Nor did I imply that.]

tuk - you used the words 'science' and 'democracy';
Both of those occurred over 2,000 years ago.

[60moo]

tuk - Saying something occurred over 2,000 years ago is not the same as saying something started 2000 years ago.

Goodnight tuk.