Expand Your Musical Palate

                                        

    Hey all, just coming on here briefly to tell you to listen to more music. There is so much music out there from countless genres that use thousands of different instruments in many different ways that you have to experience to even begin to understand what is all out there. I personally began expanding my taste in music through listening to albums, which includes the songs that people don't necessarily think of when speaking to the salience of an artist. I started listening to rock music, slowly inching into classical rock, shifting rapidly to Hip-Hop and RnB, and finally landing in jazz. Listening to albums from artists like Steely Dan, Keith Sweat, Aaliyah, JID, and hundreds of others taught me that music is more than what it seems on the surface. I've been surrounded by music my entire life, beginning with mastering guitar hero by 6 years old, learning to play guitar and bass with my dad, then joining band to play the trumpet for over 9 years. 

    To say that music is just a facet of entertainment would be ignorant to the blood, sweat and tears that some artists put into making their music. Music is a form of artistic expression and passion and regardless of your personality or interests, there is music out there that speaks to you, and will help you feel something you may have never felt before. Personally, some genres of music I listen to help me self-reflect, specifically music from conscious rappers like JID, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, and many more, whereas listening to complex jazz is something I listen to, to enhance my musical understanding for my own musical endeavors.

    If you like music, but you're stuck listening to the same playlist with 50 songs you gathered from high school, you are doing your ears a disservice. Not only does the way you listen to music change as you develop mentally, but the types of music you enjoy will also change along with your development. I have a theory that some people are so bound by conformity in music, and the seemingly high entry-barrier to listening to more sophisticated pieces of music, deters people from listening to something that they have never heard before. This in turn, creates a negative affect toward listening to new music outside of their comfort zone. If you want to stick listening to the same songs on repeat and you are happy with that, by all means continue listening, just don't discredit other genres of music because it doesn't fit your definition of 'good music'.