Stupid things non-musicians say to us

[j_menz]

the vast majority of us do not exercise that control in any situation at all.

What ROT!!!!!!




Oh.........   

[ajspiano]

What ROT!!!!!!




Oh.........   

HAHAHA ROFL



oh.....

[timothy42b]

.

Also think that all adults are capable of choice and control over their reactions in most situations but that the vast majority of us do not exercise that control in any situation at all.

+1.

We could, but many don't.

I am not going to blame anybody else for my own actions, and my actions include my internal reactions even before my body or my mouth move.  It's part of being an adult. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

it means you have control over your own emotions, or in your case perhaps you don't have control.

you only get mad if you allow yourself to, it is not anyone elses fault that you react a certain way.

Sorry, but you're wrong.  Control over emotions?  Nobody has control over emotions.  If someone punches you in the face, you naturally get mad.  You can't just tell yourself not to be mad.  That's the ID.  But your ego dictates what's an acceptable reaction is from your emotion.  Big difference.

However, you can control what you do.  In my situation, I didn't flame him or anything, I just went home.

[Bob]

I suppose another one that comes up once in awhile...

People assuming the piece you work on or play is your most favoritest piece in the whole wide world.  It's just business to me for a lot of it.  And some pieces are just to see what the piece is about.

[timothy42b]

If someone punches you in the face, you naturally get mad.  You can't just tell yourself not to be mad.  

Nope.  Dead wrong.  And you already do this in some situations.  Get punched by your brother, you get mad.  Get punched by a two year old, you think it's funny.  Get punched by some huge bully, you get scared. 

Your reaction is not controlled by the external input, it is controlled by the way you process the input, and that can be modified.  I used to teach it, when I worked in a therapy program. 

However, you can control what you do.  

Yup.  That's the first step.  A lot of people don't even do that.  But you can go further and control whether you get mad, also. 

[jollisg]

And people who think you always have a lot of pieces concert-ready...

I told a friend that I've started to study pathetique sonata (for a week ago). Today she asked me if i could play it, and got suprised when I said I cant't... Because "you have the score!"

[slane]

I shouldn't really be reading this post. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and people made comments like "can't you play anything form the beatles", "here play this!" or "can't you play anything without music" and I felt angry or indequate, or angry because I felt inadequate. Now i could just answer "no" and get on with my life.

Now that I'm old, my friends want me to teach their daughter to play based on hearing me play 4 bars of clementi and the fact I have a big shiny piano, so I must play well right? Haha! That's nice.

Anyhoo .. here is my irritating story.
You may remember that there is a simpsons episode which is a spoof of the graduate?? And at the end there is a spoof/variation on the opening few bars of The Sound of Silence.
My dear husband says "Oh its the sound of silence. Ho ho."
and I say "Well almost"
"no its exactly it"
"no listen ..." Sings Sound of Silence, sings the simpsons version
"yeah that's right. Its exactly the same"
Excuse me??? How could I accidently sing to phrases exactly the same and not realise it?
And he still insists they're the same after 15 years and that I am just too stupid to realise it. I should divorce him really.

But then .. the other day I was in the local charity book coop and bought an old AMEB technical book (scales and arpeggios) and a Henle Urtext of Beethoven op 10. #1 which I can't play but you know ... its a henle urtext! The man wanted to charge me 60c for both so I beat him up to $2 (aren't I generous?) and went home thinking "Why do they undervalue music like that" then it occurred to me, they see a few pages stapled togethor and think its a pamphlet .. not even a magazine. Now I feel like I'm exploiting their ignorance.

[ajspiano]

My dear husband says "Oh its the sound of silence. Ho ho."
and I say "Well almost"
"no its exactly it"
"no listen ..." Sings Sound of Silence, sings the simpsons version
"yeah that's right. Its exactly the same"
Excuse me??? How could I accidently sing to phrases exactly the same and not realise it?
And he still insists they're the same after 15 years and that I am just too stupid to realise it. I should divorce him really.

Similarly -

Not that its my favourite bit of music or anything, but..

