As a guy who is somewhat ambidextrous who also likes Reggae, Bluegrass and hates most of the stuff played on commercial radio I found this pretty interesting. http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/16/8825287-right-handed-people-dont-care-for-reggae Right-handed people don't care for reggae The hand you use to write, brush your teeth, and throw a ball may also tip people off to your taste in music, a new study reveals. An Ohio researcher has found that people with a strong preference for using their right hand for most everything they do, seem to like popular types of music and tend to shy away from less familiar genres, especially bluegrass and reggae. Strong righties, the study suggests, may be less open to new musical experiences and tend to gravitate toward styles they're more familiar with. The research also found that people who are mixed-handed, meaning they use their non-dominant hand for at least two activities but it does not mean ambidextrous, reported broader musical interests. They showed greater "open-earedness," or a stronger liking of unpopular musical styles and more willingness to listen to them. Many factors influence our music preferences, so why would hand choice matter? In part, it's affected by what's happening between the ears -- in the brain. "Mixed-handers are more 'in touch' with a wide variety of right hemisphere processes," says study author Stephen Christman, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. The right hemisphere of the brain plays a key role in updating thoughts and beliefs and in allowing us to see things in new ways, he explains, while the left hemisphere tends to stick with the tried and true. Christman notes that about 80 percent of left-handers are mixed-handers while about 60 percent of righties are strong-handed. The study, published in the journal Psychology of Music, looked at 92 college students who completed a hand preference survey. Forty-nine students were strong right-handers and 43 were mixed-handed. Four participants were strongly left-handed, too small a group for statistical analysis. But other studies have found that the taste preferences of strong left-handers tend to resemble strong right-handers more than mixed-handers. Students were asked to rate how often they listened to 21 different musical genres and their enjoyment of them. Nine were considered "popular" based on recording industry sales figures and the rest were "unpopular." Popular categories included classic rock, heavy metal, country and rap/hip-hop. Unpopular genres ranged from jazz and world to folk and reggae. The top three musical choices of strong right-handers were R&B, modern pop and alternative rock; mixed-handers favored R&B followed by alternative rock and modern rock. Although this study looked at college students, Christman suspects his findings would still apply to middle-age and older adults. He says "many of our enduring musical preferences are formed during our high school and college years, and they persist into adulthood." Still, those interests can expand. Christman advises strong-handed people to keep exposing yourself to new forms of music and listening to unfamiliar genres. "Give the music a little time, and you may find yourself developing a liking for it and rewarded by broader musical horizons." That's what happened to him. Christman's musical tastes have long favored acoustic/folk-based genres. But when his daughter started bringing home CDs by Eminem and Ludacris, the mixed-hander quickly developed an intense liking for rap and hip-hop. What's been your experience? Are you right-handed, left-handed, mixed-handed? What kind of music is your favorite?
I don't care much for reggae. I also don't care much for country. I don't care much for blues and r&b.
so not many islanders in those reggae areas are right handed?? I love reggae, one of my presets on Pandora is reggae, most listened to actually and I am right handed
This. I'm right-handed and I enjoy Reggae and Dub. They aren't my favorite genres, but I enjoy certain artists.
I'm right handed and I love reggae, at least the music of the Wailers that I discovered back in the early '70's. I didn't get to see them, however, until they played the Music Hall in Houston in May of 1976. That was a perfect venue for them. Amazing acoustics, and it seats only a bit over 3,000. A great concert. Thank god, they didn't get busted while they were there. (and neither did I!)
Does not apply to me. Love Reggae and I can barely dribble with my left hand. The only music I don't like is rap by white groups.
Have to agree with others here - completely stupid and pointless article... I've been right-handed my whole life (can't even write legibly with my left hand) and I enjoy reggae, dub, jazz, experimental, avant-garde, blues, even spoken word artists like Ken Nordine! The only stuff I don't like is country (more the pop than the old traditional stuff), bluegrass, and that damn generic pop metal schlock being churned out by tools like Nickelback, Daughtry, etc.
im right handed and listen to alot of reggae/dub. and i do it w/out listening to any bob marley at all. i also listen to norwegian black metal, malawian desert blues, thai psych pop, texas swing, rock en espanol and am even getting into tween-wave. and i dont listen to commercial radio whatsoever. i make a point to actively seek out new sounds. "popular" music bores the s*** out of me. basically, what im saying is that the study is bunk.
I wonder if there is a correlation between handedness and reading comprehension. The article is saying there is a correlation between strong-handedness and mixed-handedness, not right-handedness. It's completely unclear to me how to figure out if I'm strong-handed or mixed-handed (since it's something less than ambidextrous). Perhaps you right-handed reggae lovers are mixed-handed?
I think a lot of you are missing the conclusion. The study does not state that right-handers will automatically dislike "different" types of music. Rather, it states that there is a correlation between being right-handed and preferring more familiar music. I'm sure the researchers would be the first to admit that there are deviations from this correlation, and it's even possible that many of you fall under the exceptions (although I also think some of you protest too much - nobody likes the implication that they might be closed-minded in any way). All that being said, there are a few questions I would have a couple of questions regarding the study: 1) What examples for "different" music were used? UB40 and Allison Krauss could be considered (respectively) reggae and bluegrass artists, but they're also pop artists. I imagine there are people who like these two, but aren't into more authentic examples. How is this kind of preference recorded? 2) Most people who use computers now type with both hands. Most people drive with both hands as well (especially if they drive standard). Were these activities counted as "mixed-handed?" In any case, I think it's an interesting study that warrants additional research. The point is not to lump people into "open-minded" and "closed-minded" categories, but to explore how different functions/behaviors are linked. I could see this information being used by doctors who are seeking ways to rehab someone suffering from a brain injury.
I think I'm mixed-handed. I play pool left-handed, and I can play pretty well left-handed in basketball. I enjoy reggae and bluegrass, and I'm pretty open to all types of music. The only stuff I don't particularly enjoy is Emo/Screamo.
