What draws us to certain music? My grandparents, for example, have always considered the music I like “noise”. But, what makes it any more or less noise than what they listen to? Everyone I know, has a wide variety in music taste; from death metal to country to pop and jazz, but what determines what we and others like and dislike? It all has to do with our brain; as well as our cultural background and upbringing, and even our friends, family and coworkers play a role. There are tons of music styles, some differing more greatly than others; whether it’s in loudness, intenseness, or the instruments used. Metal, death metal, rock, alternative, pop, indie, country, and jazz, are just some of the many genres of music. Despite some genres being very different, some are actually much more similar than you think. Comparing a metal song and a country song, they could have a very similar meaning or emotion tied in with them, but be expressed very differently, one screaming to a bunch of moshing fans, and one with some deep southern accent sitting on the back of a truck bed. The emotion and meaning don’t always differ from song to song, but the song itself does, and your brain knows the difference. Music is a language. We use it to make new friends, communicate with the …show more content…
Your brain’s nucleus accumbens “pleasure center”, predicts how you’ll feel about a song based on the similar music you’ve heard before. For example, say you listen to two songs, one is a song from a genre you don’t, or have never really listened to or enjoyed, then chances are you won’t like that song because you have basically no musical template for it. But, that second song you listened to, is in a genre you enjoy a lot and listen to often; your brain will immediately become fond of that song faster because it has a larger musical template built into your brain for that