Musical Preferences and Forms of Life

The musical preferences of elementary students and their teachers are examined as expressions of forms of life, or musical habitus, which are in keeping with occupational and other life experiences a decade later. Administration of a Q sample composed of names of singers and song titles resulted in three factors, one of which was bipolar: (A) Popular Music Lovers, who embrace top-40 music; (B) Adult Listeners, who gravitate to country and classic rock, and a bipolar group of young males, who prefer Rap and Heavy Metal; and (C) Musical Omnivores, who like a variety of music. Concluding comments speak to the irreducibility of forms of life and their amenability to examination via Q methodology.

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