Why do we differ in our music preferences?

Some people like classical music, others like rap, others rock. There are so many other genres and sub-genres to those genres. Some people prefer heavy beats, others despise beats altogether. For some people, it's necessary that a song have lyrics. To others, the music is more important. Some people need to hear a guitar, while others enjoy simple piano melodies. And there are more subtle variations I don't know if I'm capable of recognising consciously.

So, the question is, what are the reasons that we differ in our music preferences? Do certain personality types enjoy particular types of music, or is music preference a result of virtually random brain chemistry that doesn't have much to do with personality?

Some people just have a natural propensity to be wrong.

I like this topic. We all have undergone a variety of outside influences that has contributed to our personal preferences which molds our personalities. Everyone has different taste and no two people will have the exact same taste in everything. I think the largest influence would be one in part, the cultural/social environment an individual is raised within. (hence the term, "I was raised on this type of music") It is that very same environment that supplies the meaning to the variety of genres we have (or don't have) for the individual listener. However, a diverse set of factors also contributes a major part in shaping who we are and underlining our taste preferences. (i.e, cultural identity, age, peers, background, social environment and a variety of personal experiences that relates to certain stages and events that has played major influential factors in our lives which has significant meaning to us). Considering personality types are not mutually exclusive, most of us are a complex combination of many many traits and these traits overlap each other and each exerts a certain influence over us and the result is the infinite variety of preferences we see and our eventually exposed to shaping more of our personality and taste.

I guess in short different music has different meanings to different people. It's the meaning invoked by listening to (and being that type of person that listens to) a type of music that results in individual preferences.

However I do believe 2 people with the same personality type might not like the same type of music either. I guess it depends heavily on what type of music you came in contact first, what music you grew up listening to, and probably what you are looking for in a music too.

I establish connections better with people than with music. Therefore the singer singing the song is much more important to me. I could have a whole library of songs all by the same singer. :content:

I believe one of the biggest factors in choosing music, for a lot of people, is social stigma. When I was younger, I showed metal to my brother, and he never really commented on the actual music, he focused much more on things like what the artists looked like and what the fanbase is like. I've found exactly the same trend in a friend of mine as well. When I mention Slayer, he immediately goes on about how all fans of Slayer are 12 year olds.

For me, there isn't much music I don't listen to. Before I started listening to metal, I always thought of it as "some guy just screaming", I didn't actually listen to it, I just imagined the guy standing there looking dumb, and that was enough to turn me off from listening to it.
Most people are capable of liking most music, we just have to put our prejudice aside.

Music can still be bad though. Complete lack of harmony is usually the best way to quickly spot bad music. Good examples are Rebecca Black with her "Friday" song, or Blackout Band.

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Originally Posted by Marvo

Music can still be bad though. Complete lack of harmony is usually the best way to quickly spot bad music. Good examples are Rebecca Black with her "Friday" song, or Blackout Band.

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I'm not much of an English music listener. But I don't understand what's with all the hate on "Friday". She sounds okay to me, not the best, not the worst. The other one is just horrible.

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Originally Posted by Carrot

I'm not much of an English music listener. But I don't understand what's with all the hate on "Friday". She sounds okay to me, not the best, not the worst. The other one is just horrible.

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It's mostly the fact that there's no real talent behind her singing. It's all autotuned. Her live performances sound completely different. The lyrics are a joke.

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Originally Posted by Marvo

It's mostly the fact that there's no real talent behind her singing. It's all autotuned. Her live performances sound completely different. The lyrics are a joke.

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But you've got to admit, she's not the worst.

I still don't get how she became infamous. If her singing is that terrible, why are there still people listening to her videos?

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Originally Posted by Carrot

But you've got to admit, she's not the worst.

I still don't get how she became infamous. If her singing is that terrible, why are there still people listening to her videos?

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I did not say she was the worst.

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Originally Posted by Marvo

I did not say she was the worst.

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Pardon me, I've misinterpreted it.

