Our study explores the aesthetics of favorite music, particularly how individuals describe it. To achieve this, we collected self-generated adjectives in form of free descriptions from participants to uncover the distinctive qualities and characteristics associated with different favored musical styles.
N = 802 participants rated 15 musical styles and 3 to 11 substyles on a 7-point Likert scale. Additionally, they provided up to 20 adjectives that best describe their favorite music. We analyzed a total of n= 7,380 adjectives, categorizing them into 'semantic fields' by combining synonyms and closely related adjectives. We analyzed the adjectives’ frequency of occurrence, the dimensions of musical value judgments, a cognitive salience index, and compared those measures between various musical styles.
Chosen descriptions for the favorite music can be independent or dependent of musical style. For example, our results highlight the term "touching" as a relevant description, prominently featured across various musical styles. In contrast, “hard” and “powerful” clearly characterize metal, while electronic music styles are defined by descriptions such as “energetic,” “motivating,” and “encouraging.” The analysis of frequency of occurrence and the cognitive salience index unveiled emotional and stylistic commonalities as well as distinctions of the musical styles.
By employing a multifaceted approach to explore the aesthetics of favorite music, we are able to identify commonalities and differences in the aesthetics of various musical styles. These findings provide a compelling foundation for further research in music aesthetics, facilitating a deeper understanding of the complex experiences and evaluations individuals maintain with their favorite music.