piano stigma

[maestoso]

just wondering. how come whenever my sons friends come over i am playing the piano and i get no feedback really positive or negative, yet when i have my guitar one of his friends say "wow you play guitar that is so cool". i asked my son the the same question i am asking. does piano seem to have a stuffy conservative dinner music stigma attached to it? as for me it saddens me because in my opinion piano is definitely as beautiful as guitar. i guess you just have to be a musician to understand what we feel.

[mad_max2024]

Piano is often associated with classical music, and classical music definitely has a social stigma.
I live in Portugal so I can only speak about what I see here...

It's not about conservative or liberal, most teenage kids believe it is a boring and stuffy thing to listen and will actively reject it in favor of easier and more catchy music like pop or hip hop because it makes them look "cool" among their friends. You used to be a rebel when you liked metal and punk rock, nowadays those things are normal and dominant and real rebels like classical music, since they are shunned and mocked. Usually when they lose the necessity to be "cool" and start actually listening to the music, most people turn to love the piano.

Among adults, a lot people I see at concerts around here don't care the least about the music and only go to them to look classy and important.
They are stupid people who waste time and money for no good reason.
There are a lot of people I find who like piano music though.
I don't think piano has a social stigma, people like bands who use the piano like queen or coldplay and popular stuff like Jerry Lee Lewis or Lil Richard.
But most people shudder at the mention of classical music and will respond instantly that Chopin, Liszt or Beethoven are composers of stuffy and boring music for intellectual elites, even if they never actually heard anything from them, especially kids. It's a prejudice that is deeply rooted into society.

All that matters is that you love playing, you will eventually find other people who share your passion...

[maestoso]

nice answer.  i have played in hard rock bands forever and used to thing that shredding leads on guitar was the most amazing thing. it's still cool but although i really love to write alternative rock music i practice classical, especially romantic era chopin more than anything.rock and metal will always be appealing to me but i will never deny that i love classical.

[overscore]

just wondering. how come whenever my sons friends come over i am playing the piano and i get no feedback really positive or negative, yet when i have my guitar one of his friends say "wow you play guitar that is so cool". i asked my son the the same question i am asking. does piano seem to have a stuffy conservative dinner music stigma attached to it? as for me it saddens me because in my opinion piano is definitely as beautiful as guitar. i guess you just have to be a musician to understand what we feel.

Electric guitar is symbolic of youthfull rebellion and agression. Piano isn't!

It's usually girls who are impressed by piano playing, because piano is perceived as a more feminine instrument.