Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive over the past forty years, research shows
Take this test To see which music categories you score highly in, read the descriptions below
Soft music is defined as romantic, relaxing, friendly, sad, slow and quiet; often heard in genres of soft rock, R&B and adult contemporary.
People who have a well-developed ability to understand thoughts and feelings in themselves and others, so-called ’empathizers’, prefer calm music that evokes deep emotions.
Unpretentious Music is defined as uncomplicated, relaxing, non-aggressive, soft and acoustic, and mainly drawn from the country, folk and singer/songwriter music genres.
Fans of upbeat music such as country, pop and soundtracks generally score low on openness to experience and intelligence.
They are more likely to be agreeable, outgoing, and conscientious and consider themselves attractive, wealthy, athletic, and politically conservative.
Refined music is defined as inspiring, intelligent, complex and dynamic, and comes from the genres of classical, opera, avant-garde, world beat and traditional jazz music.
People who prefer reflective and complex music such as blues, classical and jazz score high in openness to experience and consider themselves politically liberal, intelligent and not very athletic.
Intense Music is defined as distorted, loud, aggressive and not relaxing, romantic or inspiring, and comes from the classic rock, punk, heavy metal and power pop music genres.
People who can identify patterns and systems, also known as ‘systemisers’, prefer intense music that forms complex sounds. Systemisers are people who are logical, analytical and objective.
Modern Music is defined as percussive, electric and not sad, and from the genres of rap, electronica, Latin, acid jazz and Euro-pop.
People who prefer energetic and rhythmic music were also outgoing, agreeable, attractive and athletic, but they did not share the political leanings, wealth or lower intelligence scores as upbeat music lovers.
Source: Musical Universe Project and short test of musical preferences