I like music, so do you, yet there are those who don’t find harmony in music. Without a doubt, it is a tangled web of subjective opinion, but what factors into our likes and dislikes? Could the inability to enjoy music, known formally as musical anhedonia, also account for our likes and dislikes of particular genres of music? Join me on this journey of discovery, dear reader, and we will find out together.
During the mid-1990s, as my interest in music was cultivating, I came across a band who I considered, at the time, to be has-beens. The Rolling Stones were old men, aged in their 50s, yet still unable to find satisfaction. The first time I recall hearing The Rolling Stones, I instantly disliked them and felt they had no musical talent to speak of. I certainly got no satisfaction from listening to their music and over the years I started to loathe them, maintaining that position for close to two decades. It wasn’t until their 50th Anniversary in 2012 that I decided to take a chance on their career perspective Grrr! release. In an interesting dichotomy, this release was the precursor to a deep appreciation of everything Rolling Stones. Yet, I’m unable to fully understand how this transformation occurred.
No doubt you’re already calculating a theory, perhaps one that is based on any number of stereotypes such as the age when our interest in discovering new music peaks. There are certainly some genres of music and musicians that can be pigeonholed into these theories, but it is often clichéd to the point of irrelevance. The idea that a younger listener can not appreciate classical music or jazz is absurd, as is the fact that a more mature individual will not find pleasure in the latest pop-sensation or boy band. If there is any truth to these stereotypical viewpoints then it doesn’t explain why classical and jazz music are not as mainstream as the pop/rock music, generated in the 60s, when The Rolling Stones first appeared on the scene. Also, while I acknowledge my own maturing and the fact that many of my interests have changed, I was well past the tumultuous teenage years yet still abhorred Mick Jagger’s gyrating performances and the often raw production values that made The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones.
Perhaps you’re thinking that musical likes and dislikes have to do with peer pressure and the need to be defined by a social identity. Plausible, yes, but I’d argue that for many music lovers, such as myself, who identify as being introverted, the appeal of one’s music tastes is aligned closer to an internal monologue and often void of peer influence and associated pressures. However, the socialist viewpoint validates peer pressure as being a key influence as it suggests the real value in music resides not with the individual, but the impact the music has on society and how one subsequently integrates into society.
“deriving pleasure from music can be limited or enhanced by everything from mood, to the weather, to the comfort of the human body”
While a societal impact may be relevant, a study presented at the 9th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition suggests 1 that most people go through phases of liking particular genres, then growing weary of them, only to diverge and later reconnect with the particular genre of music. Interesting, yes, and that may appeal to my own situation should it be directed to the artist, rather than the genre, because I’ve always loved rock and roll, especially the Blues-based rock music at the core of The Rolling Stones sound. Of course, liking a genre doesn’t dictate that one will like all artists within that genre. It also fails to consider the implication of mood. Audiophile journalist, Steve Guttenberg, is somewhat agreeable proposing that deriving pleasure from music can be limited or enhanced by everything from mood, to the weather, to the comfort of the human body 2 & 3 . Surely not being in the mood couldn’t be the only reason for my lack of desire towards The Rolling Stones. Although, if intimacy after children is any indication, perhaps Guttenberg is onto something, even if it’s only the result of a placebo effect.
While I could continue to entertain the many plausible, and yet to be conclusively proven, theories, I do have to wonder if it’s not merely a case of experiencing musical anhedonia that caused my disinterest in The Rolling Stones so many years ago.
For the uninitiated, anhedonia was formally defined by the French psychologist, Théodule-Armand Ribot, as the inability to experience pleasure, in the late 19th century. While The American Heritage Dictionary of Medicine 4 is absolute in their aforementioned definition, a number of modern interpretations indicate anhedonia is less stringent, suggesting anhedonia signifies a decline in the capacity for one to experience or anticipate pleasure. It is this latter interpretation that we’ll concentrate on here as my possible experience of musical anhedonia, formerly specific musical anhedonia, is a subset of anhedonia and unrelated to melophobia. Interestingly, the father of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, Sigmund Freud 5 , is said to have suffered melophobia as he would clasp his hands to his ears in the presence of music; out of fear.