My fiance friend thinks that this -

...Is no where near as cool as this... 

 

[Bob]

Ouch.  Sometimes I just can't stand some sounds.  Haha.  It's still music I supposed.  It must be the tone. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Nope.  Dead wrong.  And you already do this in some situations.  Get punched by your brother, you get mad.  Get punched by a two year old, you think it's funny.  Get punched by some huge bully, you get scared.  

Your reaction is not controlled by the external input, it is controlled by the way you process the input, and that can be modified.  I used to teach it, when I worked in a therapy program.  

Yup.  That's the first step.  A lot of people don't even do that.  But you can go further and control whether you get mad, also.  

Dude I just explained that the ID is your emotions which is uncontrollable and your ego is how you react from that emotion.  Also the example with getting punched by a two year old and a bully isn't always true.  It varies from person to person.

Psychology 101

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Omg hahaha!!!

Okay so I just came from piano lessons and my teacher told me of this 18 year old guy who was labeled as a prodigy, won several awards, is admired by the so and so orchestra, is a rising star, etc.

Then they interviewed him and he was like, 'oh yeah the Pathetique Sonata changed my life!' and the whole interview was about that sonata.

Then later on, they announce that he is going to play the Pathetique Sonata.

He played APPASSSIONATA and butchered it instead what the heck?!  I was laughing soo hard!!!

Either the announcers screwed up, or this kid doesn't know the difference between Appassionata and the Pathetique.

[ajspiano]

Dude I just explained that the ID is your emotions which is uncontrollable and your ego is how you react from that emotion.  Also the example with getting punched by a two year old and a bully isn't always true.  It varies from person to person.

Psychology 101

My point doesn't revolve around suggesting that we don't have gut reactions that are out of our control..  my point is that while some people will get mad and stew on the situation for days, I'm able to cut off the emotion and take the focus elsewhere within seconds.

That is what I mean by emotional control.

[timothy42b]

Dude I just explained that the ID is your emotions which is uncontrollable and your ego is how you react from that emotion.  

I understood your explanation.

But it is wrong.

You are not explaining Psychology 101;  you are explaining popular psychology which, as Einstein said, is a collection of myth and prejudice. 

[Bob]

Serenity now..... Haha.

[megadodd]

I was out the other night with some friends, and we stumbled upon two girls that started talking to us.
One of the girls asks me what I do when I'm not at the pub, and I respond to her : I'm studying to be a pianist.
And she says; "Oh, so what do you become when you are done studying?"
A pianist I say.
She says; "But what are you gonna do for a proffession?"
I walk away.

[timothy42b]

And she says; "Oh, so what do you become when you are done studying?"
A pianist I say.

You blew that one big time.  She was hitting on you. 

Your line was, "rich."  Or, "famous pop star." 

Instead you got all intellectual on her and went home alone. 

[megadodd]

You blew that one big time.  She was hitting on you. 

Your line was, "rich."  Or, "famous pop star." 

Instead you got all intellectual on her and went home alone. 

True, I had to make my own sandwich..

[ajspiano]

True, I had to make my own sandwich..

Would you rather make you're own sandwich and play piano or have to spend the night with a girl who thinks "pianist" isn't a real profession..

I had a highschool teacher who strongly advised me not to pursue a tertiary music course on the basis that there is clearly nothing more to music than "plucking a first strings to make a 'dooiing' sound"  (he was refering to the 'pointless' study of double bass his daughter had undertaken) and that a music degree would therefore leave me under-prepared for life and unable to generate an income.

Funny how I can earn more per hour out of music now without a degree than most of my peers do with their various degrees in various fields.

[timothy42b]

Would you rather make you're own sandwich and play piano or have to spend the night with a girl who thinks "pianist" isn't a real profession..

I'm sorry, ONLY a pianist could ask that question.

[pianoplunker]

This topic is for all those who go to parties and family gatherings and are faced with really stupid questions and comments from non-musicians.  It's not intended to look down on others-- I don't know anything about their careers, so I don't expect them to be experts on mine.  It's just to get some laughs, and if we need it, some support.

