weis, johannes - musicians' musical taste

8/6/2019 Weis, Johannes - Musicians' Musical Taste

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MED 620 Research & Writing

Hartt School of MusicHartford, Connecticut

Johannes Weis

[email protected]

Musicians musical taste 1

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Development of Musical Taste of Musicians Compared to Non-Musicians

Musical Taste in Sociology

There is no accounting for taste, as the saying goes. Considering the fleeting nature of

sound, this can apply particularly to music. However, sociologists have been trying to account

for musical taste since the rise of the Frankfurt School of philosophers and sociologists in the

1920s. Theodor Adorno and others hypothesized, as part of a theory about the social meaning of

cultural products, that the culture industry creates mass culture (Adorno & Horkheimer, as

cited in Martin, 1997, pp. 91-92) and influences peoples musical taste when trying to sell it.

Succeeding generations of sociologists successfully identified elements of the structure and

operation of the music industry itself (Peterson, 1997c, p. 54) as influencing factors (Denisoff,

1975; Denisoff & Schurk, 1986; Peterson & Berger, 1971, 1975; Peterson & DiMaggio, 1975).

Sociologists of the same generation criticized Adornos theory for being biased, subjective, and

unempirical (Peterson, 1997c; Mueller, 2002).

In an attempt to expand Marxs theory of capital and class, Pierre Bourdieu (1984)

developed an elaborate theoretical framework for a sociology of taste, which proved to be

applicable and was substantiated by a large-scale analysis of 1970s French society. According to

Bourdieu, people with high socioeconomic status actively choose members of their social

networks (social exclusion), with taste as one criterion (Bryson, 1996, p. 885). Thus, taste

functions on a level of symbolic exclusion (Bourdieu & Passeron, as cited in Bryson, 1996, pp.

885-886) and establishes and reinforces symbolic boundaries between [one group of


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approach to scrutinize musical taste.

Musical Taste in Psychology

Cutietta (1992, p. 299) pointed out that even though authors of music education literature

often treat preference (i.e. taste) and attitude as interchangeable, they are indeed distinct

terms. Rosenberg and Hovland defined attitude as a construct of feelings, values, and beliefs,

interacting with [the] response modes [] affect, cognition, and behavior (as cited in Cutietta,

1992, p. 296). This model creates difficulties for researchers. Firstsince feelings, values, or

beliefs are rarely innatepeople base attitudes on prior experiences, which are too manifold to

examine; second, the actual process constituting an attitude is largely internal. Therefore,

attitudes cannot be directly observed (Cutietta, 1992, p. 296) and will not be the focus of this

study.

Price (1986, p. 154) defined preference as an act of choosing, esteeming, or giving

advantage to one thing over another. Thus, preference implies a personal hierarchy of at least

two items. While models of preferential processes are as similarly complex as those for attitude,

preferences are easy to examine (Cutietta, 1992), e.g. in the form of verbal or behavioral

statements (Price, 1986). For the purpose of this study, statements about preference will serve as

representations for taste.

Literature Review

Sociology

Schuessler (1948) analyzed a sample of 1,077 respondents for patterns in musical taste,

using socio-economic status, gender, age, and musical training as independent variables. He


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found musical training and socio-economic status to be strongly correlated with musical taste,

both of them skewing musical preferences towards classical music and away from jazz or hill-

billy music. However, he did not control for socio-economic status when analyzing musical

training as a dependent variable. He conjectured that people with high socio-economic status

are more likely to receive training in music, and naturally assumed that music training []

has a pronounced influence on musical taste (Schuessler, 1948, p. 333). Schuessler did not

analyze the sample to substantiate his assumption, nor did he consider socio-economic status as a

cause for change in musical taste. Society has undergone profound changes since 1948, calling

for an updated analysis.

Peterson and Simkus (1992) analyzed data from the Survey of Public Participation in the

Arts (Robinson, Keegan, Hanford, & Triplett, 1985). Apart from support for their omnivore

hypothesis, they found that among 19 pre-defined occupational groups, working artists

(including musicians) were very likely to appreciate classical music and least likely to pick a

favorite genre. Based on those findings, one might assume that people with rich artistic (and

therefore partly musical) backgrounds are inclined to prefer classical music, and are open minded

towards many musical genres (hence reluctant to pick a favorite). However, the study did not

account for musical skill in particular as an independent variable.

