Creating Tolerance and World Peace

Posts Tagged ‘musical tastes’

Music is personal. No doubt about it. There is a general viewpoint that in a group, unless you know everyone thinks the same way, stay away from discussions of politics and religion. Especially at work. Music is no different. Because of this, it’s a great way to do a mind experiment to test your ability to accept others.

Assume you grew up in the late sixties. You spent every spare audible moment trapped in the rhythms of Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doobie Brothers, The Stones and those spacing out moments with Yes. You grew up with huge amounts of music and you are convinced that you are accepting of every genre with an open mind.

What was your dad’s reaction when you had the music too loud? Remember the lecture you got about “real” music from Glen Miller and Sinatra?

After high school you had established musical tastes. In your mind you knew good music from bad which was the reason you stopped listening to music in the eighties! Right? You remember that, don’t you?

By 1987 you had your first child. In high school he listened to Green Day and a whole slew of other groups that, in your mind, lacked good harmony, good voices and ability to REALLY play a guitar. In 1995 you had your third child. In 2010, she is a musician in her own right. Not only does she listen to all the popular music, she plays Black Dog by Led Zeppelin on her electric violin. Yes! You succeeded in raising one child correctly!

One evening, while sitting at home, watching your favorite movie for the eightieth time, you hear someone in the family room banging out a Frank Sinatra song. You wander in to see your daughter with three other musical friends discovering the music of the forties.

Are you going to lecture her on the purity of Led Zeppelin and Yes, or will you remember that you are accepting of every genre? Take that mind experiment to work. How well do you accept with an open mind?