I think most of it is in some sort of social context. What your group of friends shares to be "cool" and how you interpret the lyrics to relate to your life are important factors in what you would like in music. I noticed that if someone shares a band with me that I wouldn't otherwise have really liked finding on my own and puts it in a certain context like "imagine this when your listening to it" or just indirectly, it puts life into it, and I enjoy the actual music more than I would have otherwise. It seems to be common that bands have an obvious turn-off trait to the average listener, and the only way you can really access the music is to get over this by some sort of context. I got over metal vocals early because my group of friends were metal heads, and there was a sort of esoteric appeal to it I guess. Once I got over the vocals in this context, and even started liking it, the music was open for untainted observation. There are horrible metal bands, many, but the good ones have some seriously awesome instrumental work in all dynamics and very profound lyrics. I also listen to a lot of progressive rock, which is another good example. The high pitched voice of bands like Rush and Yes definitely turned me off when I first heard them, but after reading the lyrics I couldn't look back, now they're some of my favorite bands lol. Sharing in Xei's attitude a little bit, I do often think there is an objective aspect to it. Some music is actually music... actual melodies, dynamical and well thought out compositions, while other "music" is just beats and excessively repetitive lyrics that seem like pure reptilian brain products lol. To answer your question, I think it's mostly about how you interpret the music to relate to your own life and a sort of objectiveness that the artist inevitably reveals about themselves in their creations that resonate with you.

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Originally Posted by Dianeva

Some people like classical music, others like rap, others rock. There are so many other genres and sub-genres to those genres. Some people prefer heavy beats, others despise beats altogether. For some people, it's necessary that a song have lyrics. To others, the music is more important. Some people need to hear a guitar, while others enjoy simple piano melodies. And there are more subtle variations I don't know if I'm capable of recognising consciously.

So, the question is, what are the reasons that we differ in our music preferences? Do certain personality types enjoy particular types of music, or is music preference a result of virtually random brain chemistry that doesn't have much to do with personality?

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I can tell if I like a type of music from what I grew up on and what's familiar, but I do find myself liking songs that I wouldn't consider my music genre. If a song strikes an emotional spark in me...I like it...I don't really know if it has to do with randomness or personalities, but a part of it must. Maybe it goes beyond that. We are all unique. Maybe it's more than a brain thing. Maybe there doesn't have to be an explanation for it. :cheeky:

Personally, I grew up on "gangsta rap" and hardcore hip hop. I was exposed to the likes of N.W.A, Tupac, Wu Tang Clan, etc at a very early age since that's what all my older cousins were listening to and we all hung out a lot. I picked up on what they were into and kind of went with the flow. Listening to rock was kind of frowned upon because it was "for the white folks" according to everyone I knew so I didn't really get into that because of the social stigma (although I did kind of like Nirvana and Korn).

I didn't really start branching out until I came across a group called Bone Thugs N Harmony, and eventually a similar artist named Tech N9NE. Both BTNH and Tech N9NE are known for making an effort to go against the grain and they've taken inspiration from a myriad of genres ranging from country to jazz to metal and so on. Because of them, I was introduced to a myriad of musical stylings and then I kinda broke out of my shell and started diving into other genres.

Personality also has a lot to do with it though. I'm rather lethargic laid back so I prefer smooth, easy listening like g-funk and smooth jazz. For that same reason, I can't stand that super-upbeat techno/dubstep stuff.

I also want to be able to relate to the lyrics, which is why I can't stand music like that garbage Lil Wayne puts out where he brags about how pampered and rich he is. If the lyrics are oversimplified, that's a turn off as well.

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Originally Posted by Xei

Some people just have a natural propensity to be wrong.

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I agree to some extent. As Wayfaerer said, some songs just aren't very well thought-out, are too simple, are not really music. But even while considering only music that is well thought-out, people will have different preferences. I often see comments on youtube videos that go something like "anyone who doesn't like this song has no soul," and I understand entirely where they're coming from. Some songs sound so incredible to me, I can't imagine that a human who experiences emotion anything like that which I experience could possibly dislike it. But it happens. And I've felt that about songs which I eventually stop liking.

