I have always been concerned at attempts to use classical music as a weapon against young people but, according to this story from The Daily Record, it seems I might have worried too much….
Shop bosses in Scotland tried to use classical music to drive off a gang of teenagers hanging around outside their door – but the kids liked it. The cheeky youngsters got so fond of Mozart, Bach and Vivaldi that they started coming into the store to ask for requests. And bemused staff have now turned the music off for good.
Bosses at the Co-op in Cove, near Aberdeen, installed an expensive sound system and outdoor speaker to bombard the tracksuited gang with classical hits. But yesterday, duty manager Craig Singers admitted: “It didn’t work. We hoped the kids would hate the classical music so much that they wouldn’t come anywhere near us. But it had the opposite effect. They grew to like it.”
“On nights when the music wasn’t playing they would come into the shop and ask why it wasn’t on. That wasn’t what we wanted to happen. We’ve decided to stop playing the music now because there was no point.”
It supports what I have always believed – that everyone can learn to loveclassical music if they have the opportunity to hear it. But I can’t help feeling a little saddened at the comment that there was no point in playing the music any more because young people had grown to like it.
You can read the full story at the Daily Record.
ha ha ha… good tactic
great post as usual!