I actually got into music seriously when I was quite a bit younger than 16. It was around 10 or 11 for me and the band was the Beatles. As time went on I expanded my musical horizons to Zeppelin, The Doors, The Who and in the 80's I even went through my "Hair Metal" phase.

Now that I am in my 40's I find myself playing a variety of the whole spectrum. Depending on my mood I switch from say, Zeppelin to Skynyrd to Whitesnake to John Lee Hooker. I just enjoy listening to and playing music, it always takes me back.

The rubbish I listened to at that age now embarrasses me.
My favourite music now? Well most of it was around 20-40 years before I was born.
So, in my case, a thumbs down to your theory.

Could you describe the strippers better? I would like to make a more informed decision.

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"Today Atlantis, tomorrow the world!"

I listened to Top 40 up until about 6th grade. Then I heard Woman from Tokyo by Deep Purple, and shortly afterward saw Black Sabbath perform Paranoid on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert. That sealed the deal for me, rock and heavy metal have been my first loves ever since. That and a little blues were almost all I listened to as a teenager. However, I have gone through blues, jazz, New Age, classical, ambient, and World music phases at various times since then, and still enjoy them all now and then. But rock music will always be my first love. The specific bands I was listening to at 16 I still listen to sometimes, but now I tend to listen to their offshoots. Smashing Pumpkins are one of my favorite bands, and I didn't hear them until I was in my thirties.

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"Today Atlantis, tomorrow the world!"

Check out This Is Your Brain On Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel Levitin, chapter 8.
"Young children start to show a preference for the music of their culture by age two ..."
"Part of the reason we remember songs from our teenage years is because those years were times of self-discovery, and as a consequence, they were emotionally charged; in general, we tend to remember things that have an emotional component ... Part of the reason also has to do with neural maturation and pruning: it is around fourteen that the wiring of our musical brains is approaching adultlike levels of completion."
"There doesn't seem to be a cutoff point for acquiring new tastes in music, but most people have formed their tastes by the age of eighteen or twenty. Why this is so is not clear, but several studies have found it to be the case. Part of the reason may be that in general, people tend to become less open to new experiences as they age."

The book is kind of heavy reading, but interesting nonetheless. Another interesting book (easier reading, too) is Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning, by Gary Marcus.

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Shirley Has The Blues

Blacktop P Bass
mim Deluxe P Bass Special
mim P Bass
Ibanez BTB405

Nice theory there, Word and the Breath!
It´s the reason we all play Fender guitars!

The music I heard back then just took me by storm.
I listen back and it still tears me apart man!
The novelty of the moment, plus the life experiences I was having!
I was haunted.

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FIGHT!

Spot on , Slidewaysracing! Very interesting: Thank you !

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A-man

Well, when I was 16 in 1981, Status Quo were my favorites and they are still in my top 10, even though I didn't like the creeping commercialisation of their songs after their XX (20th) album.

They inspired me to become a guitarist.

Shortly after that I also became a fan of Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Helloween, AC DC.....

There is some truth in your theory but I think that it also depends on your interests and your own guitar experience.

When I discovered the blues, I was much older and became an SRV, Rory Gallagher and Walter Trout fan.

Later again I stumbled across Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci.

To sum it up: I'd say it comes "in waves" in irregular periods of time, not only when you're a teen. It's a combination of growing maturer, having more experience, changing tastes.

BUT: I think you're right as far as the musical genre is concerned. Status Quo played crunched Bluesrock (mostly) and I got stuck with Bluesrock/Rock and even Metal until today and that's what I play 80% of the time.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Growing up in the 50's (yeah I know, most of you had not been born yet) we listened to a lot of progressive jazz. Stan Kenton, JJ and K, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, etc.. As I grew older I went through many different musical phases, Country, Rock, Blues, etc.. At this point I've settled on Blues and Roots music and found that this is where it all started.

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OK, I'll hum a little bit, got it now?

I'm sixteen now and my tastes are fairly eclectic. I guess the jury is out.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

Perhaps you're on to something. When I was 14 or 15 I loved Nirvana. Then at 16 I was converted to Led Zeppelin.. which made me realize what utter garbage Nirvana was.

Still a Zep man a decade later.

When we're 16 we all listen to the music that's marketed to our demographic - then it sticks with us for life.