Savage (2006) analyzed data from the Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion Survey

(Thomson, 2004). He confirmed Peterson and Kerns (1996) omnivore hypothesis, while also

observing two distinctive musical taste communities, one linking [] rock, electronic, urban,

world and heavy metal music, and the other linking classical music and jazz (Savage, 2006, p.

159). Savage also observed higher levels of education significantly correlated to preferring


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classical music (and jazz) and ascribed this to classical music in the educational curriculum

(Savage, 2006, p. 173). However, he did neither account for musical training, nor assess

respondents key experiences coining their preferences. Thus, he did not substantiate educations

causal effect on musical taste.

Psychology

Geiger (1950) conducted an experimental study with the audience of the Danish

Broadcasting Service. A fixed set of classical music was played on two consecutive Saturdays.

The first time, the moderator announced it as popular gramophonic music, with no further

information; the second time as classical music, with information about composer, opus

number, and key signature. The first airings audience ratings were twice as high as the second

and the highest decline in ratings was observed in working class areas. The results supported

Geigers hypotheses that (a) public aversion was directed more against the term classical

than against the actual music (Geiger, 1950, pp. 454-455) and (b) some people are frightened

away by technical musical terminologies (Geiger, 1950, p. 453). As elaborated before, high

social status correlates with high levels of education (in music, inter alia). Therefore, people with

high social status are more likely to be familiar with the terminology used in classical music and

Geigers hypotheses might partially explain the correlation between high social status and

appreciation of classical music.

Duerksen (1968), too, assumed a correlation between prior knowledge and musical taste,

but focused on musical skill and grade level rather than terminology. He examined the

relationship between musical experience, perception, and preference using a sample of music and


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non-music majors from 9th grade in high school through graduate level in college. The

researchers measured recognition of and affective response to repeated and altered themes in 14

musical samples of different styles. Additionally, they gathered information about respondents

musical experiences and preferences. Findings included a slight decline in preference for rock

and pop music with increasing grade level. Also, musical training, listening experience, and

preference for classical music were positively correlated with high recognition scores, whereas

preferences for rock or pop music were positively correlated with low recognition scores.

Coefficients for correlation between recognition scores and affective response to the samples

were significant, but of no predictive value. However, there is no way to ascertain causal

relationships from these data, which raise more questions than they answer (Duerksen, 1968, p.

8). The sample was not random, rendering the study useless for broader conclusions; nor was the

study longitudinal, thus not insightful regarding individual processes accompanying increasing

musical skill. However, the studys purpose and findings were promising, calling for additional

research with random samples of contemporary society.

Walker (1980) developed a theory of motivation based on stimulus complexity. Applied

to music, too simple or too complex music will result in low motivation to continue listening,

implying that there is a point of perfect complexity for each listener (Hargreaves & North, 1997).

Davies (1978) pointed out that even though complexity can be measured objectively (in bits of

information per time), it is rather the result of the listeners perceptions. A person with vast

musical experience can likely predict the course of a piece of music, thus experiencing it as less

complex than a person with no musical background (Davies, 1978, p. 93). This suggests that

musical training influences musical taste by affecting perception.


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Connection to music education

Contemporary researchers in music education affirm that teaching music should go

beyond teaching mere musical skill. One important study substantiating this educational

approach was the Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program (as described in Mark, 1996). The

study was designed to develop a sequential music learning program for the primary grades

through high school (Mark, 1996, p. 152) and its findings were essential in coining the term

comprehensive musicianship. According to Mark, any piece teachers want to perform with

students can be the basis for learning about music; and according to Labuta (as cited in Mark,

1996, p. 163), musicianship [] is knowledge and skill applied to practical music making.

Similarly, Feierabend (2006) developed a curriculum that educates children to be

tuneful, beatful, and artful. The terms imply musical skill as one objective in music education,

but he added that adults who are tuneful, beatful, and artful are also better able to participate in

a community (Feierabend, 2006, p. 6). Thus, one of music educations many purposes is to

allow social interactiondirectly, through performing with others, and indirectly, through

knowledge enabling conversation about music.