Okay, I'll start.....

I told a woman at church I was writing a paper on a particular piece of music.  When I told her how long it had to be, she said, "What do you write about for that many pages?  Just how you use your fingers?"

When I told my Uncle I had gotten into the doctoral program at school, he said "Music--you can get a doctorate in that?  Can't you just learn it all in a year?"

And my personal favorite:  A woman at church said "You're a pianist?  So.....can you syncopate?"  I thought, "what does that mean?"  But I just said, "yes" and changed the subject.

I was warming up before a gig by improvising on some short tunes I know. someone asked me "How long have you been playing ? ".      I replied - " Oh about six or seven minutes "

[ajspiano]

I'm sorry, ONLY a pianist could ask that question.

Obviously, but since megadodd is both a pianist and his long term career goal is "piano teacher" it seems relevant..  unless he's 15 and is just busting to get laid by anything.

[megadodd]

Obviously, but since megadodd is both a pianist and his long term career goal is "piano teacher" it seems relevant..  unless he's 15 and is just busting to get laid by anything.

Second that.

[timothy42b]

Obviously, but since megadodd is both a pianist and his long term career goal is "piano teacher" it seems relevant..  unless he's 15 and is just busting to get laid by anything.

But............that's the DEFINITION of 15.

[ajspiano]

But............that's the DEFINITION of 15.

I'm certain megadodd isn't 15. - though i'm not sure whether he falls in an acceptable age range for similar behaviour/thought process.

[j_menz]

I'm certain megadodd isn't 15. - though i'm not sure whether he falls in an acceptable age range for similar behaviour/thought process.

First year college by his signature - seems well within the range. 

[chauncey]

I can sort of relate to this topic.
One day I went to buy a better copy of Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 no. 2 (because I had an audition coming up). When I got in the music store I asked one of the employee's if they can point me to where the Chopin stuff were. The first thing they asked me "How do you spell Chopin?"

. . . . . .

They work in this store and they don't know how to spell his name? To make matters worse, there is a big sign that says Chopin which has his stuff in it an I am sure they pass it 10000s a day..

[j_menz]

They're probably sick of people shoppin' for Chopin.



 Ahem.

[perprocrastinate]

When my mom says "that's really good!", when I'm PRACTICING.
It's praise I don't deserve, and it's annoying.

And when I was practicing Chopin's Revolutionary Etude, my sister says, "Well that's a stupid song. All it is is just notes going down, sounds horrible."

and get this, she said, "Chopin wasn't that great."

I swear she's musically oblivious to everything except pop music. And the bad kind.

[slane]

Well my husband says all 20th century music (except the beatles) is crap.
He's totally incapable of understanding the difference between his opinion and a fact. He syas his reaction is physiological. I guess I have the same thing with apricots. And sparrows prefer bach to schoenberg, can't blame them for that, but calling Stravinsky crap ....  

[ajspiano]

Well my husband says all 20th century music (except the beatles) is crap.

Such an opinion would require one to have listened to all 20th century music - which seems like an unlikely thing to have done, even for the most diehard music fans.

Also seems silly to cut off at 20th century, there were no doubt some horrors in 1899.

[j_menz]

there were no doubt some horrors in 1899.

Schoenberg's Transfigured Night (Verklärte Nacht ) springs instantly to mind. 

Actually, it's not bad for Schoenberg - from before he went whacko for twelve tone - but it made his name.

[pianoisthebest23]

Most comments that non-musicians make really don't bother me that much. Usually I just find it kind of amusing.    The ones that bother me are when people are actually trying to insult me.

I was attempting to teach my friend a little bit about piano and when I showed her a piece of my music she said "You just pick one of the notes to play, right? 

After playing through the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata my dad said "That's nice but could you play something more quiet and peaceful."

My mother asked me to play her favorite song (no titles given). She likes all of the really well known music (*sigh*)  so I started to play Claire de Lune and she said, "No, not that one, the other one." I took a guess and started playing Fur Elise. My mom said "Yes, that one. That's Claire de Lune, right?" Grrr...

