One common use of music in contemporary society is pure enjoyment and aesthetic appreciation ( Kohut & Levarie, 1950), another common use relates to music’s ability to inspire dance and physical movement ( Dwyer, 1995 Large, 2000 Ronström, 1999). A challenge to such an investigation is that music is used for many different purposes. Remarkably, however, little is known about the underlying principles on which such individual musical preferences are based.
When it comes to self-selected music, individuals demonstrate manifestly different tastes. Taken together, background and intentional music listening add up to more than 5 hours a day of exposure to music for the average American ( Levitin, 2006 McCormick, 2009). In addition to all of these uses of music as a background, a form of sonic wallpaper imposed on us by others, many of us seek out music for our own listening – indeed, Americans spend more on music than they do on prescription drugs ( Huron, 2001). Manufacturers use it to sell their products, while yoga, massage, and exercise studios use it to relax or invigorate their clients. It accompanies movies, television programs, and ball games. It is piped into retail shops, airports, and train stations. The findings from a fourth study suggest that preferences for the MUSIC factors are affected by both the social and auditory characteristics of the music. We have interpreted and labeled these factors as: 1) a Mellow factor comprising smooth and relaxing styles 2) an Urban factor defined largely by rhythmic and percussive music, such as is found in rap, funk, and acid jazz 3) a Sophisticated factor that includes classical, operatic, world, and jazz 4) an Intense factor defined by loud, forceful, and energetic music and 5) a Campestral factor comprising a variety of different styles of direct, and rootsy music such as is often found in country and singer-songwriter genres. The findings from three independent studies converged to suggest that there exists a latent five-factor structure underlying music preferences that is genre-free, and reflects primarily emotional/affective responses to music. Here, we introduce a model of musical preferences based on listeners’ affective reactions to excerpts of music from a wide variety of musical genres. Individuals demonstrate manifestly different preferences in music, and yet relatively little is known about the underlying structure of those preferences. Music is a cross-cultural universal, a ubiquitous activity found in every known human culture.
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