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Not everyone takes the time to gaze at the night sky.

True, yet everyone has their own positive metaphorical relation to the unappreciated beauty of excellent music.

Not everyone has a night sky to gaze at.

Hindemith eats tacos filled with strictly forbidden.

Someone lied to you. See deceptive cadence.

Do we write for ourselves or for others? I do both. Some of my pieces I write as a kind of... masturbatory effort, I guess? Just because I like to hear myself think on paper? I'll come up with my favorite harmonies and really hard rhythms and all kinds of stuff. Then, when I am writing for others, I am mindful of the level of difficulty/choice of harmony/melody/etc. to make sure it is appropriate for the medium and occasion.

I don't think any musical style is inherently "better" than another. We are attracted to the familiar, and we can't discern the nuances in a style we are unfamiliar with, so we don't appreciate it as much. If someone never listens to classical music, all they can hear is how it is different from the music they do listen to. Not the differences between different classical composers. And I can't hear the differences between today's pop artists, because I tend to avoid that station on the radio. It's a case of needing to get your ears and your experience adjusted. If I was willing to sit through the sofa commercials to listen to some of it, I'd probably grow to like some of it. As it is, I'd take Nina Simone or Billie Holiday over most of it. But my mom was right, I tried asparagus enough times, and I did actually learn to enjoy it. Used to make me gag.

Here's the thing: from thoso people's perspective, what's music for? For some people it's just a way to get some distraction, a background for another activity, a rhythm for dancing, or a highlight for movies and television. For us, musicians, composers, it means something much bigger and much more independent. For us, music itself can be enough, while most of "non-artist" people tend to need something else, like a movie, a scene, a diner, lyrics (especially these). They don't know music as the art we know. One source for this problems is found in musical education at schools. As these subjects (not only music, but arts in general) don't have a proper treatment (if any), those people will grow up with no intimate contact with music. It will only serve as a tool for other things. Of course this is not absolute; many people who were not stimulated at school will eventually become music lovers (I am an example of this).

I'm not sure I exactly understand the question here. But I can relate to you. Not many of my friends are interested in classical music and they want me to listen to their dub step and what not even though that's not my cup of tea. Then somehow they think it makes me closed-minded and snobby. I can't claim to understand what makes some people call Skrillex a genius while shunning Beethoven. I just ignore them and remain secure in my own passion. I find that they listen to music that speaks to the part of their ego that they value most. People like throbbing bass lines or primal/carnal lyrics because it appeals to the part of them that should be wearing a loin cloth and dancing around a fire(the 'id' so to speak). Nothing inherently wrong with that. Some of us like to listen to music that appeals to the super-ego. Some of us listen to it all. To each his own, I guess.

"do you listen to anything normal?" AHHH

This is an issue I think about all the time especially as it relates to music. What is truth? When people ask me "what music do you like?" and I tell them classical some people have told me "do you listen to anything normal?" and some even advise me that I should "broaden my taste" and listen to more than just classical. This can get under my skin especially since classical music incorporates over 700 years of music that couldn't be any more diverse and "broad". To know classical music is to truly know what "broadening one's taste" really means! But this is what really gets me. There are Beethoven string quartets that have put my whole being into aesthetic arrest by how profound and beautiful they are. That this same quartet can simply be noise to someone else seems impossible to me. To then be told that I should "broaden my taste" and listen to something else feels like my soul has died inside of me. I can gather this much; the truth is not everyone will hear music in the same way and not everyone will hear it as I do; I can live with this. But it is still equally true that there does exist music which has an effect on me that is nothing short of divine; and THAT is truly something I could not live without. Thoughts?

I feel the same. It's tragic to wake up everyday knowing that most the people I'll ever meet, if everybody for the rest of my life, will never know why I cried at the end of Tristan und Isolde - and why I'll never cry at the end of The Resistence. Not for any personal reason; but because the music itself was so overwhelming, and at the time I couldn't imagine any other kind, as though it were the first art I'd ever perceived. Sadly I've not even found many classical folk to hold up that feeling with: less Wagner today, and more Eric Whitacre. But, oh well.

There are people born who die never knowing music. Their stories tend to be tragedies that your statement disregards.

Yeah, I can be a little long winded at times. Sorry about that.

Sauteed in butter with chopped garlic and some salt and pepper.

Stop caring about what other people think. In general, other people are idiots.