The synthesis of knowledge and skill in the concept of comprehensive musicianship and

Feierabends (2006) implementing social interaction in a curriculums rationale are in line with

findings in both sociology and psychology, as the following outline shows:

Geigers (1950) observation on mere musical terminology influencing taste calls for a

curriculum in music education that includes musical lingo.

Duerksens (1968) findings of musical achievement and recognition skill related to

preferences for classical music indicate that musical skill influences musical taste.


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Bourdieus (1984) definition of cultural capital includes not only preferences for

highbrow culture, but also background knowledge. Thus, curricula designed to achieve

comprehensive musicianship equip students with key elements of cultural capital.

Holts (1997) redemption of Bourdieus concept of taste as a status marker explicitly

focuses on reasons for peoples preferences. Holts reading of Bourdieu requires people to base

their preferences on deliberate choices and informed decisions for their preferences to be valid

status markers. Thus, students must not only acquire musical skills, but also learn about music

history and be able to evaluate performances, recordings, compositions, etc.

Those transfers imply ideal qualities of music education, musical skill, and musicianship

in general. But one might also infer a quantitative element: The more musically educated people

are by the above-mentioned definitions, the more likely it is they have a more complex,

sophisticated, and eclectic musical taste.

Rationale

Concepts such as comprehensive musicianship or Feierabends educational approach

implement the requirements elaborated above. However, musical taste has only been a marginal

argument for that ongoing paradigm shift. Researchers have conducted many cross-sectional

studies about musical preferences of status groups. But the developmentof musical taste as a

research subjectaccounting for musical skill, while controlling for independent variables such

as socioeconomic status, family background, and educational levelcalls for an interdisciplinary

longitudinal study.

In the present study, the researcher tried to combine findings and methods from several


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disciplines to form a unified theory of musical taste. Sociology as a highly observing,

psychology as an observing and experimenting, and music education as a highly experimenting

discipline provide different approaches to a topic that is far from being completely understood.

Moreover, outcomes assess effects of current music lessons on childrens musical taste. Finally,

any positive effect of musical achievement on the development of musical tasteand thus on a

key resource for interaction in high social status groupswould mandate politicians to provide

equal musical training to every child, regardless of social, economic, cultural or ethnic

background.

Purpose & Problems

The purpose of this study is to examine how people who play an instrument or sing

develop musical taste compared to non-musicians.

The three research problems of this study are:

1) Do musicians with varied experience (received training in playing an instrument orsinging, play(ed) an instrument or sing/sang in ensembles, or learn(ed) to play an

instrument or to sing on their own) have more diverse musical taste than non-

musicians (no musical training of any kind)?

2) Do trained musicians choose the music they listen to more consciously?3) How does being a trained musician affect ones attitude towards mainstream popular

music?


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References

Bourdieu, P. (1984).Distinction. (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press. (Original work published 1979).

Labels musical taste as a distinctive feature of social status groups. Defines elemental terms incontemporary sociological research.

Bryson, B. (1996). "Anything but Heavy Metal": Symbolic exclusion and musical dislikes.

American Sociological Review, 61(5), 884-899.

Revises, questions, and reconciles Bourdieus (1984) view on musical taste.

Crispell, D. (1994). People patterns. The Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 224(59), B1.

Reviews a 1994 poll by the Gallup Organization for the National Association of Music Merchants ofCarlsbad, CA. Reports findings on musical activity in American households.

Cutietta, R. A. (1992). The measurement of attitudes and preferences in music education. In R.

Colwell (Ed.),Handbook of research on music teaching and learning: A project of the

Music Educators National Conference (pp. 295-309). New York: Maxwell Macmillan

International.

Provides definitions of attitude and preference for means of evaluation.

Davies, J. B. (1978). The psychology of music. New York: Stanford University Press.

Draws connections between music complexity, musical achievement, and listeners preferences.

De Graaf, N. D., & De Graaf, P. M. (1988). Family background, postmaterialism and life style.

The Netherlands Journal of Sociology, 24(1), 50-64.

Examines changing participation in the arts related to family background.


