Differences in Music Preferences Between Musicians and Non-Musicians

Abstract

The aim of this research was to check potential differences in music preferences between musicians and non-musicians. Music preferences were evinced by a short test on the topic (STOMP-R: Rentfrow & Gosling 2003), of the four types of music: Reflexive and Complex, Intense and Rebellious, Upbeat and Conventional, Energetic and Rhythmic. A sample of 209 students from the University of Niš (M=75; F=134), 112 non-musicians and 97 of musicians, were asked to give their opinion. The results of the t-test showed that there are differences between musicians and non-musicians as far as the preferences for one type of music or another is concerned. Statistically significant differences were found for the Reflexive and Complex music (p=.000), as well as for the Upbeat and Conventional music (p=.001). All statistically significant differences were in favor of the musicians. These results show that musicians prefer Reflexive and Complex as well as Upbeat and Conventional music, while differences don’t exist for the remaining two types of music. On the other hand, when it comes to differences in the preference for Upbeat and Conventional music, they can be attributed only to female subsample, so only female musicians differ from female non-musicians when it comes to preference for this type of music (p=.001), while male musicians don’t differ from male non-musicians, on the preference for thins genre (p=.213).

Musicians and non-musicians show different preference profiles for single chords of varying harmonic complexity

“…Furthermore, the more musically sophisticated their participants, the more able they were to dissociate roughness from pleasantness in classical and jazz chords. We also found that mean ratings for these genres were greater for musicians than for non-musicians ( Table 1 ), supporting previous research [ 29 ]. If we speculate that those musicians who reported a preference for classical, blues, folk and jazz also prefer to play these genres, our results might suggest that playing certain genres makes musicians more likely to report preference for higher complexity chords (please note that we were unable to test effect of genres played due to the small group sizes in our study).…”

“…Both GoldMSI measures were included, to investigate whether formal training or more general musical engagement affects the response. From the STOMP, we tested the measure of preference for classical, blues, folk and jazz, since it has been shown to increase for musicians [ 29 ]. From the BMRQ, we included ‘Music Seeking’ and ‘Emotional Evocation’, since these have been shown to differentiate musicians and non-musicians in the past [ 28 ].…”

“…Musical training is associated with stronger pleasurable experiences of music [ 27 ], reflected partly in their tendency to seek out music and be emotionally moved by music [ 28 ]. Musicians’ genre preferences also differ from those of non-musicians, with increased preference for classical, blues, folk and jazz music in particular [ 29 ]. Since different genres will employ different types of harmonic complexity [ 26 ], this may affect harmonic complexity preference.…”

Exploring the Effects of Brain Stimulation on Musical Taste: tDCS on the Left Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal Cortex—A Null Result

“…In fact, previous findings show that the music preferences of both musicians and non-musicians vary only in a few music genres, such as classical and jazz music, which are preferred by musicians [57]. However, considering music taste on a whole level, not referring to any specific genre, both musicians and non-musicians exhibit a preference for consonant intervals, clear timbre, tonal structure, and regular rhythms [58]. This trend seems to be culturally influenced, as Amazonian natives show indifference toward dissonance sounds [59].…”