Introduction
Music is a type of art via which the artist or rather a singer expresses his or her feelings and emotion in a rather harmonious and pleasant way (Ajanta 2008:3). Edgar Varese defines music as typical sets of organized sounds via which the artist uses to communicate, express his emotions and feelings, entertain the listeners, implication and marking of occasions among other live roles (Aung, Steven & Lee 2004: 7). There are various types of music that are linguistically referred to as genres that serve different functions in the lives and consciousness of the listeners. While some genres or rather a music type plays the role of soothing the listener’s soul when he or is disturbed, others purely engage the listeners in the growth of concentration as well as enlivening them to live their life to the fullest. In addition, the different tastes and preferences of people towards music are greatly entrenched in the various genres.
In one way or another, each person finds himself or herself listening to one type of music or another which includes classical music, Jazz, metal music, rap, folk, traditional wedding dances, reggae music among others. Irrespective of the representation of music in different genres they almost play related functions. They greatly touch the core of one’s heart hence music can be regarded as the implication of the heart’s feelings (Ajanta, 2008: 4). Similarly, people’s patterns of listening to music differ in age, social class, education level, and taste and preference of music. This paper, therefore, presents patterns in music listening and the effects of change in experience and education level on my music taste and preferences.
Music tastes and preferences
During the early ages of one’s life i.e. when an individual is below the age of ten years, he or she barely has any control of the type of music that’s he or she listens to. At that age, the listening of music is rather unconscious, or either controlled by the environment in which the child is living or the music taste of the people that they live with (Aung, Steven & Lee 2004: 7). As children cross over to the teenage, however, they start to be choosy of the type of music that they listen to; influenced mostly by the demand of the stage of life that they are in, the changing living environment, and significantly by the forces of peers that they relate with.
For instance, when I was young, I was not cognizant of the music that I listened to but rather listened to the music that my parents listened to, religious songs in Sunday school, and Christmas carols over Christmas. When I progressed to junior high school and all through senior highs school, however, I started listening to techno music and which was my favorite music genre. My preference for this music was greatly favored by the age group and the exposure to the music due to the listening patterns among the schooling peers that I consistently interacted with.
Techno music is typically a type of music that is at the time referred to as fusion music and which is a form of an electronic dance that is greatly entrenched in the Afro-American music styles such as funk, the electral, and the electral Jazz (Ajanta, 2008:7). The latter asserts that the distinguishing characteristic of techno music is that it follows fast beats; perhaps the reason why it is greatly fancied and popular among the American youths and teenagers in particular. As such, in the time between my graduations from elementary school to the time I graduated from senior high school, the music that I listened to most and which I enjoyed listening and dancing to (the most) was techno music. This kind of music is ideally popular among the youths mainly because it requires a lot of energy to listen and follow the fast beats in the dance. In addition, the entertainment value in this genre is quite high especially in regard to the excitement that the young people seek in music (Aung, Steven & Lee 2004:7).
Change in age, experience, and education and changing genre
The influences of my advancing experience, as well as education levels, have greatly influenced my music listening patterns, tastes, and preferences. Although I still listen to techno music, my taste and preference of music have since shifted to blues. This pattern was mainly acquired when I was in the university since it implicated a show of maturity and responsibility associated with the level of education and a move from the teenage hood. In addition, it is the time I had my debut relationship. As a result, the blues sounded romantic electrified my affections and extreme soul-touching effects. Furthermore, the age that I am currently in demand that a listen to music that depicts the respective level of maturity.
The blues is typically a unique American music genre that is a combination of chord successions of sounds and blue notes, and which are known for their affectionate nature in the message, softness in tone, and the soul-touching effects that it comes with. Perhaps it is a music genre with the richest and the most colorful history that has become a pet of many people across the world especially middle-aged Americans (Buzzle Staff and Agencies, 2000:1). I am no exception as it is the kind of music that I listen to even to date; in fact, my favorite.
Conclusion
The various types of music are represented in the distinct groups referred to as genres. As such, the music tastes and preferences of individuals are demarcated along with the genres. In most cases, the choice of genre and listening patterns is greatly influenced by the exposure, lifestyles, social class, age, and education levels among others. Similarly, my education level and experiences played a significant role in my shifting from techno music to the blues.
Works Cited
Ajanta, Bhattacharyya, Different Types of Music. 2008. Web.
Aung, Steven K.H., Lee, Mathew H.M., Music, Sounds, Medicine, and Meditation: An Integrative Approach to the Healing Art, Alternative & Complementary Therapies, 2004, Vol. 10, No 5
Buzzle Staff and Agencies, the Blues and the Style of Blues Music (2000). Web.