Music and Personality
I would like to begin an examination of how music is perceived and appreciated. An argument made with this exploration could be extended, in part, to the other arts, but I've chosen music! because it is the realm I feel most passionate about.
With this in mind, I will start off with a fairly simple idea: that how we choose music and how it affects us is governed in large part by the kind of people we are. In order to assess the correlation, I present two questions, and invite responses from the commons: What kind of people are we? and How do we choose our music?
I also propose that we choose specific methods to answer these questions.
1. For the first question, a simple and accessible method available to us through the work of a number of analytical psychologists, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. A number of online tests are available, although if you already know your "type" of the 16 retaking the test is optional:
Word test from similarminds.com
T/F test from humanmetrics.com
Type descriptions (Not a test!)
Be sure to include your personality type in your response. If you find you are getting different responses, either post the one you think is more accurate, or both. Skepticism regarding these tests is reasonable, but it's fair to see that these tests provide at least an assessment of attitudes.
2. For the second, an open response will do, so long as it addresses the following:Other information that may be helpful:
- Favourite music (genres, artists, composers, pieces, songs)
- Why you like that music; this is more important, because people could like the same music for different reasons, and because others will not necessarily be familiar with the music you have listed. The music you are exposed also shapes your tastes, so if a more pure Why? may be distilled from a cruder What, we will find ourselves a clearer and more universal image of your musical personality. Also I will not take you very seriously if the only description you can think of is "epic". Epic in such contexts refers ambiguously to a powerful emotional response, so dig a little deeper and try to tell me what's so epic about it.
- Music you dislike and why
- When you prefer to listen to music
If you scrobble music using last.fm, you are welcome to add me as a friend. I would like to use the sociomap application (provided it is re-enabled), which provides a nice visualization of where groups of people stand musically. I also request that you DO NOT POST YOUTUBE/GOOGLE VIDEOS. This discussion is not about the music itself, but rather in context. If you feel compelled to include a demonstration of your tastes, please do so tastefully with a small link.
! For those for whom music is not especially important, describing your interest in another specific field of arts, as long as it holds to the spirit of the thread, would be welcome as a constructive contribution.
Thanks for participating, along with the results I'm looking for this may also prove an excellent opportunity to find music you didn't know you'd like from similar people. I'll start off...
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MBTI Personality type: INTP
Art music favourites:
Beethoven - An obvious choice, his work was progressive (evidenced in comparing the different stages of Beethoven), themes within a work are rewarding to follow, and of course there is satisfaction in witnessing (live or not) an accomplished execution of the music by the performers.
Brahms - What draws me is how amazingly harmony is accomplished in his work, from highs to lows, across the orchestra and from beginning to end.
Vaughan Williams - Least obvious choice, but my favourite of the three included. He elevates folk melodies from their base origins so completely into a high, intellectual art so that his music is far more deserving than Elgar's pomp to express the spirit of his nation. VW's music embraces both melancholy and violent dissonance as servants to perfect musical form which evokes nothing short of bliss in me.
Modern music favourites:
Pixies - Ridiculously visceral with an expansive dynamic. They can be melodic, they can be dissonant, some of their works are so sexually charged, and they've got this playful, energetic, living spirit about them. Frank Black's vocals are incredible, and often just absurd. I guess I love that there's so much that is crude and dark about this music and yet it doesn't miss celebrating life for a beat.
Talking Heads - Their energy is delivered through funky grooves, which are accompanied by often distanced artsy lyrics. Byrne's vocals are quirky yet he manages very often to communicate authenticism and honesty.
Tom Waits - Incredible lyrics. His experimental tendencies and unorthodox vocals turn many people away, and while I do enjoy those aspects of Waits, he would not be included if he were not such an amazing songwriter. His music will match his words, but it his choice of language that first makes the incredible scenes that are his songs.
The Doors - There's an incredible deal of fluidity in this band's ability to unify the traditional four piece, and create entirely different ambiances for Morrison's vocals, all the while being rooted in the blues. Their sound is variable and yet maintains sonic perfection.
Other likes which I won't explain but which help illustrate tastes - Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, The Tragically Hip, post-rock, some underground hip hop
Art music dislikes:
Barber (Adagio for Strings) - I cannot be compelled to care for this melancholic rubbish.
Vivaldi - Just too archaic and rigid.
Modern music dislikes:
Most of Top 40 - Repetitive, uninspired, and products of corporations instead of artists. That may unfair to some of the artists, who I've judged for life on the basis of an unfortunate melancholic single, but it is how I feel.
Punk, metal, pop-punk - I cannot be compelled to hate. Their era of frustration is over, and now it seems only childish to put out music on the premises they choose.
Listening habits:
I really need high energy/pace music to work with a lot of energy, I will be disappointed if something I really like concludes and I have nothing similar to follow up with, I don't like interrupting my music and I prefer to listen to whole albums. I'm also a bit of an audiophile.
Your turn.
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off my radio)
Originally Posted by Danny_K_1
(I suppose.. I mean, I already dream away when I put on their more psychedelic songs..)
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