I'm going to play the contrarian here, though I'm from the generation born in the mid-'50s, so had the exposure to the local symphony (Steinberg in Pittsburgh), the music lessons, theory, etc.
A lot of pop music from the era- I suspect any era since the emergence of recorded sound (and perhaps before) -- was pretty banal- fluff, either following a trend or little better than Muzak. A lot of my peers when I was growing up had little interest in music other than the usual party music or the same/same stuff that everyone was listening to at the time- hard rock, whatever was on the radio at the time.
We are a niche- people who are more interested, involved, take time, care passionately about sound and I think are unusual compared to the majority of people.
I meet a lot of young people who have musical training, though very few make a living doing so. Some are classically trained, or went through jazz programs at the university level. I think new music is out there, you may have to wade through a lot of crap, but wasn't it always so?
A lot of pop music from the era- I suspect any era since the emergence of recorded sound (and perhaps before) -- was pretty banal- fluff, either following a trend or little better than Muzak. A lot of my peers when I was growing up had little interest in music other than the usual party music or the same/same stuff that everyone was listening to at the time- hard rock, whatever was on the radio at the time.
We are a niche- people who are more interested, involved, take time, care passionately about sound and I think are unusual compared to the majority of people.
I meet a lot of young people who have musical training, though very few make a living doing so. Some are classically trained, or went through jazz programs at the university level. I think new music is out there, you may have to wade through a lot of crap, but wasn't it always so?