What we decide to listen to is a bit like what we decide to wear, it reveals a lot about us, our tastes and our personality. In the choice of a musical style we project the salient aspects of our character and our personal history and this is why the tastes of each are different. It is not only the skill of an artist to determine the success of his piece. The inclination towards a certain type of music, what we call our musical preferences, is determined by the experiences we have had and the way we listen. From our expectations towards what a song offers us, from the degree of empathy that we can establish with those who sing them. Normally when the first notes of a song start we need a few seconds to decide if we like that song or not, too few to be able to express an artistic judgment, but enough to evaluate how much tune he can establish with us. Instinctively.
Appreciating a certain style means making our the content and the way in which these are expressed and also means sending a clear message to those around us: we are part of those who think so! Our musical choice is therefore also a conscious choice to show ourselves to others in a certain way. And it’s important to note that sometimes what we want to get to those around us is not only what we really think we are but also what we want to be and how we want to be perceived. A way to build a more fitting identity than the one that doesn’t really satisfy us. A form of evasion and an attempt to tend towards something more rewarding.
On the other hand, we also use the musical tastes of those around us to get an idea of them, a bit like when we receive a business card and evaluate the choice of graphics to get clues about who we are facing.
The effectiveness of the examination of musical tastes to define the personality of each of us has even been a subject of study for the prestigious University of Cambridge that has developed a study through which the character traits associated with the musical choices such as mental openness, extroversion, conscientiousness, empathy and emotional stability. To have a framework capable of defining one’s personality, a special test has been created that is based on 25 questions: the first 10 invite to choose between pairs of adjectives those that best describe one’s personality, the next 15 offer short musical performances that must be evaluated according to a scale of appreciation indicated. In the end a "identikit" is provided that can have a surprising outcome and become a valid tool also to take an extra step in the knowledge of ourselves.
For those who want to test themselves with the test, you can do it here: musical universe .
It is also a different way to discover new music.