Similarly, amusia is rarely associated with musical anhedonia, but I feel it can be ruled out as I don’t experience the inability to process pitch correctly. Amusia is said to affect about 4% of the population and is also associated with memory and recognition, especially following a stroke 6 , further adding the number of people who don’t find music to be a universal language.
“healthy people can suffer musical anhedonia and while they don’t find music pleasurable, they enjoy other rewarding stimuli.”
Nevertheless, it’s important to note that musical anhedonia is only a relatively recent determination. In a 2014 study, Dissociation between Musical and Monetary Reward Responses in Specific Musical Anhedonia 7, it was found that healthy people can suffer musical anhedonia and while they don’t find music pleasurable, they enjoy other rewarding stimuli. This is, of course, in direct contrast to experiencing anhedonia. whereby no pleasure is felt, regardless of stimuli.
Co-author of the study, Josep Marco-Pallerés, believes that musical anhedonia could be linked to evolutionary changes as “music doesn’t offer access to biologically relevant advantages, unlike that of food or money.” While this may be a logical conclusion, based on the findings of the aforementioned study, Dr John Powell suggests the “brain doesn’t treat music any differently than it treats other audible sounds and that music is merely a series of sounds to be rapidly processed 8.” Interestingly, another 2011 study indicates that selective loss of emotional experience in listening to music can also occur without any disturbance to other musical or neuropsychological abilities 9. Such a finding indicates that a musician, for instance, could still perform their art but the selective impairment of musical anhedonia would result in an inability to find pleasure in the music. The interpretation of music in the mind is clearly fascinating and not yet fully understood, hence one has to wonder if those experiencing musical anhedonia have not evolved to be indifferent towards sound as the natural fight or flight response remains somewhat dormant in first-world societies. Of course, this is yet another theory, one of my own devising, but Marco-Pallerés does suggest “further sub-developments of musical anhedonia are probable.”
“it is estimated that around 3 to 5 percent of the world’s population suffers musical anhedonia.”
Regardless, those that experience musical anhedonia simply derive no pleasure from music. Allison Sheridan is one such person who finds music both “boring and distracting”. Appearing on the Systematic podcast 10, Sheridan elaborates by saying, “It isn’t that I dislike music per se, but that I feel indifferent about it.” It’s important to note that Sheridan isn’t alone as it is estimated that around 3 to 5 percent of the world’s population suffers from this condition 11. While that may seem minuscule, that percentage amounts to hundreds of millions of people who don’t derive pleasure from music. Of course, as Sheridan rightly states, “the only real suffering is the mockery from other people as they simply don’t understand how I can’t love music because the notion is that everybody loves music. People always try to change my mind by suggesting music they like which I find really interesting.”
While musical anhedonia is a legitimate neurological condition, the individual experiences no effects, other than indifference, to their personality or way of life. Sheridan isn’t depressed, nor does she lack other emotional elements or empathy. While some studies have provided evidence linking depression and anhedonia 12, the subset of musical anhedonia is uniquely different as those who experience it find pleasure in all other aspects of life. Whereas, if one were experiencing traditional anhedonia, they would experience no pleasure at all, from any stimuli. It’s a small, but significant difference.
With this in mind, I can’t help but wonder if musical anhedonia can be a learned trait; perhaps even an adopted one. David Cope, a musicology professor, looked at the subjective emotional element in his Experiments in Musical Intelligence 13. The audience initially praised the stirring performance, explaining how it had touched their innermost being, only to be dismayed with glum silence and bouts of anger when told it was composed free of human interaction by an advanced computer algorithm. These participants clearly allowed their subjectivity to influence their likes and dislikes, and while musical anhedonia is the indifference of emotion, the fact that one can change their mind so quickly raises the possibility that Marco-Pallerés is correct when suggesting that future studies may yield a conglomerate of sub-definitions of musical anhedonia; perhaps in looking not only at the response to the listening process but to the interpretation if one is aware of the creator of such music, in this case, David Cope’s advanced algorithmic computer.
