Tuesday, May 05, 2009

A Matter of Taste



I remembered that modern discordant music is not my favorite as I sat in the very front row at the Kennedy Center, literally about 4 feet from the violist. I was close enough to hear the musicians breathe and to feel the contact of their bows with the strings. But the music didn’t speak to me.

A friend who just retired invited me to join him for this concert. He had found an evening of chamber music by a contemporary female composer. She has a very interesting musical background, but knowing him I had a good idea of what sound to expect. With each of the 6 pieces, I was somewhat transported but it was mostly a feeling of agitation as the notes refused to resolve into something pleasant. My favorite piece of the evening was a 3-1/2 minute viola solo, beautifully executed by the principal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, ending with a note that simply faded away for a long time.

This experience made me wonder if we are born to like a particular type of music -- hard-wired so to speak. I certainly didn’t grow up with Bach or Beethoven playing in the background, but it’s those composers who connect with my soul. I like other music, mostly instrumental with the exception of The Beatles. But it’s those classical composers to which I gravitate always.

I’m not averse to listening to other people’s musical favorites, in an effort to be sociable and maybe to even broaden my musical horizons. So with my husband I go hear people mourn their lost loves while strumming guitars. And with my friend Doug I try to see what appeals to him among all those discordant notes.

Then I go home and play my piano and am reminded of what I like best.

What’s your theory about how we come to like what we like? And, by the way, what is your favorite?

12 Comments:

Blogger Kristin said...

With the way some music resonates on such an individual level, I have to believe that we're hardwired. There are songs I felt like I'd always known from the first time I heard them. Then, again, there are also pieces I like for what they represent, for a person or place or time. I always have music on the brain, but I'm not sure what I'd call "favorite."

12:29 PM  
Blogger bulletholes said...

I've seen a pretty good show on PBS that explores Appolonian and Dionesian music. I don't quite understand it, but heres a link to a summmation of Nitzches work and theory of Art and Music.
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/birthoftragedy/section2.rhtml

Me?
I like some madness in my form, and some form in my madness. I like stuff that changes tempo, and goes off on a tangent, only to come back to the beginning.
Eric Whitacre's "October" does that real nicely, I'm always talking about that...

I like it when a tune turns a little unpredictable. Or a lot!
Of course, I like Rock and Roll mainly, because thats what I grew up on and can most readily identify with what the musician is trying to do.
I like rock that is slow...rock that almost drags its feet a little bit with a good backbeat...like Kashmir by Zeppelin, good example.


I think thats what we learn to like....stuff that the musician does that we begin to understand what he is trying to do. I think we learn that, partly from repitition and partly from what we may be predisposed to like...
You like highly formed stuff by your nature...
I like stuff that goes a little nuts...thats my nature.

Oops! Cats out of the bag!

4:00 PM  
Blogger bulletholes said...

oh, another good example abiout what we learn to like...
I don't care for Rap at all, but one day i had a tile job at a residence and the dude kept playin' this same Rap song over and over...
about the fifth time through I suddenly caught on to what the "Artist" was trying to do, what he wanted me to hear from his ears, and suddenly the song came to life for me. I danced in the shower through the whole job!

4:04 PM  
Blogger Steve Reed said...

I think we like what we're used to, for the most part -- not just music we've heard before, but music that fits the tonal definition of what we'd call "music." Know what I mean? That's why discordant music is so tough. It sounds so "unmusical."

Like everybody else, I respond to a good melody. I like a little of everything, from Bach to the Beatles, to yes, "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin. (Since Bulletholes mentioned it above!)

I really dislike twangy modern country -- classic country like Patsy Cline is wonderful, but I will die happy if I never hear Toby Keith again. I'm not into heavy metal at all, or rap -- though some hip-hop like Mary J. Blige or Missy Elliott can be pretty great.

4:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thought-provoking topic (perhaps esp. for me, B!)...I don't presume to know, but my instincts tell me that it's a highly individual thing, and most likely a mixture of nature/nurture, so to speak. And, I've noticed that some personality types seek out music that parallels their temperament (e.g., bulletholes, perhaps?), whereas others prefer music that counteracts or balances their tendencies (e.g., a "Type A" who likes slow New Age piano). I don't know how to summarize my own interests, which include blues, classical North Indian music, some European classical music, New Orleans R&B and funk, gamelan, jazz, some African music, clawhammer banjo, some Latin-American music, traditional Irish music, The Band, The Beatles, Doc Watson, country honky-tonk and traditional country, some Cajun/zydeco, James Brown, Bach, Messaien, Abdullah Ibrahim, etc., etc. I don't tend to think of what "kind" of music I like; it's more a reaction to a particular piece/artist at a particular moment in a particular place...

