Jane Kuehne, University of Auburn – Why Do People Have Different Musical Preferences?

Some love a song; others can’t stand it.  But why?

Jane Kuehne, assistant professor of music education at Auburn University, has this music theory.

Dr. Jane M. Kuehne is Associate Professor of Music Education and Graduate Program Officer in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching in the College of Education at Auburn University (in Alabama). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in music education and supervises graduate research. Her teaching focuses on music teaching methods, teaching development lab courses, psychology of music, urban and rural music education, music education technology, music education philosophy, and other areas.

Why Do People Have Different Musical Preferences?

People’s musical preferences is an age-old question. Answering this question can be challenging because music comes in many different forms and styles, and from many different cultures. Still, research can shed some insight.

Each person’s musical preference is unique because, logically, we are all unique. Your personality could be connected to the types of music you prefer. Someone who knows your personality could predict music you might prefer. Your preferences might signal something about your personality to people who don’t know you.

Your musical preferences might start with your emotional, physical, or thoughtful reactions. These reactions may happen independently or simultaneously. Something in a piece of music might strike a certain chord with you emotionally. It might cause a physical reaction, where you get chills, or you have a shiver up your spine, or you get tears in your eyes. Something unpredictable may happen in the music that gains your thoughtful attention. You listen again because you want to figure out what’s happening, why it’s so interesting, why you’re having a reaction, or you want to repeat the reaction.

People choose music for specific reasons. A piece of music might be chosen to more fully engage with an emotion or experience, or to get others to do this. We often see this idea in sports arenas where sometimes certain music is chosen to get the crowd excited, and perhaps to get the athletes excited and more motivated. Those in the arena feel a collective emotional and physical change that happens when certain music is played.

One final thought. In his Ted Talk, Dr. David Greenberg suggests when we listen to music outside of our own cultures and preferences, we begin to see each other as fellow human beings. Rather than focusing on what makes us different, we begin to see what makes us the same.

Read More:
[The Conversation] – Why do people have different tastes in music? A music education expert explains why some songs are universally liked, while others aren’t