Resting arousal, sensation seeking, and music preference

Now that I have your attention.

How would you scientifically test whether music genre preferal (given matched indices of deafness, experience and perfect pitch) is a myth?

I’ve been thinking of designs for complicated flowcharts to distinguish between good and bad music, taking into account different preferences for genre, then realised today that I can reduce the flowchart to a single question.

Given such a criterion, I would be very interested in any scientific experiment to test whether genre preferal is a self-reinforcing myth.

Celebration of the Moment

The mythicallity of musical genre preferences seems to me a rather strange hypothesis, but given your definition of good -> bad music, surely the scientific experiment just requires some volunteers, some music, and some music playing equipment.

Deuter – 1972 Aum

Deuter – Silence is the Answer (part 1, 1980)

Klaus Schulze – 2006 Timewind (Deluxe Edition)

I sometimes wonder what my interest in music would be like if I were born 30 years earlier. It seems to me that I was born at the right time for my musical tastes (heavy metal as a teenager, expanding to progressive rock as I got older).

KJW said:

I sometimes wonder what my interest in music would be like if I were born 30 years earlier. It seems to me that I was born at the right time for my musical tastes (heavy metal as a teenager, expanding to progressive rock as I got older).

What did your parents listen to?

I’m a fan of Carpenters because my parents had some of their records.

Divine Angel said:

What did your parents listen to?

My father liked Al Jolson and had numerous 78s of his music. There were some songs of his that I liked as a child. My mother’s taste in music was more varied but 1940s pop was her era. She also had some later music such as Cliff Richard and even The Monkees, which I listened to as a child. She also listened to the radio as I was growing up. Neither were avid listeners of music, and neither liked the music I developed a taste for as I got older.

KJW said:

1940s pop was her era.

Actually, it was probably more 1950s than 1940s because it was when she was working, though I tend to think that it was pre-Rock-and-Roll.

Their music were my toys and I often played them at the wrong speed.

According to my mother, as a young child, I was very fond of the song “My Guy” by Mary Wells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wikXYCFltq8

KJW said:

According to my mother, as a young child, I was very fond of the song “My Guy” by Mary Wells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wikXYCFltq8

Yeah a popular tune when I was growing up.
Just googled her, she died young unfortunately.

Had a listen to this yesterday, hadn’t for a while. Call it a regression. Song’s still in my head.

The Knack, Good Girls Don’t

She’s your adolescent dream
Schoolboy stuff, a sticky sweet romance
And she makes you want to scream
Wishing you could get inside her pants
So you fantasize away
While you’re squeezing her, you thought you heard her saying

Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
But she’ll be telling you
Good girls don’t, but I do

So you call her on the phone
To talk about the teachers that you hate
And she says she’s all alone
And her parents won’t be coming home till late
There’s a ringing in your brain
‘Cause you could’ve swore you thought you heard her saying

Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
But she’ll be telling you
Good girls don’t, but I do

And it’s a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste
An in-between age madness
That you know you can’t erase
Till she’s sitting on your face

You’re alone with her at last
And you’re waiting till you think the time is right
‘Cause you’ve heard she’s pretty fast
And you’re hoping that she’ll give you some tonight
So, you start to make your play
‘Cause you could’ve swore you thought you heard her saying

Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
But she’ll be telling you
Good girls don’t, but I do

And it’s a teenage sadness
Everyone has got to taste
An in-between age madness
That you know you can’t erase
Till she’s sitting on your face
It hurts

Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
But she’ll be telling you
Good girls don’t, but I do
Good girls don’t
Good girls don’t
But she’ll be telling you
Good girls don’t, but I do
But I do
But I do
But I do

With regards to good music versus bad music, consonance and dissonance are objective notions. Yet, this does not help in determining what is good music and what is bad music because many people actually like some dissonance in their music. In other words, one can’t guarantee that the music will be good simply by ensuring that it is purely consonant. For example, I will often reject music that is predominantly in major keys. Thus, what distinguishes good music from bad music can be quite subtle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTm3XeQLCek

Tau.Neutrino said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTm3XeQLCek

then goes outside for a ciggie

Tau.Neutrino said:

Tau.Neutrino said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTm3XeQLCek

then goes outside for a ciggie

over the road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZoPDfOVvT8

KJW said:

With regards to good music versus bad music, consonance and dissonance are objective notions. Yet, this does not help in determining what is good music and what is bad music because many people actually like some dissonance in their music. In other words, one can’t guarantee that the music will be good simply by ensuring that it is purely consonant. For example, I will often reject music that is predominantly in major keys. Thus, what distinguishes good music from bad music can be quite subtle.

