# musical taste and how it has formed your personality? Share your experience



## Miles120 (Aug 11, 2016)

A good friend of mine is conducting research into musical taste and personalities, and was discussing it with me.

This discussion of his research got me critically thinking about my own musical choice in life, and how it has shaped my 'personality'.

Upon reflection of my childhood, I grudgingly admit that as a child growing up the music I listened too did shape my 'personality'. to some degree. When I say personality, I mean my outward behaviour that people around me observed. For example, as a teenager i really liked Michael Jackson and his music for around a year, and for that year it really subconsciously shaped how i dressed and how i interacted with the world. Only upon reflection of that period have i come to realise the extent of the effect. Around 16 I grew out of 'pop' music, and grew organically into being a firm admirer of Classical and jazz. Years later, both jazz and Classical have stuck with me as firm favourites in musical choice. And yes, to some extent, my post 16 musical choices have influenced my personality somewhat.

Both periods, post and pre 16 years old, my musical choice, upon reflection has in a way shaped my outward personality.

*If anyone cares to share there own experience and thoughts of how music has shaped and formed there personality, do share the experience with us all below.*

Cheers for reading...:tiphat:

p.s, if anyone is interested in participating in my friends online survey feel free to do so. He currently *needs more participants *and i am sure you cultured bunch will give him some interesting analysis into personality and musical taste . I have yet to take the survey, but will when i arrive home later on tonight.

if interested, follow link: https://brookeshls.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe2/form/SV_e5rEEgeRjubAZed


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I think it is the other way around. My personality dictates the type of music I listen to.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm with arpeggio. I seek out music which reflects how I am feeling at that particular phase of my life.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

I found out early on that two of my strong musical preferences--"race music": doo-*** and R&B, and also cante flamenco--put me at an early age out of the range of widely accepted musical norms (we are talking the early 1950s here). But being an outsider did not daunt me in any way; I continued to listen to my musics as I chose, and developed a strong belief in the validity of my preferences. So perhaps we have here an interaction between innate personality and acquired outside tastes.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Manxfeeder said:


> I'm with arpeggio. I seek out music which reflects how I am feeling at that particular phase of my life.


And this is my answer also.


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## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

and I don't seek. It comes naturally. it evolves, no effort from my part and a part of my personality


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2016)

Yes, I _think _it has, though I would also agree that my personality has influenced my taste in music. It's a symbiotic relationship.

Having said that, I can't be sure. I mean, what _is _my personality and what elements of it could I attribute to influencing my taste in music (and vice versa)?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't know if personality has anything to do with interests or taste? I've always wondered what makes us interested in certain things. I have no idea?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

How do you think I answered, this is a poll within a Poll


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## Poodle (Aug 7, 2016)

I like opera so guess


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

MacLeod said:


> Yes, I _think _it has, though I would also agree that my personality has influenced my taste in music. It's a symbiotic relationship...


I agree. I choose music because it matches certain traits in my personality - and then the music shapes me & accentuates those traits.

When I look at what I like in music, it is melody & pattern. I was brought up on Scottish dance music and folk songs with story-like lyrics, and that's what I've stuck with; I was introduced to a lot of baroque music when I learned the violin at school, and I've returned to that in later life.

The traits that it matches up with? I am a logical person who likes order - I have always enjoyed empathising with people in history - I love dance - I have an intensely self-aware mind that enjoys following or indeed merging with the melody and/or lyrics.


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## Miles120 (Aug 11, 2016)

I completely agree with this idea that it is a symbiotic relationship. Very well put MacLeod. 

Very interesting responses and they have been a pleasure to read thus far. 

Thinking about it in light of the different responses, yes perhaps my personality led me to my musical preferences. I quickly grew bored of normal music because everything was very similar and routine- if that makes sense. 

Jazz relies heavily on improvisation; but it is an improvisation born of absolute mastery of one’s instrument. Unpredictable yet unerringly precise. I hate routine and sameness, and thinking about it, yes, perhaps my personality drew me to jazz as oppose to jazz drawing my personality.

Very interesting reading all the different contributions and points....


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

I literally (in the literal use of the word) like music is basically every genre (to whatever degree).

Contemporary classical is my main obsession, and I am 100% proud of it, because it's what I love. 

But my listen habits can contain almost anything that interests me at the time. This can include death metal, bebop, Renaissance music, funk, progressive rock, hip hop, electronic music (non-classical), new age, Punk rock, Thrash metal, Irish folk, Hungarian gypsy music, 50S folk music, psychedelic rock, romantic era classical, smooth jazz, film scores, 80s pop, progressive metal, ska, industrial rock/metal, Italian music, alternative rock, YOU NAME IT!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Xenakiboy said:


> I literally (in the literal use of the word) like music is basically every genre (to whatever degree).
> 
> Contemporary classical is my main obsession, and I am 100% proud of it, because it's what I love.
> 
> But my listen habits can contain almost anything that interests me at the time. This can include death metal, bebop, Renaissance music, funk, progressive rock, hip hop, electronic music (non-classical), new age, Punk rock, Thrash metal, Irish folk, Hungarian gypsy music, 50S folk music, psychedelic rock, romantic era classical, smooth jazz, film scores, 80s pop, progressive metal, ska, industrial rock/metal, Italian music, alternative rock, YOU NAME IT!


l

We wouldn't have guessed that in a million year.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

Pugg said:


> l
> 
> We wouldn't have guessed that in a million year.


2

Sometimes I don't know what you're saying at all, so I'll just post some facts: 

More than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct. As new species evolve to fit ever changing ecological niches, older species fade away. But the rate of extinction is far from constant. At least a handful of times in the last 500 million years, 50 to more than 90 percent of all species on Earth have disappeared in a geological blink of the eye.

Though these mass extinctions are deadly events, they open up the planet for new life-forms to emerge. Dinosaurs appeared after one of the biggest mass extinction events on Earth, the Permian-Triassic extinction about 250 million years ago. The most studied mass extinction, between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods about 65 million years ago, killed off the dinosaurs and made room for mammals to rapidly diversify and evolve.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Xenakiboy said:


> 2
> 
> Sometimes I don't know what you're saying at all, so I'll just post some facts:
> 
> .


Don't get you kickers in a twist man, it's a joke, can't you even smell that?
I should have put a  after my answer.


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## Casebearer (Jan 19, 2016)

Xenakiboy said:


> 2
> 
> Sometimes I don't know what you're saying at all, so I'll just post some facts:
> 
> ...


Interesting you post this. I'm very much into this kind of thing as biodiversity is my main interest apart from music.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Ambient music has made me veeeeery reeeeelaaaaxed.


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