Article Published In Vol.7 (May-June 2019)

A Study of the Relationship between Personality Traits and Music Preference

Author : Biaknungi

Music occupies a very important role in our lives. Music has been so helpful in many different ways; it has helped in changing our moods and also helped many to express themselves better through music. Music in India has undergone vast changes over generations. Since Vedic times, Indians were required to accurately recite the Vedas. This accuracy in recitation was essential as the Vedas were, in those days, transmitted through memory – Smriti and were learnt through hearing –Shruti. The kind of an emphasis applied on recitation and the right pronunciation lead to studies in phonetics and sound manipulation. The traditional Mizo musical instruments are very simple and crude in comparison to other Indian musical instruments and very out-dated to Modern Musical instruments. They can broadly be divided into three: Beating or Striking instruments; Wind instruments and String instruments. Using the Pearson‟s product movement correlation analysis, the four dimensions of music genres under the Short Test of Music Preferences scale (STOMP) – Reflexive and Complex, Intensive and Rebellious, Upbeat and Conventional and Energetic and Rhythmic and the big five personality traits were evaluated

Keywords: Music, India, Mizo, Pearson Correlation, Neuroticism, Extraversion , Openness to Experience , Agreeableness , Conscientiousness