Personality Types and Music

[Uberfuhrer]

That is so funny, because I love classical, opera, and new age, but I hate blues, soul, and R&B.

As a result, this test was not very accurate.

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by sundowning

There's definitely a loose correlation.

I agree -- loose correlation, but so many environmental influences on someone's musical tastes that at best one could suggest broad "categories" that might be more appealing to a particular archetype.

And musical tastes seem to change/expand with age.

[Llenyd]

This is actually something I've been thinking about a lot lately after reading about music and the INTP in this profile over at INTPc. One of the parts I found interesting was:

Ultimately, however, music forms a vital, central role in awaking the underdeveloped Fe shadow in the life of an INTP.

...

The mystery of emotion is also evidence in the INTP's use of music. He always chooses to listen to music which suits his current emotional state...

I listen to most genres (excluding country) and when I listen to music I like to evoke a particular mood or emotions. While I don't actively dislike pop/Top 40 music, I usually avoid it as it doesn't make me feel anything and it isn't particularly interesting or complex. To me, it's the musical equivalent of plastic. I also tend to prefer live recordings as studio polish often scrubs out a band's character.

I still generally like my music to have some complexity and melody, though. I don't care for music that is too amelodic, eg gangsta rap, metal subgenres with pure screaming, and some techno can be too monotonous. I do like some screaming in my music, though. It's the "new dissonance"; it adds tension and texture to the music. I particularly like screaming woven with clean vocals, bands such as Haste the Day and Underoath.

Ultimately, though, what I listen isn't really dependent upon the thematic elements of that genre, but rather by the mood it sets.

[Splittet]

Originally Posted by Llenyd

I particularly like screaming woven with clean vocals, bands such as Haste the Day and Underoath.

Try Opeth!

[Sona]

Also being an SJ, I'm not to mainstream music either.

Am more into hardcore rap music, political rap, Conscious hip hop

Some of my favorite artists/groups are:
dead prez, Nas, Poor Righteous Teachers, Public Enemy, Jedi Mind Tricks.

Immortal Technique this is one of my fav tracks by IM:

It's rap about a girl who had HIV
YouTube - Immortal Technique You Never Know Lyrics

another good track by dead prez:
YouTube - Dead Prez, Police State

[TenebrousReflection]

For purposes of this response, consider these the views of an INFx where x probably = P

In examining my own music tastes its pretty clear that feeling is the primary factor in if I like a song or not, but there are some songs I like on the basis of their creativity and thought provoking content and a few that I like based only on the musical content. At the end of this message, I'll include links to samples form a bunch of my favorite bands and would welcome feedback on how others (especially NFs) react to the same types of music I enjoy.

Question for INFXs.
Do you find any modern pop or alternative music emotionally powerful and moving? If so, do you have any specific songs you highly recommend? I try to understand the appeal of American alternative music, but whenever I try to actually listen to any of it, I simply feel nothing and I'm curious if its maybe that that type of music appeals to S, T or E types but not N, F or I (I'm not sure how I/E relates in this, but Es do seem to have different tastes).

Originally Posted by Cindyrella

Well...

I tend to like songs based on lyrical cleverness, attitude (sassiness), and sentimentality. If I can relate to it, I like it. I have never enjoyed anything that doesn't focus on delivering some kind of lyrical message in a melodic way.

Lyrics are important to me too, but I look for different things in them. I like lyrics that either make me feel, make me think, or make me laugh.

In other words, I have never liked metal and probably never will.

If your dislike of metal is based on lyrical content and what is traditionally seen as "metal" in the states (Metallica, Megadeth etc), I'd recommend giving some metal from overseas a try. I'll include a few links to some of my favorites at the end of this message...

I, unlike many of my peers, enjoy country music for its storytelling, sentimentality, and nostalgia.

I like some country songs as well. Mostly the sad stuff with a story. Stuff from artists like Garth Brooks, The Mavericks, Lonestar, and a few others like that.

Originally Posted by SuperServal

.....And what do you guys think of this little test thing?: The Do-Re-Mi's of Personality - What your music tastes say about your personality: take an online personality psychology quiz about music

49 % enjoys reflective and complex music
24 % enjoys edgy and aggressive music
9 % enjoys fun and simple music
2 % enjoys energetic and upbeat music

Most of my musical preferences were not represented or only represented as a large category so the results are not very accurate.

And now, heres a list of bands I like divided by ones I relate to and ones that I don't strongly relate to but still have a strong emotional or thought provoking quality.

Descriptions not in () are how the artists describe themselves, () are my added comments.

