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What about those songs that we don't appreciate in the first listen, but become one of our favorites over time? I can't be the only one this happens to. It may not be the catchiest, but it becomes a frequently played piece. For me it doesn't happen much with pop songs that are meant to catch you immediately, but definitely with songs from shows and film.

240 seconds to be exact.

New study finds we know what foods we like within seconds of tasting it

Very dependent on who's listening.

I often replay a track all the way through twice before I decide. I may like aspects of it, but if it's too repetitive and/or unoriginal and doesn't do anything interesting, challenging, insightful or novel, I'm walking.

There are a number of songs I've disliked at first that I ended up liking after 4 or 5 listens. Some of them I listened to "ironically" and then ended up genuinely liking them.

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Headline is wrong and backward

Pop songs are carefully constructed by teams of experts to sound good in the first few seconds. They are often tested on focus groups before release. It's by design

More complex and interesting music often requires many listenings to understand, even for fans of the band or style

That's not exactly right either; by default we tend to decide if we like something in the first few seconds, which is precisely why pop music producers spend so much time and effort perfecting that first part. Once the opinion is formed, it's mentally more work to change it than to affirm it, and casual listeners aren't going to want to bother putting that effort in.

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In my life as a DJ I would go to the record store each week and listen to the new releases - 50 plus records. You listen to intro, middle, and break and move on to the flip side. With so many records you only had a few seconds to decide if it was hot or not. If there wasn't a queue I would listen to the ones I wanted more thoroughly, but often that was my only take on a new record before buying.

But by that point do you like the song or is it just seared into your memory?

I find that to be true, but I have a suspicion that it is linked to hearing it while developing a pleasant memory and associating it together.

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I dunno, what I find more interesting is when I at first don’t like a song but then really start to enjoy it.

When I'm trying to find new music on Spotify I click 10-15 seconds into a song, listen for a couple seconds, and then skip to the halfway point and listen for a couple seconds. I can usually tell from that whether I'll like a song. Some songs stand out to me as bad on first listen. A lot of those I will add to my liked songs and listen to again later. I often end up enjoying those. It's the songs that provoke no reaction in me that I can safely ignore.

I think there's a range of frequencies/vibrations of sound that our brains naturally enjoy. We know right away whether it sounds good or bad to us, the same way that we do with how food tastes. We can develop our taste and understanding of music, but we'll always have a starting palate of sound preferences.

"More complex and interesting" is subjective. Pop music is music that appeals, sonically and thematically, to the broadest spectrum of listeners. That requires its own genius to achieve.

Sometimes songs change a lot later in so I dunno about this

I'm autistic. I generally know I like a song after only a few seconds of 'the bit I like'.

But then I also would listen to it 1000 times in a row no problem and never get bored.

This is common for Autistic people, but not so much otherwise I think. I'm 45 and Male, and I like "let it go" and "baby shark". I don't have kids. I know this is considered weird but I don't care.

Haha i use the exact same method

It doesn't work like that necessary. I'm a big prog rock/metal fan and I usually have no idea if the song is good in the first minute. Sometimes it immediately clicks that "hey this sounds interesting, let's keep going" and other times it's just "okay meh boring... when is this getting interestin... ahh okay OKAY I see what they're doing, interestin!" And sometimes it's just "okay interesting song, didn't feel it much" but then after a few more listens I start to get the feel of it and it becomes a favorite.

For pop, sure. But it doesn't apply to everything.

I'm a huge Tool fan, and when they released Fear Inoculum I was very disappointed. After listening to it for months, now it's probably my favorite of their albums. It takes time to sink in.

What I find interesting is that, for a very large fraction of pop songs, I can identify the song after only hearing the first 5 or 6 notes. Often only the first 1 or 2. I find it amazing how unique they are from the very beginning.

I am too. People are mesmerized by my ability to pick up on a melody or recall lyrics. I also have a strange but impressive ability to remember and recall songs used in movies or TV shows. A music supervisor in television or film is my other dream job behind interior design. I can make a playlist to suit any and all occasions and I do it mostly from memory, not actively searching for the content.

I don’t listen to any sort of radio and hate most curated playlists so I’m not always current with pop culture, or lack thereof.

I prolifically scan through new music and only listen to the first few seconds and once mid song to know if I’d like it and I’m rarely wrong. I have thousands and thousands and thousands of songs in my library but mostly listen to the same couple hundred songs as if other music didn’t exist. People definitely think it’s weird but I think they’re just as weird for not listening to songs you like like you love them.