Adopted or not, the perspective of those who experience musical anhedonia is insightful, especially if one were to live vicariously through their thoughts. I, and perhaps you dear reader, can only marvel at the silence, for music is neither in the foreground or background. The fridge hums while the air conditioner rumbles. The birds are squawking in the distance while a chainsaw is grinding through their home in a neighbour's yard. A car has driven past and I’m left with my thoughts. I am not unhappy with the silence, I’m quite content in fact. It’s peaceful as music can be a distraction, but it is also lonely and absent of emotion. Those who experience musical anhedonia don’t have the same longing for emotional input, via music, as I do. I want to feel the hairs rise on the back of my neck when listening to Beethoven’s 5th, I want to sense the smoke-filled nightclub where Vince Jones is jazzing it up, and I want to be in the front seat of my own personal concert with Deep Purple as they rocked Japan in 1972. However, most importantly, I want to feel the music. I want to connect with it and make it my own. Cherish it and rejoice in the magic that it brings. For this music lover, silence is akin to a siesta, it resets the mind, but can only be tolerated for so long.
Of course, it’s important to remember that neither the music-lover nor the experiencer of musical anhedonia is superior to one another. They are, in essence, one and the same as they garner pleasure from life, just different aspects of life. Therefore, the next time a friend says they’re not really into music, consider not isolating them further by recommending your favourite artist. Try instead to connect with what brings them pleasure for musical anhedonia is currently the only subset of anhedonia and there is little doubt you will find as much pleasure in another activity as they will.
As for me, well you may recall that I not only disliked The Rolling Stones but loathed them. Thankfully, my emotive response has flipped but my initial impassioned standpoint is hardly the trademark of one who experiences an indifference towards music. That said, it isn’t outside of the realm of possibility that additional studies into musical anhedonia may uncover additional insights into one’s likes and dislikes. Until then, my own emotive responses to music remain as elusive as ever and in some ways, I admire the absoluteness that musical anhedonia delivers to those who experience it.
References
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Guttenberg, S. (2018). This Magic Moment. [online] Stereophile.com. Available at: https://www.stereophile.com/content/magic-moment [Accessed 1 Jan. 2020].
Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac (2018). One day system sounds great, next day meh. Why?. [video] Available at: https://youtu.be/jHelEOHjtH4 [Accessed 1 Jan. 2020].
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Diamond, S. (2018). Why We Love Music—and Freud Despised It. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/evil-deeds/201211/why-we-love-music-and-freud-despised-it [Accessed 22 Jul. 2018].
Hirel, C., Mechtouff, L., Derex, L. and Nighoghossian, N. (2014). Acquired amusia and musical anhedonia. Revue Neurologique.
Mas-Herrero, E., Zatorre, R., Rodriguez-Fornells, A. and Marco-Pallarés, J. (2014). Dissociation between Musical and Monetary Reward Responses in Specific Musical Anhedonia. Current Biology, 24(6), pp.699-704.
Powell, D. (2016). Why we love music. London: John Murray Publishers.
Satoh, M., Nakase, T., Nagata, K. and Tomimoto, H. (2011). Musical anhedonia: Selective loss of emotional experience in listening to music. Neurocase, 17(5), pp.410-417.
Terpstra, B. and Sheridan, A. (2017). 201: Not the Man I Thought He Was with Allison Sheridan. [podcast] Systematic. Available at: http://esn.fm/systematic/201 [Accessed 20 Jul. 2018].
Ramón Alonso, J. (2018). Musical anhedonia, not everyone likes music - Mapping Ignorance. [online] Mapping Ignorance. Available at: https://mappingignorance.org/2018/07/02/musical-anhedonia-not-everyone-likes-music/ [Accessed 6 Jan. 2020].
Snaith, P. (1993). Identifying Depression: The Significance of Anhedonia. Hospital Practice, 28(sup5), pp.55-60.
Cope, D. (n.d.). Experiments in Musical Intelligence. [online] Artsites.ucsc.edu. Available at: http://artsites.ucsc.edu/faculty/Cope/experiments.htm [Accessed 5 Jan. 2020].
