Music tastes - Genetic or environment?Music

[Sureboss]

What influence our musical tastes more, our envrionment or our genes? Is it one? Is it a mixture of both?

I personally think it is all environment.

 

[Richardrfo]

I would agree, environment.

I was raised listening to T.Rex, Status Quo, Queen, Simon & Garfunkel, Elvis etc all of whom (with the exception of Status Quo) I still listen to. It's also helped me develop tastes with more music from that era and now being roadie for my father who's a DJ, I learn of even more music most 17 year olds have never heard of, which has helped range my taste to amongst other things rock, metal, punk, reggae, ska, dance, trance, techno, motown, disco and many more.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Environment.

How many sons share their mother's music taste?

 

[Slicks]

Environment, undoubtedly.

It makes me wonder how it is that so many youth listen to rap, etc - It's not likely that it's a home influence, since you don't often see parents listening to it. Where's it coming from?

 

[Slick Rick]

Mostly environment but I do like some of the music my mum listens to like Earth Wind and Fire, UB40, Al Green, Kool & the gang etc.... but that said I dont like any of the music my dad listens to..... hmmmm not very conclusive

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Environment.

How many sons share their mother's music taste?

My mom likes church music and my dad likes metal. And I like to listen to symphonic metal.

 

[superberkut]

Yes, environment, but I tended to listen to the same music my father listened to for the longest time even without hearing it first. My older brother and his passion for death metal have put a stop to that, though.

 

[Keichi Tsuchiya]

Enviro. I'm a jazzman and my parents, relatives, etc. hate it. My little sister is warming up to it though...

 

[Loon]

Its all environment.

Environment, undoubtedly.

It makes me wonder how it is that so many youth listen to rap, etc - It's not likely that it's a home influence, since you don't often see parents listening to it. Where's it coming from?

TV, school, and I'm sure there are parents out there who listen to it.

 

[Jeb]

The exact moment I discovered flamenco at 20, I felt an eerily close connection to it. I mean...I liked a fairly wide variety of music...but nothing quite like this.

Years later, I discover my father's side (they're a bit apathetic about their ancestry) is actually not Irish, but Black Irish. Then I discover that the Black Irish are innately Spanish (which explains our bizarre ability to tan marvelously). Sounds too romantic to be true, right?

But who knows...perhaps our unique genetic histories "bump" us in a certain musical direction. I mean, if I have ancestors that go back to regions of the world bombarded with Babylonian/microtonal scales for generations...maybe my ear is better adjusted to for that. Maybe. Who's to say our ear hasn't--somehow--adjusted itself to hear certain things more acutely? Or be better soothed by certain sounds? Much like skin adjusts in color/shade over the eons to absorb a certain degree of light (depending where your ancestors lived).

Of course, this only applies to traditional music and scales that have held for many, many generations. And maybe music is too young to apply whatsoever in the grand scheme of our evolution. BUT wouldn't it be COOL if your love of, say, Celtic music is, literally, coursing through your veins...or waiting to be unlocked?

 

[s15specr]

Environment, Am a gangsta from the uk and i listen to hip-hop

 

[TB]

My mom and dad listen to Country and Western and I stay as far away from that as humanly possible. Sadly, "as far away from that as humanly possible" means my bathroom and my vehicles because that's what my wife listens to, as well.

 

[Omnis]

Nature-nurture rears its head once again. Mine could be either way. I love classical music; mom and grandma were opera singers. I don't really like female opera though. I also like 50s music, bossa nova, rock... I have the exact same taste as my grandfather in that regard but he died well before I was born-- while my mom was in high school, in fact.

Gonna have to go with environment though.

 

[niky]

Environment determines your tastes early on, but your innate taste takes over as you get older.

Not many people who were listening to punk or new wave when they were teens are still doing so now. Some have outgrown it. Others still like it. I grew up listening to pop-rock, slow rock and metal, grunge alternative, etcetera... but I eventually gravitated to what I like now... folk rock, singer-songwriter stuff, etcetera.

If you're a fan of gangsta rap or metal or whatever the heck it is "kids" listen to nowadays, whether this is to your actual taste or just a passing fancy brought about by popular culture is something only time will tell.

 

[Perfect Balance]

If I had to pick one I'd say environment, but it's not true in my case. There are very few people in this area outside of my group of friends that like the same music I do, I was never really exposed to it until I started looking for it myself.

 

[Gil]

Environment, I listen to lots of different kinds of music.
My folks listened to R & B, My friends listened to mellow rock in Jr, High.
In high school I was exposed to heavier stuff.
My older brother turned me on to jazz when I was 17.
I went to college in Tennessee. Guess what that turnedme on to?

When I started playing guitar again, I learned that the foundation of rock, country, just about every thing was the blues.

Let's just say my iPod is rather "eclectic".

 

[Kylehnat]

Could also depend on one's musical sense, which I think is more genetic or physiological. Some people naturally have perfect pitch, and others can't sing two consecutive notes on-key to save their life. People with an inherent ear for tone or rhythm may latch on to certain genres of music that satisfy that little bug inside, whatever it may be looking for. That's not to say that one's genes decide what kind of music they'll like, but I think there is a strong nature component to go along with the nurture (environment).

 

[Robin]

Environment, because my tastes have changed over the years as ive experienced new genres and artists.

Robin.