I was showing my sister some videos of people playing Liszt's Transcendental Etudes and I asked her which one was her favorite. She said, "I don't like any classical music. It all sounds the same, it's just banging." 

From someone who goes to my school: "You listen to classical music? You're so weird!" 

On Youtube, I saw this video titled Mozart on the Floor Piano. I clicked on it only to find that it was not Mozart. Not even close. It was Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2...   

[drkilroy]

After playing through the 3rd movement of Moonlight Sonata my dad said "That's nice but could you play something more quiet and peaceful."

That actually makes sense. I would not like to listen to pieces like the third movement of Moonlight Sonata all the time.

Best regards, Dr

[pianoisthebest23]

Yeah if it wasn't me I probably would have done the same thing lol 

[p2u_]

Stupid things non-musicians say to us

Not really stupid, but anyway... After I have finished playing Godowsky Saint-Saens "The Swan" as an encore, a boy comes up to me backstage and asks: "Could you teach me that song on my keyboard?"  

Paul

[ajspiano]

I was recently asked to play to accompany my fiance singing at a wedding (by the bride to be). It was assumed that this would "just happen", to a point where if we didn't play on the night she would've been quite offended despite having no idea if there would be a piano available on the night..

This all surfaced no more than 3 days before the night.

Consequently, I prepared on guitar. On the night there was an unweighted 4 octave keyboard that was being used as a synth in the band which it was insisted I use over my guitar, despite being not prepared at all on piano for the given song and the fact that it sounded terrible, and my guitar is about as beautiful as they come..

 

[Bob]

Not really stupid, but anyway... After I have finished playing Godowsky Saint-Saens "The Swan" as an encore, a boy comes up to me backstage and asks: "Could you teach me that song on my keyboard?" 

Paul

I will forever have the memory of accompanying a chubby little girl "raping" that piece for a contest burned into my mind.  An oboe.  Nice and loud the whole time. A little timid.  And waaaaay out of tune.  A decent job for a beginner but I remember it was one of those cringing, "Oh God, let this piece die already," kind of experiences.   And that was the first time I had run into the piece so that's what I always think of when I hear it now.  Sawed to death... by an oboe!

[brianvds]

They work in this store and they don't know how to spell his name? To make matters worse, there is a big sign that says Chopin which has his stuff in it an I am sure they pass it 10000s a day..

Store employees don't necessarily know all the genres of stuff in the store. Years ago I was paying for a CD of Holst's "The Planets." The shop assistant curiously looked at the CD and asked me, "Is this, like MUSIC?"

I can deal with that. Working in a shop can be a horrible job, and exhausting enough so as not to leave employees with enough energy to learn everything about the stuff they sell. :-)

But back to the original topic (sort of): a pet peeve from my teens. Who remembers those "Hooked on classics" records? Where they took popular tunes from classical masterpieces and popped them up with drums and stuff? It was a travesty. I was just about the only kid in my peer group who liked classical music or knew anything at all about it. When I visited friends, they tried to be polite with the background music. So they put on their record of "Hooked on classics." After all, I liked classical music! I still shudder, to this very day.  :-)

I have a theory as to why 20th century composers tended to go in for atonal or otherwise harsh-on-the-ear stuff. It's simple: the one thing you would never find on a "Hooked on classics" record would be stuff like Stravinsky or Bartok or Debussy: it is almost impossible to turn that music into pop songs. Thus they effectively insulated themselves from the musical vandals. :-)

[brianvds]

Not really stupid, but anyway... After I have finished playing Godowsky Saint-Saens "The Swan" as an encore, a boy comes up to me backstage and asks: "Could you teach me that song on my keyboard?"  

Aargh, it's something that makes my hair stand on end: when they refer to classical pieces as "songs." Like the guy who once curiously looked through my CD collection. "Well, this is weird," he says, holding a CD of a Mahler symphony by one corner, like it may be poisonous. "Only four songs on the CD. And look how long the songs are!"

[j_menz]

I can live with non-musicians saying things like that. What really gets my goat is that iTunes and suc things are constructed wholly around the "Artist - Album - Song" way of structuring themselves. Completely useless for classical repertoire. The should know better!!!