Came to say this.. after 5 or 10 seconds I know if I want it or not.

This happens to me as well, even with songs that I, at first, actually find bad or annoying.

Many songs are so repetitive that you’ve heard the whole song in 5 seconds

It’s true. Within the first 10 seconds if I hear “DJ Khallleeeeeddddd” I immediately know I dislike this song.

I can honestly say this has never once happened to me

Happens to me constantly

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There is something called the mere exposure effect, and it basically means that when something is familiar to us we like it more

Which is really impressive given that flavors have verses and a chorus, interludes, and take 3-5minutes to taste completely.

How long does it take you to figure out which is which? Not long. Whether the music is simple and catchy or complex and noisy, you still know what you like and whether this is it pretty quickly. I like a lot of music I didn't fully get right away, but I immediately knew I liked it enough to give it another listen.

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Why do studies on anything? u/Rakshear knows everything definitely already.

I used to do that when digging for records to DJ with, house and techno. Out of 300+ records there's maybe 10 to 20 I'd part with, the rest I still like.

G-g-Gucci flip flops

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If there's more to it than sound, it's a video

I explore a lot of new music on streaming platforms and this is exactly how I do it.

Really does only take a few seconds from the different sections to have an idea if it catches your interest, then go back and listen to the whole thing.

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There are dozens of us! Dozens!

I call this the five listen rule. While you may know instantly that you like something, it is also equally possible that it's the 4th or 5th time you've heard it and you just didn't notice it before because it was new and completely foreign to you.

I've found that 5 listens is generally a good measuring stick to know if I like something or not.

My theory is that the one second you like must come after the “hook”. There’s plenty of songs that start in a way that’s counter to the main body of the song. It sometimes provides a nifty counterbalance to the melody.

I still remember hearing one of my favorite songs for the first time, on my radio alarm, one morning in 1992. Sat upright straight after having been asleep just before. Magical feeling.

I threw away Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on the Radio. I tried so hard to like it. Friend had it in a party a year later and it clicked. Now it is epic for me.

I also find I get bored of songs I instantly like easier than the ones that take time.

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Excellent example. Also, some things need to be shown to us—we have to hear them in a context, or through someone else’s eyes (ears). Then the hook gets set and it’s part of you, too.

This is like food you have to "acquire a taste for".

I'll stick to enjoying things I actually enjoy instead of things I have to suffer through until they're good.

It's weird. There is a band I like that released a song for their upcoming album. I was dissapointed and didn't really like it. Then flash forward to when they released their album and listened to it a few more times it's now one of my favorites

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They never heard of dubstep

some songs i like right away but then they go and insert a wonky bridge or stupid chorus which totally ruins it for me

Yea actually happens a TON with pop songs for me

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doesn't always work for me. i have to be in the mood for the music. when i wanna listen to something epic or something with lotsa bass and spotify recommends rock or metal because that's what i was listening to before, i can't appreciate it. i might have to listen to the same songs a couple days later and then i might like them

I've actively observed this in myself many times. Even for music. Makes me wonder sometimes if I like a song because I like it or because I'm familiar with it

It takes me 3-4 listens before I like a song.

I also get this feeling when hearing a song as a single and then hearing it within an album. Sometimes the mildly bland single is the best intro to a nice B side on the album. Once you get used to the album, the mild single feels like a really good appetizer.

This happens to me a lot with songs that have an unpredictable rhythm or melody. Those kind of songs that take a while to be able to sing along to. At first it throws me off and I don't like it as much as something catchy would, but after a couple more times I get into it and I end up liking it. Those are also the kind of songs I don't get tired of because they sound more interesting and less repetitive.

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The people they took data from obviously don't appreciate a good breakdown or prog song.

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There's a few artists I would not have become fans of if it weren't for someone else being a fan and me hearing them play the music a lot.

I would never have stuck it out for enough listens on my own

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This is why my playlists are full of songs I never, ever play through all the way.

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Nah the timing isnt the crucial factor.

Ive listened to several songs entirely without liking them the first few time.

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Then the crappy lyrics kick in.

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So I guess I was right all along when searching new songs for playlists. A quick listen of the beginning and middle of the song is enough, 5 seconds sometimes.

Yes I agree.

Things like math rock or IDM can sound atrocious at first, but grow on you with experience

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I need an explanation on this. Every time I hear a song and kind of like it from the get-go, i grow sick of it quickly.

Anytime I hear a song and don’t really like it, I start to enjoy it a lot (and even still listen to).

