Why do some people hate vegetables? I understand about cooked turnips and Brussel sprouts, but spinach and broccoli are great foods. A salad with sweet peppers, cucumbers, celery, tomato, radishes, carrots, broccoli and whatever else you want to throw in is a joy.
Some people have taste buds that reject vegetables. Conceded. It is true. You may have slept through that lesson in science but people actually do have distinctively different tastes for certain things. That explains menudo, nouc mam and kimchi. At the same time I believe many children grow up hating veggies because their parents hated them and never took the time to introduce them in a pleasant way. Sometimes they were prepared in such a way that no one would like them.
In the same way, many hate traditional music because they have never been taught anything about music and are living in the world of jungle music. If all you know is the pounding of a drum then melody is a mystery and harmony is a distraction. Like good coffee, some aspects of music grow on you. What was once considered jarring dissonance has become enjoyable consonance in many cases.
Why do teens hate good music? They have never been civilized. Often they are lazy. Taking a couple of sticks and pounding on any available surface can be a lot of fun. Learning to play a song written in five flats requires a lot of discipline. Is it any mystery why half the kids at my school have a set of drum sticks but don’t know where middle C is located?
The best things in life may be free but even the enjoyment of the stars requires lifting up your eyes. I think of another phrase that was blasted from a coffee advertisement of years ago, “You get what you pay for.” Too many people are unwilling to pay the price for the symphonies of life. Even an infant can pound on the table with a spoon when they are hungry.
Take a lesson. Read a book. Argue a point.
homo unius libri
Nah, too much trouble. That's why I whistle.
ReplyDeleteBut I bet when you whistle there is a melody involved. Usually in the classroom the only whistling heard is a monotone recital offered to irritate the teacher.
DeleteGrace and peace
Jungle music, that's a good one. Even in my youth I never had time for pop music.
ReplyDeleteIf you let them the kids at school would spend their days banging on their desks.
Let them? Try to stop them short of physical violence. And keep in mind that even the ones who cannot recognize a complete sentence seem to be able to tell when the teacher is looking.
DeleteGrace and peace.