Bands I relate to
Beseech - Metal / Gothic / Rock
Blackmore's Night - Alternative (Medieval)
The Cruxshadows - New Wave / Electronica / Gothic
Delain - Metal / Gothic / Alternative
Elis - Metal / Gothic / Rock
Krypteria - Rock / Gothic / Metal
L'Ame Immortelle - Gothic / Rock / Industrial
Liv Kristine - Pop / Classical / Rock
Persephone - (Neo-Classical)
Sirenia - Gothic / Metal / Rock
Visions of Atlantis - Metal (Symphonic Metal)
Within Temptation - Gothic / Rock (/Metal)
Xandria - Gothic / Metal / Rock

Bands that I don't really relate to very strongly but are still emotional and/or thought provoking.
Chamber - Acoustic / Alternative / Classical
Epica - Metal (Symphonic Metal)
Echoes of Eternity - Metal / Gothic / Thrash
Elane - Folk Rock / Gothic / Indie
Faun - Folk / Gothic / Alternative
Hagalaz' Runedance - Folk / Alternative / Ambient
Korpiklaani - Metal / Folk / Thrash
Nebelhexe - Alternative / Gothic / Folk
Nightwish - (Symphonic Metal)
Omnia - Folk / Gothic / Alternative

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I'm an INTJ and I was ready to refute you until you changed our probable preference from Rammstein to "Powerful/commanding music" and "pompous". U2 is probably my favorite band and they are all three of those things.

I also like soul and blues and blues-based rock. All the Stax/Volt stuff, the Atlantic soul catalog, Buddy Guy, James Brown, BB King, White Stripes, Black Keys, Robert Randolph.

I like a lot of hard rock, but not really metal as a lot of INTJs seem to. I like some of it, like Metallica, Megadeth and stupid 80s metal. But the hardcore gothic metal really doesn't appeal to me at all.

[DaRick]

33 % enjoys reflective and complex music
87 % enjoys edgy and aggressive music
19 % enjoys fun and simple music
12 % enjoys energetic and upbeat music

I'm not so sure whether I fit the normal ISTJ type for musical tastes. I am mostly a hard-rock/heavy-metal person, with plenty of pop leanings. I also like some (though not a lot) inflection of blues (i.e - Stevie Ray Vaughan), funk and new wave. I am indifferent to religious music, despite being somewhat religious and I abhor hip-hop (mostly) and country.

For the record, I dislike modern mainstream music. I would best describe my leanings as retro-mainstream and retro-alternative (mainly 70's, 80's and early 90's, without that excessively synthesised rubbish that dominated the 80's pop scene ).

My favourite artists are Guns N' Roses, David Bowie, Megadeth, Metallica, The Cult, INXS, Aerosmith, Alice in Chains, Danzig, Ozzy Osbourne (solo), Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Skid Row and The Offspring, plus some others that I can't currently remember. I'm a 'song' man, not an 'album' man.

[cascadeco]

I haven't devoted the time to think about type and music, and whether there's a correlation, but I tend to think there isn't much of one - except perhaps that *in general*, S's might not be into more of your more obscure music/bands - and would stick much more to mainstream -- but in saying that, I definitely have more of the MTV generation/'types' in mind... ;-) ...which wouldn't really be represented here on the boards.

I think a lot of ones preference, though, is tied to peer influence, as well as whether or not music - as in playing an instrument or being in choir - was part of your childhood.

For example, I played both oboe and piano for nearly a decade each growing up, and quite seriously at that, and was also a member of a youth symphony. So, classical music, and rhythm, and composition, were all rather a part of me. Also, my father, much to my chagrin, would constantly play classical music records every weekend, so that's pretty much all I heard growing up. Now, I find myself listening to classical music, perhaps 25% of the time.

I think it's tied to the classical music upbringing, that makes me, in pop music/rock, be much more concerned and interested in the phrasing/rhythm/melody of a song, much more so than the words themselves. In fact, with the exception of maybe a few favorite solo artists, I usually have no idea, or don't pay attention to, the words being sung by some of my favorite bands.

There is a certain amount of nostalgia behind why I like certain bands -- for example, I LOVE much of the 90's alt-rock music, but I think half of it is because it takes me back to my youth/innocence, and my college experiences.

What I listen to depends on my mood. Surprise. So, there's the classical music - orchestral, as well as choral - I find myself playing Mozart and Bach's missa's quite often. There's also solo artists - Tori Amos is hands down my favorite. I've followed her through the years, and while it's taken me..time..to adjust to some of her albums that I didn't like initially, as an artist, I love her. Then there's my alt-rock -- I really love STP and Alice in Chains at times, and your other mainstream 90's stuff. Then there's more the electronic/trip-hop stuff - like Gotan Project. Then there's ethereal stuff - like Dead Can Dance/Lisa Gerrard. Then there's world music - that's my newest kick, wanting to hear new sounds. Then there's random stuff thrown in too...you get the picture. I have a LOT of stuff, and the only type of music that I absolutely hate is just noisy, angry acid rock, where I don't detect any musicality/melody, and it's simply hateful, chalk-on-chalkboard, screeching pain to my ears. :-)

[whatever]

hey- I hate most mainstream music and I'm an S!
I'm a big fan of punk music before Greenday went all pop (the Clash, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, Bad Religion, Social Distortion....), Celtic Punk (Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, the Pogues, Sham 69), Glam in all of it's incarnations (New York Dolls, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Manic Street Preachers and Hanoi Rocks- though the last 2 are glam punk) along with classical, bluegrass, blues and Rockabilly!

I am SO not responsible for Britney Spears selling any records!