Speed of Technology Is Leading to Death of Classical Music

Classical music has been a part of the world for centuries, but what if it’s time to put it on the shelf?

It can be beautiful, it can be aggressive, it can be sorrowful, and it can be joyous.

It has a massive range, and a massive history, but through observation, I have noticed that no one seems like it anymore.

Of course there are people that like it, and would listen to it just for fun, but as a music student who loves all kinds of music, I can see that classical music is dying.

Parents, students in musical programs, students who are not in a musical program: The vast majority of them would much rather prefer to listen to rock, or rap or country.

There could be many things that are responsible for this.

One of my theories is the speed of internet, media and musical access.

First people had to either learn an instrument or watch someone else play an instrument to hear music.

Then primitive microphones we invented, and shorty after, technology took off.

Now, we have the internet; which is demolishing even the everyday CD in sales.

This technological advancement has made everyday life, and even everyday knowledge, instant.

Everything has become instantaneous: music, information, television, and communication.

So when your favorite Taylor Swift song comes out, and you can access it instantaneously, it grows old fast. Everything grows old fast.

Take for example, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred on April 20, 2010.

This was one of the largest and most tragic oil spills in U.S. history, and the media was on it in a heartbeat.

Fast forward a month, and nobody was speaking about it anymore.

The oil was still there, damaging the whole gulf, but it was simply old news to everyone.

It no longer mattered to the everyday consumer because the next big story was already out.

The point is, this fact is what is killing classical music.

To the average consumer, a Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart symphony is old news (quite frankly boring as well), and what matters most, is the next biggest hit that is going to be out a week from now.

The internet has shortened the attention spans of people, to that of a goldfish.

As harsh as that sounds, proof is the fact that younger generations hardly read anymore.

Of course there are individuals that love reading, but the vast majority are so sucked into the internet that their spans simply can’t handle sitting still doing one thing for hours on end.

They must be checking their twitter, their Instagram, their Snapchat, their tinder, their Facebook, listening to music, playing cellular games, texting, watching cat videos on youtube, etcetera, etcetera..

Another theory that may be diminishing the popularity of classical music is over-stimulation of the auditory, and Visual senses.

The creation of television marks the beginning of this unfortunate state of affairs.

Over time, as the television became more and more advanced, so did the colors, the sounds, and the graphics.

Now, it’s almost like being in the same room with the actors or characters you’re watching.

The average American spends close to five hours a day watching television.

This is the over-stimulation I refer to, and it causes a numbing of the senses.

Anything slow paced and relaxing suddenly becomes boring and dull.

For example, if you spend your whole life eating cake and candy; suddenly the apple and the carrot become dull and tasteless.

The apple and the carrot are prime metaphor for classical music; it is good for you, but compared to cake (almost all modern music), it is dull and boring.

There may be no way of stopping this downward spiral.

It may get worse before it gets better, but all the only thing that can change it is ourselves.

We as a species need to: relax, slow down, enjoy the small things and breathe.

Otherwise, we may be ringing a knell for more things than just classical music.