Does music strike solely at the gut?

[S4R]

I was talking with a friend today and we naturally came across the topic of music. He said one's taste in music is the product of an attack on your instincts alone, that one does not use the conscious brain to decide whether you like a piece of music or not. In other words you either like something or you don't, no in between, you can't learn to like a certain type of music. I told him I could not disagree more.
Yes, I think music has the ability to strike deep down and spark an instant and natural pleasure, but I also believe one can learn to like a certain type of music. I think this is proven by the fact that my own musical taste has changed or evolved if you will. I told him he may not be able to, but I most certainly can use my brain in deciding whether or not I like a piece of music, even if it does not spark an initial feeling. For example, I did not like Arcturus at first; this being solely based on his idea that music goes for the gut. However, I now like Arcturus, I believe this demonstrates the flaw in his idea. After I began to analyze the music of Arcturus, and once an understanding of the music was in place, they became to my liking; in essence I learned to like Arcturus. Anyway, what do you think of his idea that music strikes solely at the gut? Oh, in case your wondering, I did not have to learn to like Opeth, they went right for the gut .

 

[MetalManCPA]

I can't imagine that ones taste in music doesn't evolve. It's like anything else in life - you take in new information everyday. You grow older (and wiser?) everyday. With that comes new knowledge. And with all of this - likes and dislikes change.

I think music as an artform strikes people in the gut (if they have artistic instincts). I know many who just listen casually to music, but it means nothing to them. My musical tastes have definately evolved over the years - but I have yet to stray from the metal path. Actually, I find myself going deeper into the metal forest as I get older. Who knows what I'll be into by the time I'm 50.

 

[mindflesh]

Well, I think you cannot learn to like or dislike certain melodies... They strike right at the gut. You can, however, learn to like other parts of a musical style: For example, before I got into "Extreme Metal" I didn't like growls - but I learned to like them, and now growls, screams etc. play an imortant role in the range of music I enjoy listening to.

 

[Lina]

Yes, I agree with mindflesh. There are certain aspects of music (like melodies or the timbre of someone's voice) that you either find pleasing to the ear or not. And those can't be easily quantified. But there are facets of music which I like from a cerebral standpoint, such as analyzing the specific chord progression and other music-theory things.

I think this is what we've decided separates us from mainstream music listeners. We're actually listening to the music intently for intellectual stimulation, rather than because it's trendy or catchy.

And I find myself liking many bands that aren't amazing from a technical standpoint, but whose melodies or emotion grab me. And a lot of you have mentioned favorite singers of yours who are not always on the right note. If someone says, "Yeah, he/she is flat, but there's just something about him/her I like," that's cool. But I hate when people say, "No, he/she is the best singer period." I get annoyed when people confuse a personal taste for a band with saying the band is "the best." In other words, there are cerebral reasons to respect a band and emotional/ "gut" ones as well.

 

[HoserHellspawn]

*cough*onas *cough*enske

(actually, I personally don't pick up on these type things myself in most cases, my ear is not that musically well trained - but I had a feeling what you were getting at)

 

[Lina]

hehe

but also sharon den adel, for one. and i actually like a lot of within temptation, but she's definitely not a flawless singer.

 

[Belial]

From my experience, music certainly does have something to do with your gut instincts, but I don't think that's all there is to it.

I hate listening to rap and R&b, as you probably know, but when I think about it, I never really identified with the black community to begin with. I love bands like Opeth (and I just got into The Sins of Thy Beloved. AWSOME band! ) but I've always felt "drawn" to the darker and unorthidox side of things. Though I had to teach myself to enjoy the death growl. But then again I'm also into trance and electronica, and I have no idea why.

I'm saying, that I've for the most part noticed a correlation between my musical likes and dislikes, and my relationship to the underlying culture.