Idk sometimes I feel this is true, but then there's those songs where there's a really good part but the rest of the song is decent or ass and that 1 part is the reason it's on your likes.

I can get a vibe for a song in the first minute, but I like to listen to a song 3-5 times before I make an opinion on it. I have had songs grow on me after a few listens.

If your friends like music you tend to start liking it to. Its a psychological phenomenon

This must only apply to pop music

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I have friends that like Frank Zappa and SLIPKNOT, respectively, and I can't stand either of those music artists.

Anyone just click to see if they could a larger view of that lady's tates? I was disappointed too, they look lovely.

I do this with both music and books. I know by the first page if I will enjoy a book or not. Readers get very upset that I don’t give books a chance. I know immediately if I like the authors style and cadence.

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Came here to say the same. Most of my favorite music I wasn't sure about at first. So much, that I don't decide I don't like something until I've heard it at least three times.

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I’m kinda weird. I have a thing that if I like a song right away I eventually dislike it. Tho when I first hear a song that doesn’t appeal to me right away I often give it three more listens before I make a judgement; some of my all-time favorite music is in the second category.

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Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na

Fellow extremely short attention span havers

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I can like the beginning of a song, and then the song just takes a nose-dive somewhere in the middle or second-half and I now hate it.

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Zappa is the artist that came to my mind when I thought about songs that I initially hated but are now my favorite. Usually if I can find one particular song that resonates with me, I'm more likely to enjoy the rest of their work, even if it's completely different. It's definitely some foot in the door psychology at play.

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As a person with ADHD I could of told you that.

Knowing I hate a song takes milliseconds.

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I enjoy a lot of different kinds of music, and am more knowledgeable than a lot of fans of Zappa and well exposed to his music, but I just can't stand him nor his music. That being said, it is kind of funny, because I really enjoy Captain Beefheart's music, who was a friend of Zappa's since highschool, and musically adjacent.

"Usually if I can find one particular song that resonates with me, I'm
more likely to enjoy the rest of their work, even if it's completely
different. "

I can agree with that, being a Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk, and otherwise Mike Patton-related fan. The sounds of those bands against each other, and also within themselves vary quite a bit, yet I thoroughly enjoy them all.

I dunno. The moment I hear a fat riff coming in I know I like it just to have it ruined by over the top growls (Opeth 'Blackwater Park', I so much want to love this but the growls man) or high pitched vocals throughout entire thing (entire Enforcer discography so far, I want to love these guys, they have amazing material).

I can't enjoy most songs until I've listened to them a couple of times.

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That's called denial

No there's plenty of songs that start out great then the singer or lead guitarist kills the vibe.

Y'all didn't know? I listen to like 3 different segments for a good 2 seconds each. If I don't like at least 1 part, I skip to the next. If I like it I'll keep listening, if I definitely like it, it gets added to my playlists.

I mean usually, sure, but one of my favorite songs is Marigold by Periphery. I had to listen to it a couple times for the weird rhythm to click and once it did I'm pretty sure it turned into my most played song on Spotify

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Yeah I never like a song the first time I hear it. Even with my favorite artists, I have to force myself to listen to the whole album. Then on a second listen I can determine if I like them or not.

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First thought: I wonder if anyone involved in this study was human?

Second thought: Where is the link to the research paper?

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Um I've had quite a few songs I didn't like until I listened a few times.

These studies blow balls. This sub has been dominated by mundane finds, considering we bloody well live this thing called life.

Music either hits you initially, or takes time to grow on you. It finds you when you’re ready for it. This business of quantifying everything has its limits, and has become tiresome.

Weezer's Pinkerton took years before people fully grasped that album, and now it considered a classic and one of their best.

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What do you mean "respectively?" You didn't associate the artists with anything other than one group. In respect to what?

Definitely. I find that songs I enjoy immediately are the songs I get bored of very quickly. Those that took some work stay with me for years and years.

I tried to build an app around this idea- it would pay a few seconds of a playlist and keep doing so till you heard one you liked. Unfortunately, no programmer I enlisted to do the task could figure out how to make it work within the confines of what Apple Music or Spotify would allow but man I still hope one day someone will figure this very simple problem out.

Back in the day, music was costly. If we bought an album/tape/CD we didn't initially like, we would give it several tries.

Prog metal.

Beautiful 2 minute into. Brain happy.

Voice of an Angsty Linkin Park screamer and terrible guitar work.

It's not that simple for some of us.

Prog metal or rock, every time.