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Originally Posted by Wayfaerer

I got over metal vocals early because my group of friends were metal heads, and there was a sort of esoteric appeal to it I guess. Once I got over the vocals in this context, and even started liking it, the music was open for untainted observation. There are horrible metal bands, many, but the good ones have some seriously awesome instrumental work in all dynamics and very profound lyrics.

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A lot of people hate metal, but it of course isn't objectively terrible. Some of it is amazing to me, some of the most emotional music I've listened to. The beauty is there. But for some reason, most people just can't see it. I too hated the vocals at first, it just sounded like screaming to me. I didn't have anyone I knew who listened to it, I just found it on my own. I don't remember how.

I suppose I agree with a lot of the posts here, that music preference has a lot to do with our personalities and what we can relate to. But I think it can be very, very subtle, indescribable. Two people might seem to share every personality trait yet like different music, because their conscious experiences with their lives are different, their lives' atmospheres differ. And that difference might be undetectable with anything besides music.

Right now I like so many different types of music it's ridiculous, and keep finding more every day. I've never liked what I was raised with, strangely. My parents listened mostly to rock music, and I've never liked that. That's another thing, association. I associate extreme arrogance with that AC/DC type of voice, so I hate almost all rock music from that era, and don't think I'll get over it. I also hate guitar solos for the same reason.

I think music preference stems from how its perceived. A culmination of the factors that everyone has been naming off leads up to the final perception. I personally don't pay attention to the fanbase or the artist, it just happens to be the case more often that the same artist(s) happen to make more quality music in comparison to others, which leads me to explore more of their albums than others. For the most part, I like music on a song-based level. I can hate a band almost entirely but still like one or two of their songs, they could even be my favourite songs. For the most part I don't dislike music based on genre, but generally I can't stand country, nor can I stand christian rock. For me, the more modern the music, the more obscure the artist tends to be. Popular songs usually sound like garbage to me, in most cases if I happen to like one, it's only saving grace is that it's catchy and nothing more. Ever increasingly the "popular" songs seem to get worse and worse to me--something that I hated that I would hear on the radio two years ago I would listen to in a heartbeat over what is playing now. Good music is being made, but it isn't being listened to by mainstream society, which I am perfectly okay with. The further music gets back though, I tend to like the bands you usually hear things about, though still some more obscure ones here and there. I also really enjoy classical music.

Examples of bands I like and listen to often: Modest Mouse, Minus the Bear, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Coldplay, Gorillaz. Today's rap I can't stand, considering it's usually the same song wrapped in different packages, or what I usually hear comes from what I call "fad rappers," who seemingly show up out of nowhere and then after one or two albums are unheard of again (just listen to the lyrics, not everyone can be next big thing with 12 Ferrari's sitting in their garage cuz they be gettin that money, jesus--not to mention, in the scheme of things, none of these materialistic things really hold any sort of value). Older rap I'm generally okay with, but only some of it. I also like listening to skrillex, but I don't really like dubstep other than that--most is just generic remixes of popular songs. As far as classical, I like Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach, some of Beethoven, and some of Chaikovsky. I don't listen to a lot of classical, but it can be really nice for a change. What I usually look for in music is expression. I want to feel what the artist's experience was that led to the inspiration for creating that piece. Even if what I feel is different than what was felt by the artist, the fact that I feel or relate at all is what makes it good. Usually this tends to be more depressing songs (a la Modest Mouse or Zeppelin), but not always. I also like psychedelic/trippy music. Really I like anything I feel I can appropriately label as music.

In the middle of writing this post, I realized what you like in music also depends on what you're wanting to get out of it. If you're trying to pass time, you might not care for quality as much, or if you're trying to feel a rush maybe some fast-paced music. If you like background noise, have something playing low and isn't too attention-grabbing, or you may even just like using music as a medium for socializing. In my case, I love the fact that music can convey or beget emotion, spur creative and abstract thought, even tell a story through the instruments alone (although I usually like to think of the voice as an instrument itself). This is why I listen, and why I believe music is a phenomenon I too often underrate and under-appreciate. It's the clearest example of beauty I can think of, a combination of nature and man so potent that it becomes something nearly spiritual, the only thing I'd consider spiritual in my life. A mastery of physics and human taste and emotion, pressure waves produced in such a way that it can literally change my outlook on life all on its own.

