Listening Habits

Listening Habits

Listening Habits
One of many good reasons of living in this country is freedom of choice. Freedom of choice also includes the opportunity to choose the style of music without becoming arrested. Creativity of music occurs in many styles: country, jazz, blues, rock, hip hop, rap classical, religious, pop, Latin, easy listening, adult alternative, heavy metal, plus many other styles.
I have a wide range of listening preference: country, blues, old time rock ‘n’ roll, classical, easy listening, pop, and Native American. Basically, I enjoy most styles; however, I do not appreciate hip hop, rap, or heavy metal.
Country and Western Music
The style I listen to most of the time is country music. Some of my favorite artists are Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, George Strait, Hank Williams, Sr., and Dave Dudley. The older style of country music is the type I enjoy more; perhaps the reason is because I grew up listening to this style.
Country music (sometimes called country and western music) began with ballads, folk songs, and songs about settlers. Originally, country music was called “hillbilly music.” The music industry changed the derogatory label of “hillbilly music” to “country and western music” around 1949 (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011). Country music singers wrote about life experiences: love, death, divorce, illness, jobs, drinking. Common instruments would be guitar, fiddle, harmonica, and banjo. Kamien (2006), states that when singers “accompany themselves on a guitar, they add support, depth, and richness to the melody” (p. 51).
The artists named above were good at singing from the heart. I feel the emotions in the voices and in the melodies. The instruments used are what my family members would play at gatherings, and I grew up appreciating these instruments. The fiddle and harmonica are my favorite instruments to listen to when I am dancing.
Country music represents many areas of my life and brings back memories to...

Similar Essays