If you ever see me sitting in the corner with my headphones in, I’m probably listening to classic rock. I’ve found my heart drawn to the distorted guitar of Led Zeppelin and the soulful harmonies of Queen.
But recently I’ve started expanding out to genres such as jazz and blues, and finding the value of going outside of your musical comfort zone. Junior Chris Lew agrees with me.
“The way that music is presented says something about where it comes from, and it’s really interesting to see how different things develop in different places,” Lew said.
Music, like any other art form, is a form of expression. From hip-hop to jazz, each genre gives insight to the values and hardships of the culture it comes from, and furthermore reflects the personal emotions of the individual musicians within that genre.
With all the passion and sweat that goes into all genres of music, it’s saddening to find so many people that won’t expand their music taste.
“If you don’t get a full taste of music or you shut yourself out of one genre of music, you deny yourself a whole level of culture,” junior Poile said.
As Poile explains, people have built their comfort zones around the patterns and formulas that nearly all modern pop music follows.
“It’s all the same rhythms, and people have found different niche areas in pop music production, Poile said. “They churn out these mega hits and everyone just keeps eating them up.”
While both Poile and Lew agree that it is detrimental to remain stubbornly camped in your musical comfort zone, senior Logan Johnson doesn’t believe it’s completely a bad thing.
“Having a diverse music taste broadens your exposure to music, but I don’t think it’s necessarily crucial that you listen to a broad variety of music,” Johnson said. “As long as what you’re listening to is what you like then it doesn’t really matter if you listen to one artist or one hundred.”
I will admit, I am guilty of listening to my select few favorite artists and bands for weeks on end. And while it’s always fun to listen to your favorite band on repeat, it’s also important to note the opportunities you miss when being closed minded about music.
For all you know, you haven’t found your favorite genre of music yet.