[ronniemilsont]

I do not know how many periods clients have come to the home had a look at the Bosey 225 and requested is that a big baby or later informed others has a wonderful huge guitar in the his lounge  and I stunned.

[black_keys]

There is many stories:
-I hate it very much when someone come and start pressing some keys when I'm
playing something 

-once my mother's friend came to our house , she asked me to play something nice , so i started to plays Liebestraum n.3 , about 2 minutes and she got bored and start talking .. I mean what the ****  im playing to you ,you should listen !!!!

- and once i was triyng to play the right hand part from 2nd hungarian rhapsody just to figure out how its played , my father was listening and says : thats good but why you dont learn something more popular , at least people will enjoy it 

-and there is lot of stories about Fur Elise and clayderman peoples , peoples who think that Beethoven or Bach are the only classical composers , or "classic music = quiet music" .... or peoples who call any liszt piece " that tom and jerry song"  or they call the 4 octaves keyboard a Piano !

[petzzo]

Ive been chatting with my old friend from childhood after a long time.
He asked me: So you play the piano, right?
I sent him my recording of the 1st Chopins ballade.
Then he said: You know, i play a little piano too, but i have a problem. How do you play something in one hand and something different in the other? Oh and can you play some Linkin Park?

i thought to myself: oh god, why

[zezhyrule]

about 2 minutes and she got bored and start talking .. I mean what the ****   im playing to you ,you should listen !!!!

I hate that too. The bad thing is, my family/friends will start talking... right when I sit at the piano. *waits for them to stop* ... *gives up and just starts playing* ...and they're still talking.

Makes me wonder, why would they ask me to play if they're going to talk the whole time? Did they just want background music for their conversation?  


On another note.
Me to a friend: "So like, do you like any classical music?"
"yeah it's calming I guess"

...I don't even know.


Also I have a friend who plays the cello. I asked them if they enjoyed classical music much. They said yeah. So I linked them to a video of Mendelssohn's 1st piano trio (just the first movement) since I like really love it~ And then 15sec later they said "oh that's really great I love it n_n" It's like... the video is 10min long... I don't... did they just close it? o_o

Kinda the same thing but worse, a few weeks ago I posted a video of me playing some piano piece on facebook. It was about 5min long I suppose. Like, 10sec after I posted it, it had 2 "likes" and a comment saying "that's great, you're so amazing". *sigh* If only you'd at least wait a couple minutes so I'll think that you watched the whole thing, or at least 1min of it :/

...I think I should stop ranting now, I get incoherent D: D: D:

[zezhyrule]

"Whats the point of learning new piano pices? are you going to actually make your own music up some day? if not what is the point o playing the same debussy and guys all over again and again? D: if you're just playing the same stuff over and over again whats the point >.>"

[aceildus]

'Do you know any Elton John?'. No. Go away.

I'd be relieved if they ask for Elton John than stuff in the pop genre nowadays. Funeral for a friend was one of the very first non-classical songs I played, also one of the first I played by ear.


Not stupid or anything, but I've always wondered about my father, who plays chords on his acoustic guitar etc, and prefers calm and soothing oldies, yet also listens to some classical like Swan Lake (whole ballet), keeps saying I play too complicated stuff and that I don't NEED to play them (what?). When there are guests in my house and I am asked to play for them he usually comments after I finish that I can't play this song and that. I was also playing some theme from a video game a while ago which might have sounded cheesy to him and he told me 'you could play something more soothing to the ear than that song...' and he sang it in a mocking tone. After that I never played it whenever he was around.

[jollisg]

I may have written this somewhere earlier in this thread, but anyways..

"You play so good, you must be a good composer!"

[Bob]

How about this one?

"You're hired!"  Coming from a principal or superintendent, hiring you on to teach an area of music you don't know much about. You've got a music degree, so you can teach any area of music.

[camille101]

"Ohh, you play piano?  Can you play Beethoven's 5th?"
Do I look like an orchestra?