By the way, "This is Your Brain on Music" (lent to me by a client) has been in my reading stack for three months; I wonder if it'll address this question...

Sorry for such a long comment!

F.

5:19 PM  
Blogger tut-tut said...

I opt for the "chills down my spine" reaction to music. Doesn't happen very often, but when it does, it's transporting.

5:51 PM  
Blogger Waterbaby said...

I like rock, alternative mostly. artists include: Alanis Morresste, Korn, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, Blink 182, Oasis, Nightmare of You, Lifehouse, Green Day, Tool, Nickleback, Queen, The Beatles to name a few. I also enjoy Nelly (From when I was in elementary school) and Eminem. Surprisingly, I also enjoy classical music and wish that I could attend more concerts!

8:15 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

All -- We could have a great musical smorgasbord if you all came to dinner. In just 7 comments, just about everything under the sun is mentioned!

I know for a fact that Kristin could probably listen to her recorded music for about a year without repeating anything.

I would be very surprised if Bulletholes didn't like music that goes a little nuts. I can just see him dancing to rap while grouting the shower tiles.

I agree with Steve about hating country music. But I wonder about the idea that everyone likes a good melody; there were no good melodies in last night's concert and most people applauded really hard.

I want to learn the wealth of musical knowledge that Anon F possesses. She is truly amazing in her breadth of talent. And I think she has found the secret of making music be FUN!

Tut-tut's "chills down my spine" is the only way to describe the perfect connection to a piece of music. Maybe that's a musical orgasm!? :)

WB is so young that she can list artists I've never heard of. But I do love The Beatles and Queen. I need to learn to pay attention to the words though and not just the music.

10:50 PM  
Blogger Cyndy said...

It would be easier for me to list the styles of music I don't like because I like almost everything - except for music that is overprocessed and unnatural sounding, i.e. stuff that obviously has been synthesized in some way. Modern country is kind of annoying, but the old stuff is great. Music with obnoxious lyrics is annoying. Those obnoxious subwoofer bass beats that in "drive-by" music are unpleasant, unnatural, and annoying. If the time feel or groove is not there I probably won't like it, but that has more to do with the performance than the style of music. A bad groove is more intolerable to me than intonation issues. Other than that, I can usually find some redeeming qualities in every style of music, as long as it is played or sung well.

Speaking of intonation, did you know that in Africa they have a scale that contains an interval known as a "neutral third" which is halfway between a major third and a minor third? That note is what the "blue note" in jazz tries to emulate. I never knew about the neutral third until about a month ago. I would have called it an example of "expressive" intonation. Silly me....

12:42 AM  
Blogger red dirt girl said...

I have a great friend who is a professor of musicology. We talked about this once, long ago. In particular he was explaining to me why Pachelbel's Canon is the most popular piece of classical music ever played. He had all the musicology to back him up: chords that humans most responded to etc. Well, for me, he was dead on. The first time I heard the piece I was transported !!

And I tend to be quite varied as far as music goes. I have my phases. I like a lot of what WB likes, actually. And I hated country until I discovered the blue grass tones of Alison Krauss and Nickel Creek ... and then there's Emmylou's Red Dirt Girl ....Joni Mitchell, Carol King, and a young, sassy, Carly Simon....

i'm all over the place. literally and musically!
nice post, B.

xxx
rdm

12:44 AM  
Blogger Kellyann Brown said...

I think we are hard wired to appreciate rhythm and melody. It is the personal taste that determines what we like.

I am as ecclectic about my music as I am about my reading. Here are a few of my favorites:

Gee's Bend spirituals
Hawaiian Tin Pan Alley Music
Lucianno Pavaroti
John Denver
Willie Nelsom
Ukulele musics - Jake Shimabukuro
BareNaked Ladies (Canadian alternative rock)
Johnny Cash
Elvis (of course)
Carly Simon
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Xavier Cugat
The Stylistics
Garth Brooks
Van Morrison
Roy Orbison
Mraz
Tradegdie (French Morrocan Rap)
Bread
Burl Ives
The Carpenters
Dan Fogelberg
El Vez
Gwen Stephanie
Pink
Imua Garza
Helen Reddy
K. D. Lang
Patsy Cline
(and more... sorry to have taken up so much space!)

2:49 AM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Cyndy -- I love the bit about the African scale. I would like to learn more about the neutral third.

RDM -- I didn't realize Pachelbel's Canon was so popular.

Kellyann -- That is a very long list! I expected to see mostly Hawaiian music. :)

11:51 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home