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Appreciation for loud music - Is it genetic or learned?

MichaelD

MichaelD

Lifer
People have different likes and dislikes; that's what makes us individuals.

I have come to notice quite a few things during my time on this cursed planet. One of those things is that I REALLY enjoy loud music. Doesn't matter what kind of music it is; I have a varied palette of music tastes.

It's just that whatever kind of music I'm enjoying at the moment, I like it loud. Soaring highs, crystaline midrange and gut-wrenching, throbbing bass; all music should contain these qualities. The interesting thing is that those qualities cannot be appreciated at the volume deemed "acceptable" by the Average Joe/Jeanette in today's society.

There's nothing wrong w/my hearing. (What? Huh?) I get a physical every year and that involves a hearing test. I just enjoy it LOUD.

Is this genetic or is it something else?

My father, whom I detest for a number of reasons, really loved music...all kinds, actually, like me. 🙂 But he HATED loud sounds. He'd listen to his 78RPM records...softly. As a child, I dug some of those tunes and grabbed a handful of volume control. Only to be reprimanded and the volume returned to it's former almost silent level.

Ah, I see the Freudian wannabees intervening! "It's your desire to rebel that makes you like the loud music, nothing else!"

But that is not the case. I really do enjoy loud music. Why?


Cliff Notes

I like loud music. Do you? Why?
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Why would it be genetic? Doesn't your own example of your father answer your own question?
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Hey! You can't answer my question with another question. :| No fair. You are disqualified. 😛
 
Aren't you the fellow who complained about rap? That's the kind of music that is often played loud these days.
 
Originally posted by: ricochet
Aren't you the fellow who complained about rap? That's the kind of music that is often played loud these days.
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Which rap? The real rap from the 80's or the fake rap from about 1992 and on? Any rap involving an artist that has his own clothing line, the artist is younger than 21 years old or has more fake gold teeth than an actor in The Pirates of Penzance doesn't count as rap.
 
Originally posted by: MichaelD
Originally posted by: ricochet
Aren't you the fellow who complained about rap? That's the kind of music that is often played loud these days.
Click to expand...

Which rap? The real rap from the 80's or the fake rap from about 1992 and on? Any rap involving an artist that has his own clothing line, the artist is younger than 21 years old or has more fake gold teeth than an actor in The Pirates of Penzance doesn't count as rap.
Click to expand...

The current stuff, post 2000 era. More like club hip-hop I guess.

I think RagingBITCH pretty much addressed your question.
 
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I *hate* loud sounds. I like quiet or mid-level volume.
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Which is the very reason why most respectable public buildings play elevator type music. You have to satisfy the lowest common denominator.
 
i think i listen to music at fairly high volume. tonal balance is important however, i am particularly weak to piercing highs. as such, my foobar EQ attenuates highs depending on the headphone of choice (cd-3000 and hd-580). many of my friends are car audio junkies, and except for one of them they are all into bloated, thumping bass. a ride in their wheels always makes me cringe >.<
 
Not too loud, just loud enough to hear the quietest passage.
Then again I listen to classical, which has lots of variations in volume during a typical piece.
 
Originally posted by: ricochet
Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I *hate* loud sounds. I like quiet or mid-level volume.
Click to expand...

Which is the very reason why most respectable public buildings play elevator type music. You have to satisfy the lowest common denominator.
Click to expand...

That's fine with me. I wouldn't patronize places that played their music too loud unless I had to.
 
I'll crank up songs that I really like, but when they're over I lower it back down, it just gets uncomfortable after a while to me. I have ridiculously good hearing, probably due to the fact my ears are the size of, and work like, parabolic microphones 😛
 
Volume level for me depends on the type of music I'm listening to. If it's trance (what I listen to 90% of the time), rap, or rock, I like it loud. For the laid back genres, I listen to them at a moderate volume
 
Studies have shown that loud noise causes pain, and that the body produces chemicals to ease the pain. These chemicals are very similar to many powerful drugs. Many people like the feeling they get from them. But like all drugs, you can get used to one level and you need more to keep your high. Thus people need louder and louder music to feel good. Eventually what makes you feel good at a moderate volume soon requires a loud volume to get the same enjoyment. The pattern continues and you have contests for the loudest possible vehicles...

I think it could be partially genetic (your production of your own chemicals and your sensitivity to those chemicals). But it is more a learned experience. You have to actually turn the music up - higher and higher over time - to keep your addiction going.
 
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