Do we really know what "Live" music sounds like?

Here we go again with a post that asks if my listening habits are better than yours. It is now and always should be about the enjoyment of the music. Any way you hear it from any source. If you are listening and enjoying the sound then who cares what others think. Even at a live un amplified performance three people sitting together will hear three different versions. I also like the “musicians” who are on her claiming that since we do not play we have no idea what we are hearing. Yes I would have loved to play guitar but did not have the talent so I was a sound engineer. Believe me their are plenty of musicians who have all the talent in the world but can’t hear squat. It was me who made them sound good.

Of course! If the article weren't so silly, it would be hopelessly pretentious. Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop isn't real music? The Philip Glass ensemble doesn't play real music? And Taylor Swift and MF DOOM and Bob Dylan (rumors are that he went electric), not to mention all the contemporary fusion and hybrid quartets.... And we need to show our bona fides to prove that we're ... *serious* about music?? (For over fifty years I've heard unamplified classical concerts in virtually every major hall in Boston, NYC, and Chicago, so count me in.) And don't get me started on soundscapes and ecomusicology....

I assume that the article is tongue-in-cheek. Of course there's nothing like the Takacs Quartet playing Bartok in a small venue (a pleasure!) or a throaty jazz sax or a fiddle opening up that high, lonesome sound. I'm there, too. But it's absurd to think that one person loves or understand music more than another, just because they've heard unamplified music (or they have a $50k sound system). 

Fun to argue about, though!

Mostly amplified metal and rock shows. All of them sounded better on the record/cd. I'm not into classical/symphony type music but can appreciate it for sure. My daughter who is 6 already loves classical music. That said she is going to be WAY smarter than me or her mom. Maybe that's saying something. 

What I do enjoy live is 1 guy with an acoustic guitar in small bars with no amplification. Saw some really good ones over the years. I think I know what that sounds like. I play acoustic guitar as well but I suck pretty bad!

I was in a rock band from like 17-20. We did some local live shows in Dayton and I played bass. The name of our band was very fitting. Simple. Lol 

It was the very reason I got into selling the stuff. Played trumpet professionally and then got into audio. Always attempting to chase the windmill of producing the energy, dynamics and presence of live music.

Close had to be "good enough".

I think the "visual aspect" of "seeing" someone play an instrument ties in with the sound and I believe part of the reason for failure to duplicate with audio equipment. 

It's more than an "auditory" thing i discovered.

Do we really know what music sounds like?
There are as many different answers to that as there are listeners.
Every succeeding generation finds its following one's music to be lesser, even unlistenable, compared to their own (classic rock perhaps being an exception), so grading the aural qualities (or lack thereof) is difficult.

For many, unamplified classical, bluegrass, jazz, etc is not what they consider music to be at all. This spreads further when you include the plethora of ethnic musics, at times with instruments unrecognizable to those from elsewhere.

On top of these differences, a music reproducing system often is to live music as a photograph is to standing in front of and seeing the subject - a brilliant reflection/approximation at best. As beauty is said to be in the eye of the beholder, music is what is in the ears of the listener.