I know music is one of the ways people distinguish and classify themselves as individuals. It’s no stretch of the imagination for example, to think of someone dressed in black from head to toe, with long, black hair as “metal” or gothic”. I think distinguishing yourself is a mark of individuality and an inner need to be different. That’s great, but too often, people go the extra distance by very narrowly classifying the music they listen to. As a music instructor, my job is to get to know a new student to better help them along on their musical journey. One of the first questions I usually ask is  ”what kind of music are you into?”. I tend to hear all kinds of answers, but it seems the most common answer I’ve heard recently is “I listen to everything… except country”. Or my personal favorite, “I listen to everything – you know, rock, hard rock, indie, classic rock”.

It kind of reminds me of that scene in The Blues Brothers when Jake asks the bartender what kind of music they typically have there, to which her response is “Oh, we have both kinds – country and western.”

Now I know I’m not the most musically tolerant individual, but I am trying, and I do believe people have not just the right, but the duty to be educated, cultured and tolerant. I think music is a great vehicle for this. I think we should all learn to see the beauty in rock, blues, jazz, country, western, indie, big band, classical, etc. You may not love everything about a particular genre, but I guarantee you’ll find at least one song you enjoy. And as logic would follow, if you can find one song you enjoy from your least favorite genre, you can find more.

Although my diet of music consists mainly of metal and it’s many sub-genres, I still make it a point to listen to a wide variety of music, and have found I enjoy many new genres and artists I expose myself too.

Anyways, in closing, open your mind to new genres, artists, styles, and generations. Better yet, open your mind to tolerance, individualism and cultural and racial disparity.