Music isn’t just the sound that fills the background of our lives, but it helps to shape the way we view not ourselves but the world around us. From all the lyrics we choose to memorize to the artists we choose to love, our music taste could hint at values, moods, and the ways we express our identities. Whether it’s an upbeat anthem or an empowering artist that has similar values to students and teachers alike, music has a way of helping to express one’s true self.
There have been plenty of studies done on whether or not music has an impact on someone’s personality. A Big 5 (personality quiz website) study was conducted and the results showed that certain music genres link to different personality types. It shows that people use music to define themselves and if someone criticizes their favorite artist they take it as criticism to them.
Changing has a huge impact on not only how someone’s identity changes but also changes in the music they listen to. Music also has a way of impacting change on someone’s lifestyle as well. Horizon High School student teacher, Sarah Ausloos, reflects back on her own changes in life and how her music has impacted or been affected by these changes. Ausloos says, “I think, well, my changes influence my music taste. So, like, she’s (Taylor Swift) the only thing that’s really been consistent, but in general, I’d say that me maturing and growing throughout my life has influenced the kind of music I listen to.” Ausloos references Taylor Swift throughout the entirety of the interview saying how she has grown musically but overall no matter how much she changes, her favorite artist stays the same. Ausloos also mentions that she and Swift do not share a lot in common yet she is still drawn to her.
Horizon High School junior, Sebastian Arellano, says he feels like he is able to connect with other people through his music taste. He mentions, “My amigo Faith also listens to the same thing, and we argue a lot, and I feel like that just makes us closer. I feel like it strengthens our friendship.” He also touches on the fact that as an upbeat and happy person that he finds joy in Tate Mcrae’s music and personality because like him she cares about people (her fans) and also is very sweet.
In the study done by Big 5, they connect personality traits to certain music genres. It is said that pop relates to extroverted people and they are typically honest and conventional people . It also says rap relates to having high self-esteem and are generally more outgoing; getting rid of the aggressive stereotypes. Some other personality types that stem from music genres are indie fans being reserved, jazz fans being very extroverted, and rock fans usually being the people to have more aggression.
Senior at Horizon, Kassedy Her, believes that she is an accurate representation of her music taste. From her style to her personality. She says that people are almost always able to connect her music taste back to her. She was asked if her style reflects who her favorite artist is and she answered, “Yes. I don’t know I feel like my boots or my belt are a representation of who I listen to.” Her also says that she believes people are able to connect her personality back to her listening to country music.
Sometimes there are more than one person from a group you could choose to identify with. Horizon Junior, Ava Bergman, chose Hongjoon from her favorite K-Pop group Ateez. It can be said (mostly by K-Pop lovers themselves) that choosing a bias is completely related to who you are as a person. While debriefing with Bergman, she talks about how her music is a huge representation of her personality, saying, “I feel like the kind of genres I listen to just show how open I am to certain things, or how open I can be.” Bergman mentions how her music taste has allowed her to be more open to new genres especially with liking something such as K-Pop which a lot of people are not as open to.
Think back and reflect on your own personality. Are you more of an upbeat pop person or a low energy jazz person? How does your favorite artist reflect who you are?