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De Graaf, N. D., De Graaf, P. M., & Kraaykamp, G. (2000). Parental cultural capital and

educational attainment in the Netherlands: A refinement of the cultural capital

perspective. Sociology of Education, 73(2), 92-111.

Analyzes Dutch society for correlations between family background and educational attainmentincluding musical achievementusing Bourdieus theoretical framework.

De Graaf, P. M., & Huinink, J. J. (1992). Trends in measured and unmeasured effects of family

background on educational attainment and occupational status in the Federal Republic of

Germany. Social Sience Research, 21(1), 84-112.

Analyzes West Germanys society for correlations between family background and educationalattainmentincluding musical achievementusing Bourdieus theoretical framework.

Denisoff, R. S. (1975). Solid gold: The popular record industry. New Brunswick, New Jersey:

Transaction Books.

Pins down the record industrys influence on peoples musical taste.

Denisoff, R. S., & Schurk, W. L. (1986). Tarnished gold: The record industry revisited. New

Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Books.

Pins down the record industrys influence on peoples musical taste. Revises Denisoff (1975).

DiMaggio, P., & Mohr, J. (1985). Cultural capital, educational attainment, and marital selection.

American Journal of Sociology, 90(6), 1231-1261.

Analyzes U.S. society for correlations between family background and educational attainment,using Bourdieus theoretical framework.

DiMaggio, P., & Useem, M. (1978). Social class and arts consumption: The origins and

consequences of class differences in exposure to the arts in America. Theory & Society,

(2), 141-161.

Analyzes U.S. society for correlations between social class and arts consumption, using Bourdieustheoretical framework.


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Droe, K. (2006). Music preference and music education: A review of literature. Update:

Applications of Research in Music Education, 24(2), 23-32.

Reviews literature related to music preference and music education.

Duerksen, D. (1968). A study of the relationship between the perception of musical processes

and the enjoyment of music.Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 12,

1-8.

See title.

Eakin, E. (2001, January 6). The intellectual class struggle. The New York Times,p. B11.

Summarizes Bourdieus impact on contemporary sociology.

Feierabend, J. M. (2006).First steps in music for preschool and beyond: The curriculum.

Chicago, Illinois: GIA Publications, Inc.

Defines the terms tuneful, beatful, artful. Draws connections between being artful andparticipation in social groups.

Geiger, T. (1950). A radio test of musical taste.Public Opinion Quarterly, 14(3), 453-460.

Reports procedure and findings of the 1950 experiment on radio audience behavior in Denmark.

Hargreaves, D. J., & North, A. C. (1997). The social psychology of music. New York: Oxford

University Press.

Gives an overview of studies in the relatively new field of the social psychology of music. AppliesWalkers (1980) theory of motivation and psychological complexity to music.

Harrison-Rexrode, J., Hughes, M., & Ryan, J. (2007). The American omnivore: How American

musical taste patterns differ from those in van Eijck's (2001) Dutch study.Annual

Meeting(pp. 1-21). New York City: American Sociological Association.

Compares van Eijcks (2001) findings to musical taste patterns in American society.


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Holt, D. B. (1997). Distinction in America? Recovering Bourdieus theory of tastes from its

critics.Poetics, 25(2-3), 93-120.

Redeems Bourdieus theory by turning the focus on the how of consumption.

LeBlanc, A. (1980). An interactive theory of music preference.Journal of Music Therapy, 19(1),

28-45.

Provides and applicable definition of preferences.

Mark, M. L. (1996). Contemporary music education. New York: Schirmer Books.

Martin, P. J. (1997). Adorno: Music as representation. In P. J. Martin (Ed.), Sounds and society:

Themes in the sociology of music (pp. 75-125). Manchester, Great Britain: Manchester

University Press.

Summarizes Adorno's theory of social meaning in cultural products related to musical taste.

Miller, R. F. (1992). Affective response. In R. Colwell (Ed.),Handbook of research on music

teaching and learning: A project of the Music Educators National Conference (pp. 414-

424). New York: Maxwell Macmillan International.

Summarizes publications defining musical preference, appraisal, and taste.

Mueller, R. (2002). Perspectives from the sociology of music. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson

(Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning(pp. 584-603).

New York: Oxford University Press.