Major key music put together by a sensitive composer can be quite rich and complex, evocative of varied moods. But simple “cheery” major key choons can outstay their welcome very quickly.

down further

The Lipstick Killers – Hindu Gods (Of Love)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxWSC_3Q8ME

Tau.Neutrino said:

down further

The Lipstick Killers – Hindu Gods (Of Love)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxWSC_3Q8ME

on Rage

The Riptides – (1979) 77 Sunset Strip

next door

MODERNETTES-“Barbra” HD restored

The Vibrators – Baby Baby (original version)

attic

The Only Ones – Another Girl Another Planet

More…

The Cigarettes – You were so young(1979)

The Radiacs – she’s my witch

Aces Wild – Wild Wild Woman

The Pagans – What’s This Shit Called Love?

Wild Rooster – Flip Flop and Fly

Lydia Lunch – Atomic Bongos

Feels like I have walked into a Tarantino Movie

The Scientists – Swampland

The Baboons – Drinkin’ Gasoline

The Leopards – Down That Line

Bubblecar said:

KJW said:

With regards to good music versus bad music, consonance and dissonance are objective notions. Yet, this does not help in determining what is good music and what is bad music because many people actually like some dissonance in their music. In other words, one can’t guarantee that the music will be good simply by ensuring that it is purely consonant. For example, I will often reject music that is predominantly in major keys. Thus, what distinguishes good music from bad music can be quite subtle.

Major key music put together by a sensitive composer can be quite rich and complex, evocative of varied moods. But simple “cheery” major key choons can outstay their welcome very quickly.

I agree with those. There are limits to how much dissonance I can stand, my usual guide is Prokofiev, more dissonant than that and I don’t like it. Stravinsky’s “Firebird” just squeaks in under the limit. With one exception only – I normally count Messiaen in the “destroy all copies” category but did survive listening – once only – to a live vocal performance of “Poèmes pour Mi”. I even include some of Debussy’s works in the “too dissonant” category. As you’ve probably guessed, I am not fond of Sculthorpe.

There is some traditional music that has dissonance – the gamelan orchestra is the standard example – where the dissonance does not conflict with enjoyment. I’ve heard, but don’t have proof, that there is some traditional ‘a capella’ music from the Caucasus and from Corsica that has dissonances that are not objectionable.

KJW said:

With regards to good music versus bad music, consonance and dissonance are objective notions. Yet, this does not help in determining what is good music and what is bad music because many people actually like some dissonance in their music. In other words, one can’t guarantee that the music will be good simply by ensuring that it is purely consonant. For example, I will often reject music that is predominantly in major keys. Thus, what distinguishes good music from bad music can be quite subtle.

It’s complex and subjective, and appreciation of music is too complex to be explained only in these terms.

IMO most people find some degree of dissonance resolving into consonance to be very agreeable.

“dissonances often play a decisive role in making music pleasant, even in a generally consonant context – which is one of the reasons why the musical definition of consonance/dissonance cannot match the psychophysiologic definition”

wikipedia

>…/cut/….I agree with those. There are limits to how much dissonance I can stand, my usual guide is Prokofiev, more dissonant than that and I don’t like it. Stravinsky’s “Firebird” just squeaks in under the limit. With one exception only – I normally count Messiaen in the “destroy all copies” category but did survive listening – once only – to a live vocal performance of “Poèmes pour Mi”. I even include some of Debussy’s works in the “too dissonant” category. As you’ve probably guessed, I am not fond of Sculthorpe….cut/….”

just had a listen to some Olivier Messiaen, Poèmes pour Mi (Orán/Loriod) on youtube

felt like I was trapped in the piano, with a hungry cat walking up and down the keys (mum and dad’s cat use to do that to get them out of bed)

Peak Warming Man said:

KJW said:

According to my mother, as a young child, I was very fond of the song “My Guy” by Mary Wells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wikXYCFltq8

Yeah a popular tune when I was growing up.
Just googled her, she died young unfortunately.

NHOH so I wiki’d her. She had a pretty tough life and died from pneumonia and cancer.