Either amazing intro and terrible song, or terrible intro and amazing song.

You have to wait forever to work out which. Can't just 10-20 second rule it.

scientists said the resesarch only took a few seconds.

I don't know, there are songs that grew on me. Went from meh to great. Sometimes knowing the context behind a song (and it's lyrics if I don't understand them) can change my feeling about a song as well.

Guess: One friend likes Zappa, another likes Slipknot.

Checks out. You can also like only parts of songs and hate the rest of it, but that's so rare as songs rarely switch up much from beginning to end.

It doesn't go into your memory unless you absolutely love it, hate it or have to memorize it for some important reason.

Have you actually listened to zappa albums or just random songs?

Isn't that called timber?

Agreed! Whenever I go through my liked songs on Spotify turns out I dont really like most of them on the second listen and most of the time it's because they're just a loop

Me and Kpop , if i dont listen 10 times i hate it and it grows on me with time :D

Otherwise yes i usually am sure most of the time if i will love a song from first listen :D

As a fellow enjoyer of progressive music, I feel you. If my gut reaction is to like a song, I tend to grow tired of it pretty quick. But if I'm uncertain about the track for whatever reason, and it makes me stay curious enough to listen to it more, then it's a track I'll enjoy for life, pretty much.

The songs on the album in between the more catchy ones, and you listen to the album from front to back over and over and then they really grow on you. Those are precious.

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And this is how I fell in love with Tom Waits, and Nick Cave. An out of state friend talked about much I would love them, they were never on *mtv or the radio.. so just got them from EarXstacy (record store) and then spent the next couple weeks regretting every dollar spent. Then over a couple more weeks I fell in love with them. Now 25 years later I still listen to them almost daily.

*I had heard Nick Cave on Mtv once with the song Where The Wild Roses Grow, it's an amazing song, but not what the album sounds like as a whole.

Us fans of Patton really have to have an eclectic musical pallete.

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Hard disagree. There are plenty of songs that catch my attention but then get absolutely ruined by cliche lyrics reeking codependency and toxic thought patterns.

Yeah, I was going to mention those. Quite often I'd buy a whole album for one or two good songs, but because I played the whole thing I grew to love other songs. But I haven't bought music in 20 years and can't remember the last time I played a whole album on Spotify. Sure I'd check out other songs by artists, but I quickly skip through stuff I don't like and never come back to it.

99% of the time I know a song I hate by the first three notes.

Yeah, this research didn’t cover the more interesting music out there or the ability people have to open their minds to new musical paradigms.

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When I worked at a club. Me and this girl would update the house playlist every other week with what’s coming out. We could always tell what would work within about 15 seconds of listening.

Repetition also has a way of forcing the issue. It’s why radio played pop songs repeatedly. Eventually you’ll start to love it and then buy it (at least, prior to Spotify). We are pattern matching junkies.

Fellow autist here.

I tend to turn off a song or restart it once the "bit I like" is over. I have to consciously stop myself from doing it when listening to music with other people.

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You would have had to list them in order for you to be using that correctly.

And anyway, if you decided you were enjoying something the first time you listened to it, why would you exert effort to figure out ways to stop enjoying it?

I only listen to choruses. Verses disgust me.

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If you only listen to a couple hundred songs you are missing out / need a better method for finding music. I have a similar process to your for finding music except i rely on my Discover Weekly to bring me the songs in a way that makes sense (e.g. it gives me dark folk one week and then bubblegum punk the next). It used to have about a 33%-66% match rate, but now it is closer to 100% so providing almost 1500 great songs a year, pre sorted by genre/mood/feel.

No matter how quick you are at scanning through new music it isn't going to be as efficient as Discover Weekly.

Yes, exactly. Happened with an album that is one of my favorites now (Grace For Drowning - Steven Wilson).

Friday Friday gotta get down on Friday!

Gonna take my horse to the old town road...

Albums on vinyl, many times.

Not in the land of Prog where I come from.

Here's a list of some that are easiest to get into, in case you feel like trying again:

-waka jawaka

-apostrophe

-hot rats

-over-nite sensation

-the grand wazoo

-the best band you've never heard in your life

-Joe's garage

The man has too many albums and I had the same issue until someone helped me out.

This is absolutely true, when I find the next song I like I get the tingles within the first 30 seconds. Definitely by the first beat transition.

I love music and listen to hundreds of new songs every week. When I do this, I usually only spend no more than 10 seconds on a song before realizing whether I like it or not.

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