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2 random things one of which I need you to answer for me :)

#1 - There is a guy who comes through Drive Thru at DQ about 3 times a month.  When we greet him he always responds by saying "Stand By".  And every time I smile and try not to laugh.  It completely tickles my funny bone!  I want to answer, DQ flight 14847 standing by!  I don't, but I want too :)  On the bright side of it.  No matter what kind of day I'm having it never fails to make me smile :-)

#2  The one I want you to answer.

Joe started telling me this morning about a CCM song he wanted me to listen too.  I said o.k. and then somehow we got talking about how I don't really like CCM.  To me it's mostly all on one plane and there isn't much depth to it.  Not ALL CCM, just most of it.   Then he decided to tell me that he thinks classical music is only pretty music and there isn't much depth to it.  I just stared at him.  He didn't just say that to me!  Yes, he did and he meant it.  So I asked him:
"What about Handel's Messiah?" 
"Well,... that's different Mozart wrote music with depth to it."
"Joe, Mozart didn't write Messiah, Handel did, and you know that!"
"Oh, right Handle."
"No Joe, Handle." 
"Anyway, Mozart wrote Operas.  Messiah is like that." 
"Messiah is not an opera!"
"But it has words!!....   Oh, and I like Minuet in G."
"Messiah is NOT an opera.  Minuet in G, huh, o.k. who wrote that?"
"ummm.. .Mozart?"
"No, try again."
"Ummm..........."
"Bach. Is Mozart the only composer you know!"
"No! I know Mozart, and Handle, and Bach."
"Classical music has lots of depth to it!  What about Beethoven's 5th Symphony!  Or Dvorak's New World Symphony!! Everything Bach wrote has LOTS of depth to it!!!  You don't know what you are talking about!  And I think you are just egging me on so we are done with this conversation!"
"I'm not egging you on Katie! I'm serious. I don't think classical music has depth to it!  It makes for good sountracks!"
At this I told him he would understand more when he got older and that classical music does have depth and is real music!
Classical music not have depth! Pshw!

But then I started thinking... does classical music not make sense to people because it doesn't have words??? So, here is the question, and I would REALLY appreciate any answers.  Do you think classical music is merely pretty?  Do you think is has depth?  Do you know really enjoy/understand it because it doesn't have words?
O.k. guess I meant questions... anyway... answer away!

9 comments:

Lady Dvora said...

Some classical pieces have a depth for me..others I find very boring.
If I can connect a story to the music I find it more interesting. It depends. I've sat through alot of your concerts, and some of the pieces I've enjoyed, some put me to sleep. :)

Elizabeth said...

I agree that a lot of CCM is pretty much the same, and I don't like that. But some of it does have depth. I think classical music in general has depth, but there seems like there is a lot that is all the same, too.

But that shouldn't stop anyone from disliking one or the other!

Anonymous said...

I think it completely depends on the person. For, Joe, obviously, it doesn't have that much depth. For me? Messiah makes me cry. I think Bach had a good handle on true christianity, and somtimes his music really has depth for me. God has spoken to me through Sheep may Safely Graze
But there have been a song or two that I couldn't wait to be done playing...

Nicky Story said...

I agree with Joe - but I think it has a lot to do with background - like Debbie said... If I know a story than I can understand. As you know - I like CCM... and I find alot of it blesses me at different times. I guess I just learn/understand differently, I need words! And I think God is so amazing that He made so many different ways for us to experience Him, different ways to worship Him! Each in a way that touches and affects us! So Kate - what song did Joe want to you listen too? ;)
Love ya!

Anonymous said...

My piano teacher knows *so* much about classical music, that she can show me the depth in any piece. Honestly, if I'm just listening by myself, I often miss it. But I know that it is there, even if I can't find it, because she has helped me find it in so many pieces by so many composers. When I listen, and feel the depth on my own, it excites and thrills me.

Pam H. said...

I find a lot of meaning in some classical pieces and others I can hardly wait for them to be over. The great religious pieces, of course, have depth or they wouldn't be great; we have our preferences, tho'. Words can help - some people think in sounds, or words (my husband); some think in pictures (me). My favorite CC artists move me to tears each time I hear them, even after a dozen (or more) times. (Fernando Ortega, Marie Bellet - more contemporary folk). I do not like CCM that is rock & roll - it DOES all sound the same! Bleah.

Kristi said...

I definitely see depth in many classical pieces - though not all - especially the ones written by those who were honoring God. In those pieces I have to say that though there are no words, the music causes me to "well up" inside. In contrast, there are some songs that are so... heavy. I don't know a better word to describe it. They just leave a feeling of heaviness inside. The composer might have had a true gift for writing music, but the spirit in which he wrote it makes a great difference.
If you think about classical composers and the gift God has given them to not only hear the music of a symphony with all its individual parts, but to write it down, it amazes me.

Shannon said...

Katie, tsk, tsk!! It's HandEL!!!

As a classical music liker, here's my 2 cents. I'm not sure what kind of "depth" or "meaning" you are looking for in a regular piece of classical (aka, wordless) music. There are many pieces that I have listened to that make me feel happy, and equally as many that have sounded oppressive and depressing. As for the Messiah, it's depth hinges completely upon the words of the work.

As for CCM, there are a few songs that I enjoy - and to be honest, it ISN'T because they bring me so much closer to the Lord - their beat and melody are simply pleasing to me.

The fact that the two of you actually ARGUED about this...is pretty sad. So you have different opinions about music - that doesn't make either of your opinions right or wrong. Just different.

Katie said...

Thanks Shannon. I kept looking at Handle and saying, that's not right, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong! I didn't switch the l and e in the 2nd one! DUH Katie!

Arguing.... well.. as much as Joe and I argue... we had a disagreement :)