Why has my taste in music changed?

Our musical tastes are shaped by a number of external factors — exposure, peer and family influence, the activities we listen to music during — as well as internal preferences we have for rhythm, harmony, timbres, structure or lyrics.

Is there such thing as bad music taste?

There’s no such thing as a bad taste in music. Those who love music will probably disagree, because if you consider yourself to be passionate about music, regardless of the genre, chances are you know someone whose taste is less than satisfactory.

How do our musical tastes shape our identities?

Gasser says, as we grow, our musical tastes really help us to forge our individual identities — especially distinct from our parents. “Music becomes that stake in the ground — ‘this is who I am,’” says Gasser. “But at the same time, the music people listened to at an early age becomes their native home comfort music.

Why do people feel defensive about their taste in music?

According to the researcher, Adrian North, the reason people sometimes feel defensive about their taste in music might be related to how much it relates to attitudes and personality. North suggests that people do define themselves through music and use it as a means to relate to other people.

How does your ‘thinking style’ affect your music taste?

A 2015 study at Cambridge University found that our music taste is linked to our ‘thinking style’ – in essence, whether we’re more emotionally- or analytically-minded. You can tune into CrowdScience every Friday evening on BBC World Service, or catch up online at bbcworldservice.com/crowdscience.

Why do we have different tastes in comedy and music?

The more complex the comedy, the more it relies on the audience knowing the cultural context. Similarly, our music preferences are shaped by the people and groups we identify with – our culture, in other words. But it’s also to do with our individual makeup.