Why is it when we hear a song we like our first instinct is to turn it up louder?

i blast songs i like when im driving slowly with the windows down so that people can hear the songs im listening to, or when i come to a red like i turn it up

also if your talking strictly about classical and music like that, i sometimes turn up songs to hear the harmonic notes more clearly which i would have otherwise missed

Years ago, there was a study done (don't ask me by who) relating music and a persons energy level. The results were that music absorbed energy from the listener.

Young people tend to have more energy than the old. When a young person is feeling good and energetic they will tend to crank their music volume up and by doing so the music drains them of some of their energy, but since they are young they have lots to spare.

Older people do not have any energy to spare and loud music becomes an irritant.

There was more to the study, but that was a long time ago. It was about the same time the study came out about how the early bird gets the worm, but that will have to wait for another time and another question.

Most classical listeners are practiced and aggressive listeners. I would hazard many a listener of pop is going for the overall immersion experience.

Classical listeners recognize distortion at its first slight appearance and tend to avoid it. I sometimes like to put some recording on full volume, to approximate 'being in the room with the players.'

But aggressive listening means a high degree of attentiveness. Most classical music is as much or more about the 'middle' than the top. A lot of it is not at all about melody or tune and a bit of chordal accompaniment. Things are happening in all ranges, top to bottom. A more moderate volume setting gets more clarity of all that.

Passive listening is more about just hearing than attentively following the musical activity.

If you are a really attentive listener, putting up music to high volume while driving is as dangerous and crazy as talking on a cell phone while driving.

As Stravinsky said, "Even a duck can hear."

best regards, p.b.

The enjoyment of and interest in the "musical content" of a song, is still often amplified by good quality, OR volume.

Just because you can still hear the melody at low volume doesn't mean the *aural experience* is the same.

I turn it up slightly, because it seems to make the sound clearer. The more subtle tones can now also be heard, giving a better full experience.

If I had a car you'd probably hear my classical music, although I generally don't turn my music up so much that it's really loud.

"Theoretically, our enjoyment of a song derives from the melody, lyrics."

I disagree with this premise. YOU might listen for just melody and lyrics, but I listen for structure, harmony, and everything that's possible to listen for- which requires more than just the minimum threshold for us being able to hear it.

no, i like to listen to most classical at a normal volume, else it becomes hard to notice the dynamics as much and the tranquility in alot of pieces is taken out.