Musical preference and social identity in adolescence

The idea that a ‘musicianship of listening’ might exist alongside the more conventional notion of musicianship based on composition, improvisation, and performance forms the starting point of our analysis of the importance and function of musical preferences in adolescence. We consider adolescents’ musical preferences, a key part of their social identities, in the context of broader lifespan changes in musical preference, looking in particular at the explanatory power of the notion of ‘open-earedness’. We consider the main psychological theories of adolescent musical preference, distinguishing between those based on social identity theory and those which adopt different sociocultural approaches. There can be no doubt that musical preferences form a central part of the identities of many adolescents, and that the notion of a musicianship of listening can help explain why these preferences are integral to their social relationships and wellbeing.