Summarizes publications implicating a connection between music education and sociology.

Otten, A. L. (1994). People patterns. Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition, 224(69), B1.

Reports findings of research on music tastes of each generation.


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Paul, S. J., & Ballantine, J. H. (2002). The sociology of education and connections to music

education research. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (Eds.), The new handbook of research

on music teaching and learning(pp. 566-583). New York: Oxford University Press.

Summarizes publications about the sociology of education and draws connections to musiceducation research.

Peterson, R. A. (1997a). Changing representation of status through taste displays: An

introduction.Poetics, 25(2-3), 71-73.

Revises Bourdieus (1984) theory.

Peterson, R. A. (1997b). The rise and fall of highbrow snobbery as a status marker.Poetics,

25(2-3), 75-92.

Revises Bourdieus (1984) theory.

Peterson, R. A. (1997c). Popular music is plural.Popular Music and Society, 21(1), 53-58.

Questions accusations of popular music being a phenomenon of massification.

Peterson, R. A., & Berger, D. G. (1971). Entrepreneurship in organizations: Evidence from the

popular music industry.Administrative Science Quarterly, 16(1), 97-107.

Examines how the music industry influences musical taste.

Peterson, R. A. & Berger, D. G. (1975). Cycles in symbol production: The case of popular

music.American Sociological Review, 40(2), 158-173.

Examines how the music industry influences musical taste.

Peterson, R. A., & DiMaggio, P. (1975). From region to class, the changing locus of country

music: A test of the massification hypothesis. Social Forces, 53(3), 497-506.

Examines influencing factors on musical taste, scrutinizing Adornos massification hypothesis.

Peterson, R. A., & Kern, R. M. (1996). Changing highbrow taste: From snob to omnivore.

American Sociological Review, 61(5), 900-907.


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Substantiates Peterson & Simkus (1992) findings.

Peterson, R. A., & Simkus, A. (1992). How musical tastes mark occupational status groups. In

M. Lamont, & M. Fournier (Eds.), Cultivating differences: Symbolic boundaries and the

making of inequality (pp. 152-170). Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press.

Revises Bourdieus (1984) theory. Coins the term cultural omnivorousness.

Price, H. (1986). A proposed glossary for use in affective response literature in music.Journal of

Research in Music Education, 34(3), 151-159.

Defines important terms in affective response literature.

Robinson, J. P., Keegan, C. A., Hanford, T., & Triplett, T. A. (1985).Public participation in the

arts: Final report on the 1982 survey. College Park: University of Maryland.

Reports findings of the 1982 survey on public participation in the arts.

Rosenberg, M. J., & Hovland, C. I. (1960). Cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of

attitudes.Journal of Research in Music Education, 33(1), 259-268.

Provide an applicable definition of attitudes.

Savage, M. (2006). The musical field. Cultural Trends, 15(2/3), p. 159/174.

Analyzes U.S. society for patterns in musical taste.

Schuessler, K. F. (1948,). Social background and musical taste.American Sociological Review,

13(3), 330-335.

Analyzes British society for correlations between musical taste and socio-economic background,gender, age, and music training.

Thomas, R. B. (1970). Manhattanville Music Curriculum Program: Final report. Washington,

CD: U.S. Office of Education, Bureau of Research.

See title.


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Thomson, K. (2004). Cultural capital and social exclusion survey. Manchester (UK): National

Centre for Social Research.

Reports findings on the 2004 cultural capital and social exclusion survey.


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Van Eijck, K. (1997). The impact of family background and educational attaiment on cultural

consumption: A sibling analysis.Poetics, 25(4), 195-224.

Analyzes relationships between family background and cultural consumption

Van Eijck, K. (2001). Social differentiation in musical taste patterns. Social Forces, 79(3), 1163-

1184.

Analyzes Dutch society for musical taste patterns defining social status groups.

Walker, E. L. (1980).Psychological complexity and preference: A hedgehog theory of behavior.

Monterey: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.

Examines relationships between stimulus complexity and preferences in music.

Zill, N., & Robinson, J. (1994). Name that tune. American Demographics, 16(8), 22-27.

Presents the findings of the 1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts on Americans musicpreferences.

weis, johannes - musicians' musical taste

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