How experience and algorithm affect our music taste
Written by Haiza Putti | Read in Indonesian
Each individual, with their unique backgrounds and thoughts, has unique choices when it comes to music. In fact, the taste in music between friends can be very different. So, how does a person's taste in music develop?
Apparently, our bodies carry out complex processes every time a piece of music is heard. The complex order of musical sounds is captured in the form of sound wave vibrations by the ear, then translated in the brain. Daniel Levitin in his book "This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession" said it's not only the auditory cortex that processes sound in the brain.
At least ten areas of the brain, including the sensory cortex, nucleus accumbens and amygdala, are stimulated by and process music. Each part of the brain plays an important role in building our experience of enjoying music.
Music has also become an important part of human civilisation, especially in communication. "Why You Like It: The Science and Culture of Musical Taste" (2013) author Nolan Gasser revealed that before we had spoken language, prehistoric humans communicated with musical sounds, known as “The Singing Neanderthal”. The oldest musical instrument is a 60000 BC Divje Babe flute found in a cave in Slovenia.
Each set of tones produces a character that is unique to each other. According to the mathematical Greek music theory, Gasser stated that each primary interval of music produces a physical response. The theory Gasser is referring to is the octave ratio (2:1), perfect fifth ratio (3:2) and perfect fourth ratio (4:3).
He said the harmonic tunes come from the strongest natural sounds. They also developed into happy major and drifting minor sounds. Therefore, he said, music assessment is a natural collective judgement.
More than collective consciousness, there are several factors that are thought to influence an individual's taste in music. Geographical factors, formative years, identity politics and technology also play an important role in shaping one's musical taste.
Different regions, different cultures, different tastes
Associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Josh McDermott, stated that consonants have dominated Western music. Eventually, it resulted in a collective assessment that consonants which are characterised with the classical combination of C and G notes and chords give a sense of comfort and happiness, while dissonant tones give a sense of tension and fear.
Together with professor at Brandeis University Ricardo Godoy, McDermott conducted experiments on people from other parts of the world, namely Bolivia. The research found that Bolivian people categorised both consonant and dissonant tones as “pleasant” sounds.
"So I know that preference can at least be modulated by experience. However, it was surprising to see the level of variation across cultures," McDermott said.
Sandra Trehub of the University of Toronto-Mississauga argued that McDermott's assessment lacks references. Even so, the findings prove that the geographic scope that influences cultural differences plays an important role in an individual's musical taste.
Music during childhood gives comfort, music during teenage years shows attitude
Gasser said that in the first six months or so of a baby's life, they are able to learn the syntax of any musical style. Babies are also proven to be sensitive to changes in the music playing around them. This statement is reinforced by Trehub who has studied babies and music, saying that babies tend to like familiar music and sounds.
The type of music that a child is exposed to will become safe music for them, said Gasser. As we grow older, mainly due to teenagers’ desire to “rebel”, we will begin to formulate our own musical tastes.
Just as the formative years determine a child's ability to understand language, there is also a critical period for learning one's musical taste: it starts at 14 and peaks at 24. During this time interval, a person's identity and social group begin to strengthen, and their aesthetic preferences begin to be challenged.
Daniel Levitin, director of the Laboratory for Music Perception, stated, "Fourteen is sort of a magic age for the development of musical tastes. Pubertal growth hormones make everything we're experiencing, including music, seem very important. We're just reaching a point in our cognitive development when we're developing our own tastes. And musical tastes become a badge of identity.."
Music as a reflection of the mindset and persona
Each genre of music ranging from keroncong, pop, classical, jazz, R&B to punk is able to reflect the listener's self. Peter Rentfrow and Samuel Gosling of the University of Texas in 2003 said fans of a musical genre fall into a unique musical preference dimension.
Rentfrow and Gosling's research divided human musical preferences into four distinct dimensions. First, reflective and complex music which include jazz, classical and folk. Next is intense and rebellious music, such as rock, punk and alternative. Third, upbeat and conventional music, namely pop and soundtrack. Lastly, energetic and rhythmic music, including hip-hop, funk, soul and electronic.
Each of these dimensions is claimed to be a reflection of the listener's level of tolerance and political ideology. For example, those who listen to optimistic and conventional music tend to be extroverted and cheerful, but have low levels of emotional stability and underdeveloped verbal skills. On the other hand, fans of reflective and complex music tend to be intelligent, tolerant and have liberal social views.
A study by David M. Greenberg in 2015 stated that music taste reflects a person's mindset. Highly empathetic individuals are said to prefer soft and reflective music, such as folk, country and R&B. On the contrary, systematic thinkers like complex, intense music with a higher sonic, such as the Beastie Boys and Miles Davis.
However, as time goes by, humans develop and begin to realise the importance of building a persona as an accurate reflection of their personality and values. A 2007 study by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic found a person's tendency to discriminate between the music they actually listen to and the music they say they like. "That is because people realise that liking certain music is linked to certain values and personalities," said Chamorro-Premuzic.
Willis's (1978) research found that a person's musical preference comes from their class background. For example, rock 'n' roll and progressive rock was favoured by middle class workers, motorcycle enthusiasts and hippies in the early 1970s.
However, Frith's (1981) research challenged class-based readings like Willis. His analysis found that musical preferences are built on aesthetic choices and collective judgments about certain cultural ideas and musical intrinsic values.
A mouthful of appetising algorithms
Technological developments have influenced our behaviour and thinking, including our taste in music. The algorithms of digital music platforms amplify our music preferences while expanding them at the same time.
Gasser also said that the streaming platform, in this case Pandora, builds the “DNA” of our music through recommendations. Spotify does the same thing, providing daily recommendations in the form of Daily Mix, Discover Weekly, Daily Drive, as well as Release Radar which help us play our favourite songs with surprises of new songs from various artists.
Taste is built on the accumulation of complex and subjective human experiences and thoughts. At the same time, collective consciousness that we may be unaware of also plays a role. Although this explanation may only cover a handful of discussions regarding the origin of a person's musical taste, at least the cliché "a person's music playlist reflects that person's personality" is true.