{"id":36250,"date":"2024-01-26T01:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-26T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=36250"},"modified":"2024-01-29T18:18:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T18:18:43","slug":"why-do-people-have-different-tastes-in-music-a-music-education-expert-explains-why-some-songs-are-universally-liked-while-others-arent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-do-people-have-different-tastes-in-music-a-music-education-expert-explains-why-some-songs-are-universally-liked-while-others-arent\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do people have different tastes in music? A music education expert explains why some songs are universally liked, while others\u00a0aren\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jane Kuehne<\/a>, Auburn University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Curious Kids<\/a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why do we have a certain taste in music, different than others? \u2013 Shirya R., age 11<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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When you turn on the radio, you might hear songs you like and other songs you just skip past. But even the songs you don\u2019t like usually have some fans. Maybe you don\u2019t like older music, but your parents or grandparents might love it because they grew up<\/a> with it. It\u2019s familiar and comfortable. When you\u2019re older, you\u2019ll likely return to music you love too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a music education professor<\/a> who teaches music psychology, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time thinking about music preferences and how music weaves its way through people\u2019s brains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some composers produce music with cross-generational appeal<\/a>. Look at the song \u201cTrue Colors,\u201d which artists have remade time and time again. It was originally released in 1986 by Cyndi Lauper<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten years later, Disney World\u2019s Epcot used it as part of a pre-show video<\/a>. Ten years after that, it made its way to our ears again as part of the \u201cTrolls\u201d movie. Now, if you scour the internet, you\u2019ll find lots of covers of this song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can this one song appeal to many different people over time, while other songs do not? Why do some people have wildly different tastes in music, even while certain songs can unite people from a variety of backgrounds and generations? https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3JIpIsgHqV0?wmode=transparent&start=0 \u2018True Colors\u2019 from the movie \u2018Trolls,\u2019 starring Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have looked at how music works in the brain<\/a>. They suggest people like music with unexpected twists and turns, which sometimes cause pleasurable physical reactions<\/a> or chills<\/a>. This finding suggests that humans have created and listened to music over time because it is pleasurable or rewarding<\/a>. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jyG8eWrpQ3Y?wmode=transparent&start=0 When you listen to music, you might get chills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emotions and personality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some researchers suggest people experience emotions through music, or that they choose music based on what they want to feel. A 2011 study<\/a> suggests musical preference may reflect the emotions people feel when listening to music, regardless of the music\u2019s style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people respond to mellow and relaxing music. Others\u2019 emotions are triggered by classical-style music. Still others emotionally react to singer-songwriter music like country, folk and some pop music. Preferences for certain types or styles of music might come from the time and place they\u2019re first heard, or it may simply be specific to each person, regardless of what\u2019s going on around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though people might like certain music at one point in their lives, their music preferences change over time based on their lived experiences. When you\u2019re struggling through a tough time, you might choose music that reflects what you wish was happening and search for happy songs<\/a>. On the flip side, sometimes people gravitate toward sad songs<\/a>. People want to move through grief, so they may search for songs that help them make sense of their emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, people\u2019s choices don\u2019t account for the whole picture. Musical taste goes deeper than the music type or genre<\/a>. People who like pop or rock music don\u2019t all like the same pop or rock music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies on personality and social media interaction<\/a> suggest your musical tastes can tell others what kind of personality you have. If someone knows what kind of music you like, that might tell them something about your personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other research suggests<\/a> your music preferences mirror your unique personality. So, people who already know you may be able to suggest music that you would like to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, those who are more open might prefer mellow, sophisticated music like Billie Eilish\u2019s \u201cWhat Was I Made For?<\/a>\u201d or intense music like Imagine Dragons\u2019 \u201cNatural<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research found<\/a> extroverts may lean toward contemporary music. Agreeable people prefer unpretentious music, like Garrett Kato & Elina\u2019s \u201cNever Alone<\/a>.\u201d Conscientious people lean toward unpretentious music<\/a> or intense music like Marshmello\u2019s \u201cPower<\/a>.\u201d People who are more anxious might prefer many different types of music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People may like music by artists they like, rather than how the music sounds. Some prefer music from artists who are like them<\/a>, especially when they can view their profiles on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does knowing what music others like matter? Knowing about different people\u2019s musical preferences and personalities can bridge gaps between people<\/a> with different personalities and identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The music people stream<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A study of 765 million songs streamed<\/a> by people worldwide revealed several reasons people listen to music. People\u2019s preferences tended to change based on the time of day, their age and particular styles of music. Most people listened to more relaxing music at night but more intense music during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Music streamed in Latin America often produced quicker physical and emotional reactions. Music streamed in Asia was usually relaxing. People who stay up later at night listened to less intense music. Depending on where participants lived, the length of the day also played a part in their music listening habits. In short, people\u2019s environments and their individual moods shaped their preferences. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TOhANADfR04?wmode=transparent&start=0 Harmony in the Brain: Unraveling the Neuroscience of Music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why do we have different tastes in music? People have complex personalities, and the music they like may be related to this. People\u2019s brains work in unique ways as they process music. Some may have a physical reaction to certain music, while others may not. People may like music because a musician\u2019s views might be like their own views. That said, some songs surprise, intrigue and entertain a wide variety of listeners, which makes them universally liked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line? Each person is unique in many ways, and their musical tastes reflect that uniqueness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com<\/a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And since curiosity has no age limit \u2013 adults, let us know what you\u2019re wondering, too. We won\u2019t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane Kuehne<\/a>, Associate Professor of Music Education, Auburn University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jane Kuehne, Auburn University Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you\u2019d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Why do we have a certain taste in music, different than others? \u2013 Shirya R., age 11 When you turn on the radio, you might hear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":36251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[293,8025],"tags":[329,178,6689,6786,730,53,5975,232,2075,228,11767,2793],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36250"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36277,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36250\/revisions\/36277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}