art music

My partner is currently working towards a BA in music. As someone who enjoyed my music A level and considers themselves a musician, I delight in hearing about what she's been studying and trying to contextualise it with what little I've picked up. It so often enriches my music making with new context, history or analytical understanding.

One day we were talking about classical music's difficulties in the modern music scene when she said something that gave me pause.

It's called Art Music in academia.

Okay. A rebranding. I don't think anyone disagrees that having Classical music be just one part of classical music is confusing, so maybe this is a good thing.

Art Music.

By calling it Art, we admit to considering everything else not-art. That can only be a snub.

The classical music community is often seen as a bunch of snobs who think their music is better and more high-bred than everyone else's. Saying only your own music is Art is just adding fuel to the fire.

Also, it doesn't make any sense. Look me in the eye and tell me that every one of the more than three hundred chorales churned out by Bach are more Art than Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells or Taylor Swift's Shake It Off. I dare you.

This terminology is damaging and I hope it never makes it to widespread adoption. Many of my fellow musicians are putting significant effort into breaking down the exclusionary habits of the classical community. ^[0] It would be a tragedy if their efforts were vandalised like this.