From Renaissance to 20th Century: The Influence of Musical Training on Historical Music Preferences*
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Mentor/Supervising Professor Name
Garcia, Melissa
Abstract (Description of Research)
Music taste is highly complex, influenced by factors of age, personality, familiarity, and musical training. While any studies have researched trends of preference for popular music genres and general classical music, few have broken the classical genre into its stylistically unique historical periods. This study examines the differences in preference for six historical music eras—Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, and 20th century—between classically trained and non-trained individuals. Musicians were expected to show a higher overall preference for classical music and a narrower preference range between eras than that of non-musicians. It was also hypothesized that Romantic music would receive the highest ratings and 20th century music the lowest across all participants. Participants (n = 174; 108 musically trained, 66 non-musically trained) selected through convenience sampling reported their musical background, listened to 18 classical excerpts—three from each era—and rated them on both preference and familiarity. Mean ratings for each era were analyzed with a 2 x 6 mixed design ANCOVA test with familiarity as a covariate, with an additional ANOVA test comparing musical training and familiarity. Results showed higher familiarity for classical music in musicians compared to non-musicians but no significant difference in preference. Baroque and Classical were highest in both preference and familiarity, while 20th century ranked lowest. These findings contribute to the understanding of music taste within the classical genre and may inform strategies for fostering interest in classical music through platforms such as music education and classical concert programming.
Included in
From Renaissance to 20th Century: The Influence of Musical Training on Historical Music Preferences*
Music taste is highly complex, influenced by factors of age, personality, familiarity, and musical training. While any studies have researched trends of preference for popular music genres and general classical music, few have broken the classical genre into its stylistically unique historical periods. This study examines the differences in preference for six historical music eras—Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, and 20th century—between classically trained and non-trained individuals. Musicians were expected to show a higher overall preference for classical music and a narrower preference range between eras than that of non-musicians. It was also hypothesized that Romantic music would receive the highest ratings and 20th century music the lowest across all participants. Participants (n = 174; 108 musically trained, 66 non-musically trained) selected through convenience sampling reported their musical background, listened to 18 classical excerpts—three from each era—and rated them on both preference and familiarity. Mean ratings for each era were analyzed with a 2 x 6 mixed design ANCOVA test with familiarity as a covariate, with an additional ANOVA test comparing musical training and familiarity. Results showed higher familiarity for classical music in musicians compared to non-musicians but no significant difference in preference. Baroque and Classical were highest in both preference and familiarity, while 20th century ranked lowest. These findings contribute to the understanding of music taste within the classical genre and may inform strategies for fostering interest in classical music through platforms such as music education and classical concert programming.