Music is something personal, which people prefer listening to for one reason or another. What can music tell about us? Can music really tell a story, the songs we prefer, the songs we usually listen to? Yes and no, and it also depends. Studies have been done to try and figure out whether music tells something about us. There have been plenty of such studies, but some are more important than others, some which have actual results to share. The research from the Heriot-Watt University interviewed around 35,000 people and asked them to rate musical styles and give a bit more information on their own personalities. Here are the results of this study.

Rock/Heavy-Metal Music

Rock and Heavy Metal, the genres which are often associated with a very heavy, outgoing lifestyle which often has lots of parties and illegal substances. Well, the research found that people who listen to these types of music are often quite gentle and serene and are quite introverted. They tend to keep to themselves, rather than go out swinging on parties and festivals.

Rap and Hip Hop Music

Rap and Hip Hop music is often associated with very aggressive individuals who often get into gun fights, right? Well, while that might be true for the image they are trying to create, the individuals tested had no such intentions. If nothing, rap fans seemed to be outgoing and with loads of self esteem.

Jazz and Blues Music

People who enjoy jazz and blues are often very extroverted and tend to be quite creative. They are also outgoing and have lots of self esteem, at least the people who participated in this research.

Pop Music

Pop music is listened to by lots of hard working people, but people who are actually less creative and a bit uneasy. But, other traits which followed this genre are lots of self esteem and a very extroverted nature.

Country Music

Country is one of the most popular genres out there. It is listened to by outgoing and hard working people, who are also quite extroverted. On the other hand, this genre is filled to the brink with sad songs, yet the people who listen to this genre and have participated in the research appear to be quite stable emotionally.

Classical Music

Classical music has to be listened to by snobs, right? Wrong, people who listen to classical music are often very much at ease with both themselves and the world around them, while also being quite balanced with their self esteem. They are also often introverted.

Psychology and Music

While this research might point towards some things which might link music and personalities, there is insufficient data which points to personalities deciding which music we enjoy.

Music is often picked by our social status and image, what we think of ourselves and what we aspire to be. More importantly the music we listened to is the kind which resonates with us emotionally. Scientists are yet to discover why music affects us in such a way but it is one of the main reasons as to why many of us listen to music.

Music could tell a story about our personalities, but the odds are that other things will tell that story much better. Music is music, no matter the genre, and people’s tastes vary.