Music tastes

[ChewyBeans]

I get fed up by some people who say metal is the only good music and so on....

So I was wondering if there was a scientific explanation as to what caused this?

[Phi for All]

Audiometric testing might suggest that they have a mutated hearing threshold. We could experiment further and make a metal fan tell us the words to a song without using the lyrics sleeve.

[iNow]

I get fed up by some people who say metal is the only good music and so on....

So I was wondering if there was a scientific explanation as to what caused this?

From a very high level, we tend to think that the stuff we like is better than the stuff we don't like. After all, we would like it if we thought it was good.

 

It gets a bit broader sometimes when extending through our tribal mindsets... mindsets which evolved to strengthen pack hunting and group survival in the past several hundred thousand years. We tend to associate and form groups with like minded individuals, and we tend to exclude others from our group who have a different mindset... or, we exclude those who like different things. From an evolutionary standpoint, there are several selection pressures for why this used to be a good thing, but which don't apply with as much relevance today.

 

As for why people like some music and not others, it's a combination of things... genetics and experience... nature and nurture. Sometimes, we can associate with one type of music over another. Sometimes, we can more readily relate to one type over another, or one group over another, or one singer or artist over another. Sometimes, we have a vision in our mind about what the music means, what it represents, and what it symbolizes in our society, and we want to be associated with that symbolism. We identify with it... we define ourselves by it...

 

There are many reasons for why we like what do, dislike what we do, and would say such things as the above.

 

My immediate impression, though... When people say things like "metal is the only good music," you should understand that they are saying something very narrow minded.

 

It's okay that they enjoy this type of music, but other people might enjoy other types of music. So what? That's really the question to ask them... "Why does it matter that I like something else? Oh yeah... It doesn't. Never mind."

 

Further, it's not like these people saying these things have heard every single type of music on the planet, so their comment is really quite silly. They're working from a small sample... a tiny dataset... a nonrepresentative population of the world's music... and are really doing little more than trying to reinforce an "us/them" group mentality, and likely are covering some deeper insecurity they have. After all, if they were truly secure in their tastes and preferences, they'd likely not feel the need to argue so ardently on their behalf. They'd just enjoy what they enjoy and go on about their day. The fact that they say, "It's the only good music" suggests that they feel the need to defend their choice.

 

Another answer on what causes this? Immaturity, ignorance, and lack of experience with other fine things in life. Or, maybe they're just used to being picked on or ridiculed for their choice in music, and so preempt attacks by initiating some of their own.

 

In short, it depends on the person and the circumstances.

Edited November 7, 2011 by iNow

[CharonY]

There are studies that suggest that music preference is largely learned. Certain types of music are associated with certain emotions, for instance. There was a nice documentary (on Nova, I think) in which the brain activity of a researcher was measured, who loved Bach. When hearing that music large parts of the brains flared up. In contrast, listening to Mozart did little to overall activities.

Of course the mode of association may transcend music styles, and for each person there may be different elements of preference. As with many things, the likelihood is high that much of it is based on early exposure.

 

That being said, studies on toddlers indicate that very early on there appears to be a general preference for loud and fast music, that may get refined later.

I do not recall all the lit, but some interesting stuff is here;

 

Lamont, Ann NY Acad 2003

Huotilainen et al. Ann NY Acad Sci 2009

Edited November 7, 2011 by CharonY

[iNow]

There was a nice documentary (on Nova, I think) in which the brain activity of a researcher was measured, who loved Bach. When hearing that music large parts of the brains flared up. In contrast, listening to Mozart did little to overall activities.

It was actually Beethoven that failed to jiggle his giggle.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/mind-for-music.html