Twitter and What I Found There

aldern82, "Dallas Symphony Orchestra- The Musicians" 07/08/2007 via flickr.com
Public Domain Dedication License

Music performance is not the most common major, least to say the most common twitter hashtag. Most of the feeds that I discovered and explored are for world famous orchestras such as the London Symphony or the Berlin Philharmonic. People are talking about #musicperformance in regards to performances of great and impressive orchestras, but also in regards to more popular artists and the concerts they give.

• What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.

• When people engage in conversation about seeing an orchestra perform great works by Debussy and Tchaikovsky, they talk about the virtuosity of the first violins, of the beautiful tone of the french horns. They talk about the wonderful opportunity that has been bestowed upon them. The same goes for those who are discussing artists like Ed Sheeran or Lana Del Rey. These musicians have made a difference in so many lives, and their talent revels those like Joshua Bell and Itzak Pearlman, just in different genres

• In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.

• In the Berlin Philharmonic twitter feed, there are many links to "digital concerts" where even the average joe can tune in to see the wonderful symphony perform. However, the most interesting link I found was to the Berlin Philharmonic's article on Wilhem Furtwängler for his 130th birthday. It was great to be linked to such complete and thorough information. While looking in Ed Sheeran's feed, I found numerous links to Instagram posts showing a deeper and friendly side of him. The best posts I found, however, were a series of texts posts discussing the release of his television show, The Bastard Executioner. His earnest excitement only emphasizes the effect that he has on individual lives.

• Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

• My discipline is usually concerned with the fineness and beauty of classical music and orchestral playing. Much of the discussions talked about things not necessarily discernible to the average person. It all seemed rather "stuck up". However, in my opinion, it is entirely possible to enjoy both sides of the spectrum (Classical to Popular) without having to be entirely familiar with it.