One time, we were at break at work and a group of people there were discussing a concert, and is my wont, I broke out into song. Another woman said, "That is very irritating." I told her that I was honestly sorry my singing irritated her.
She said it wasn't my singing in particular, but the fact that she didn't "care for music", and the rest of us were always talking about music. Everyone there was shocked and one person asked, "HOW could you NOT like music?"
She asked, "Do you like--say, for instance--soccer?" The person answered that she didn't. The woman said, "It's just the same--you don't like soccer--and I don't like music."
I know that the woman regretted ever telling about it, because after that she was frequently bombarded with questions. She became angry when one person called it a "disorder" and another referred to it as a "condition". She said that she wasn't "sick". Seeing that it made her uncomfortable, I didn't question her, but I was always fascinated that someone didn't like music.
I knew there must be a term for it. I learned that "amusia" meant the inability to comprehend music and that "melaphobia" is an aversion to music and I gathered that neither of those fit her "condition". I then read about "musical anhedonia". Anhedonia is the inability to experience pleasure from what other people consider normal activities such as music and movies.
Recently, in conversation with a young person, I made a reference to a movie and he stated that he didn't like movies. I had the same reaction that I'd had with that woman years ago and I thought, "HOW could you not like movies?" But instead of saying that, I asked, "You don't like ANY movies?" He said, "No, I don't understand why people are so gung-ho about movies." I asked, "Do you like music?" He answered that he did and asked me why I asked.
I said, "I was fearful you suffered from ANHEDONIA!" He asked, "What's that?" I told him about knowing a woman who didn't like music. He asked, "How could anybody not like music?"
TA-DAH! DRUM ROLL, please!
1 comment:
Yes, it is difficult to believe there's someone who isn't swept away by music! ML
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