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Musical taste and ageing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 March 2010

JILL HARRISON  and
JOHN RYAN
JILL HARRISON*
Affiliation:
Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
JOHN RYAN
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Jill Harrison, Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, 121 South Main S121-G(6), Providence, RI 02912, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore musical taste patterns in old age. Having musical tastes, defined as individual preferences for certain musical genres, has been theorised as being a relational tool, something that can be used to negotiate social situations and interpersonal exchanges with others. Taste not only helps to make sense out of the endless array of products available on the cultural menu, but is also through consumption and display a way of signalling group membership, social location, identity and self. These concepts are important throughout the lifecourse, yet relatively unexplored in later life. What are the taste patterns of older adults and how do they compare to the musical preferences of other age groups? To address these questions we analysed data from the United States national Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA), a repeated cross-sectional survey, for the years 1982, 1992 and 2002. In each year, musical tastes displayed a positive relationship with age up to 55 years of age. The results indicate that across the three survey years, at older ages there was a negative relationship between tastes and age. We offer explanations for these results using theories from the sociology of culture and social gerontology.

Keywords

cultural tastesmusicculture capitalaging and sociology of culture
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , May 2010 , pp. 649 - 669
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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