Music is a strong tool for connecting to others who may have differing opinions and in the same way can help you become more open minded.

The music you listen to often carry parts of your personality with it.

If you’ve ever listened to a genre of music that you are unfamiliar with then you may base your opinions on stereotypes you have heard.

For instance, rap is all about gang violence with mumbling lyrics or metal is all about praising the devil while screaming at the top of your lungs. Its easy to forget that many of these songs are poems and don’t just portray the stereotypes of their genre.

I personally experienced this with a friend of mine. One night my friend asked me why I listen to the metal music. That was a pretty vague question for me, but I knew he was expecting a good reason for my taste in music.

Rather than aimlessly talking about the genre, I gave him my playlist and explained each band and song whenever he had questions.

He went from listening to Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Wayne to bands like Anthrax and Annihilator. It took him out of his “comfort zone”, but ultimately gave him a new taste in music.

That would be a jarring leap for most people, but it becomes surprisingly easy when someone else can talk you through the music.

I listen to a large variety of metal subgenres. Much of the music I listen to has incomprehensible lyrics to newcomers. Bands like Gojira and Slayer are very hard for many people to stomach. I realized that bands like these are much easier for newcomers to appreciate if they have context.

It’s important to remember that not everyone is going to like new music even if they have a someone to guide them, however it is important to try.

Humans can only improve by understanding the perspective of others, and music is only one example.

You don’t need to like everything be you should at least strive to understand why others do.