The college life I live is an incessant concoction of stress, fatigue, and anxiety. I am aware that much of it is self inflicted but coupling these physical tolls on my body with the seemingly endless rigor of math and science is enough to drive me insane at times. Music however, is quite effective at relieving stress and setting down the text book to enjoy a few songs can be quite refreshing. Throughout the past year I have decided to take up music as a hobby of sorts. I began a long list of artists I wanted to listen to and started expanding my tastes and preferences. Naturally, I like to ask questions so when I dove head first into the realm of music, I pondered what made it sound good? What made it sound bad? Why do I sometimes not enjoy an artist but revisit them a week or two later to find out they're incredible? Trying to answer these questions, along with others, helped me develop my own philosophy on music (which I am sure you're dying to hear, because I'm so insightful and all).
We all have our own tastes in music. Whether it be a few genres we enjoy (rock, rap, country, jazz, etc) or just a single band, we all identify certain music as "good". This definition of what is "good" is then applied to and compared with every song we hear almost subconsciously. We naturally judge the quality of new music by the standard of what we currently listen to. So if someone listens to a song that is far different from anything they are listening to at that time, the instinctive response would be to write it off as "bad" because it does not align with their criteria of good music. An example might be someone who listens exclusively to country music. If they are introduced to a heavy metal song, chances are they won't be too fond of it. Why? Because it is quite unlike the music they think is "good" at the time. However, if later on in life the individual's taste in music expands from just country to perhaps country and rock or folk, they will have broadened their range of what is considered to be "good". If they then listen to a heavy metal song, it is reasonable to suggest that they will be more likely to enjoy the music (based on their new standard of what is "good"). The greater the range of music you enjoy can be directly related to the likelihood of you being open to new artists/songs.
So essentially, the more music you like - the more music you will like.
My statement (above) is founded on the presumption that one can consciously develop their tastes. Some argue that it is impossible to control what music you like and don't like but I wholeheartedly disagree. When I listen to a new song, I have a little routine I like to go through. First, I take in as much of the song as I can (the lyrics, instrumental, feeling, atmosphere, etc). If I am not enjoying it, I ask myself if it is because it's just different from my current preference or is it something else? Whether that "something else" is an annoying little sound, repetitive lyrics, or just it being unoriginal (a pet peeve of mine), I try to remember that for the most part, no artist/musician leaves the recording studio and tries to sell music they hate (hopefully). There is usually at least one small characteristic of their music that they enjoy. So when I don't like something, I try to search for the reason the artist themselves liked the song. Sometimes this task is challenging (or near impossible) and may or may not result in me suddenly loving the tune, but it helps me appreciate the music. I may not be in to the newest hit single by One Direction, but I can at least understand why other people like it and admire certain qualities rather than simply writing it off as lousy music.
I am not saying that everyone is a stubborn, close minded, fool if they don't respect and enjoy every song ever made. What I am saying is that a lot of people, including myself, try to share their negative opinions of a song without ever giving it an honest chance. I believe that if you apply some effort, you will be amazed to find you can enjoy much more music than you thought.
**Any counter arguments, thoughts, etc you have on the subject are welcome. I thoroughly enjoy discussing this topic and would love to hear feedback on what other people think.**
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