Piano recitals are a sea of J-pop

Each time we go on stage for a presentation, we bear witness to the history of music. And today, once again, that history opens a new page--there is no Chopin or Beethoven. What spreads out before us is the ocean of J-pop.

The first song on stage is "First Love" performed by a woman in her 30s, "Cheers" played nostalgically by a man in his 50s, and the closing song is "Running Into the Night," which runs through the stage with overwhelming passion. It was wonderful. This is what the music school of the new era looks like. This is because pop music is overwhelmingly more in demand than classical music. To begin with, many people who take piano lessons want to play that melody they sang at karaoke on the keyboard, not to beat out Rachmaninoff's "Bells. That is real, that is reality, and that is what mainstream music schools are all about.

The survival strategy of music schools is to adapt to change. Under the rhetoric of "prioritize what the students want to do and let them have fun with music," instructors continue to teach J-pop chord progressions to their students today. The teacher has already realized. The number of students who want to play "Fantasy Improvisation" is decreasing year by year, and they are now demanding to have a stylish sound like "Official Bearded Man-dism.

Where do the classics disappear to?

On the other hand, what are those who aspire to classical music doing? They gradually disappear from the classroom and flee to the world of private professors. Those who are serious about learning Chopin and Debussy can no longer stand the lukewarm atmosphere of the music classroom. For them, the stage of the recital where "Kohlenka" exclaims, is no longer their place.

As a result, the music school becomes a paradise for J-pop music, and classical music is relegated to a closed-off small room. This composition seems to be a throwback to the days when the aristocracy enjoyed court music and the common people hummed popular songs. In this age of seeming democratization of music, cultural hierarchies have in fact reemerged.

Music schools, under the slogan "Let's have fun playing together! is the slogan, quietly forsaking classical music and giving in to the frenzy of J-pop. But behind the scenes, in the lonely private professor's room, Bach's Inventions continue to be played. How ironic this contrast is!

Yes, this is not just a story about a piano recital. This is a story about the future of culture. The choice is left to each and every one of us, whether to listen to the light melodies of J-pop or the distant sounds of classical music.