[Dixielandjazz] music/personality

[fred spencer]

Dear Snogpitch,
You must fall into a "schizo" group because you enjoy several types of 
music! I have not reviewed the original paper, which seems to be just 
another example of the sensational nonsense about music and mood so 
welcomed by the popular press. The first, and, perhaps the only question 
to be asked, is - how is  "jazz" defined? - all the way from ragtime and 
swing (neither of which purists say is jazz) through bop, cool, modal, 
rock, fusion - never mind New Orleans, Chicago, Kansas City, and 
Dixieland. Once more the ending says it all - [the authors] say many 
questions remain before any concrete musical preferences can be made. 
But their results show that, "it is clear to us that music can 
contribute much to the understanding of many psychological phenomena." 
Perhaps 'it is clear' to them but  to how many others?
There are several thousand scientific journals eager to publish 
practically anything that has been written. Having been an editor of 
one, and on the editorial board of another, I know how true this is. Cheers.
Fred