With a large dose of cynicism (as well as a childhood filled with music-related things, learning instruments, being in choir and band, etc.) I cannot stand hearing music that is autotuned to make someone sound "good." There's something about the robotic nature of it that irks me, it's obnoxious and makes me sad that people with REAL talent are overlooked for autotuners. To me, it's lying/cheating (others may disagree.)

I don't know exactly what made me like the music I do; I listen to a lot of piano, alternative, alternative rock, electronica, and a few select "pop stars" who have good voices (Pink, Sara Bareilles, etc.) But something about autotune just makes me feel awful inside and pushes me away.

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Originally Posted by ThePreserver

With a large dose of cynicism (as well as a childhood filled with music-related things, learning instruments, being in choir and band, etc.) I cannot stand hearing music that is autotuned to make someone sound "good." There's something about the robotic nature of it that irks me, it's obnoxious and makes me sad that people with REAL talent are overlooked for autotuners. To me, it's lying/cheating (others may disagree.)

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I think most of the applications of autotune we're familiar with are pretty obnoxious, but then there's always that possibility that something can be put in a very unique direction. Here's an example, you might not have heard anything like this before. It's heavily autotuned but I thinj it's kinda nice. Then again I can see how someone would find it super-obnoxious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60tTSQJc7VQ

That's not bad, actually. Because it's not being used to fake anything. (I figured out another thing that bugs me... when you can tell they "edit" out breathing. Breathing is part of speaking/singing, so hearing it just makes it sound ... complete to me. Otherwise it feels a little emptier.)

Once my band has completed our first Dub-Rock album, this thread will be irrelevant for there will be but one good genre of music.

I grew up on my dad's collection of classic rock, and I still have a special taste for that kind of music, but not as much as I used to. More than genres, though, I like music that actually goes somewhere throughout the songs, ie, more than 3 or 4 chords repeating over and over again. Billy Joel is great with this, probably because he is so influenced by classical music, which goes all over the place. My dad never really liked Billy Joel so I never grew up listening to him (except on the radio sometimes), but now I'm hooked, so I don't think social/environmental factors contribute much ultimately to your musical tastes. I like all kinds of electronic music as well. To me, lyrics are of little importance compared to the music (well, some importance).

I also like when songs 'go somewhere'

On a related note, I've recently been having a problem while listening to music. I can't seem to listen to an entire song, with the exception of songs that have amazing choruses. After a song has passed whatever I view to be its climax, and starts repeating a chorus or whatever other form of resolution, I'm bored by it and turn it off. This has been happening with every genre of music.

Lyrics are sometimes important to me, other times not. Some songs I like almost solely for the lyrics, others almost solely for the music and others for some combination of the two.

I might as well bring up that for many years now I've used music as a way to alter my emotional state slightly. This itself is a very subtle business and must be done correctly in a way that only I, with direct access to my emotional potentials at any given time, can figure out. For example, let's say I'm feeling severe depression. I could not just listen to happy music right away. That would succeed only in annoying me and it would sound like crap. What I'll do is, start off by listening to some music that feeds my depression but perhaps has a hint of anger in it. After one or two of those songs, I'll still be depressed, but feel a hint of anger and determination. I'll continue to listen to songs, maybe 5 or so, each which has a little more anger or determination than the last. Finally, that feeling will be exaggerated. When I'm ready, I might decide to listen to a song with a similar mood to the last but which has a little less depression in it and replaces it with some emotional detachment. I can continue this if I want to feel emotionally detached, and then gradually switch to music with some other emotional state. I can gradually work my way into happy music, determined music, angry music, thinking music, anything I want to feel. Does anyone do anything similar?