It takes a little time..

I've made a graph.

(click to enlarge)

It illustrates how we need time to familiarise ourselves with something before we can begin to truly enjoy it. This applies to food, music, video games ..all sorts; and it was inspired by a conversation (slash argument) I had with my friend.

My friend plays music in a band. A folky-style band - nothing too heavy. And they have a gig coming up where they have to play three separate sets, of half an hour each. The venue isn't a pub or club, but a village fete type thing. So my friend and his little troupe aren't the main attraction, they're just one of a few local acts providing backing music as the visitors wander the various stalls and attractions.

Anyway, as they have ninety minutes to fill they're learning ninety minutes of material. A bit of a steep task - especially for such a little event. I said they should just play the same set three times. Maybe adding the odd song here or there if they want. However, my friend insisted that that would annoy people.

Obviously, I think he's wrong 😈

I actually think getting the chance to play the same set three times offers a huge opportunity they're foolish to miss out on.

First of all, the people there during the second or third set aren't necessarily going to be the same people that are there for the first. How long are these people spending there? So it's unlikely many people will hear all three sets anyhow.

Secondly, people won't even be paying attention to the music. They'll be too busy looking at the bric-a-brac and other curiosities. My friend will be lucky if he even gets noticed. (That sounds a bit harsh, lol. I don't mean it to sound that way.)

Thirdly - and this is where the opportunity arises - by having people hear a song more than once there's much more potential that it'll get stuck in their heads.

During the first set people won't consciously notice the background music, but during the second - when the songs are that little bit more familiar - suddenly they might. That's when the humming or singing along can occur. Then they notice. Then it's, "What's this?", "Who are these guys?"

You're essentially fast-tracking people through two or three gigs worth of exposure in a single day. The perfect advertisement opportunity. Three ads for the price of one.

My Friend Still Wasn't Buying It

He insisted that it doesn't work like that. More to point, he claims that he knows instantly whether he likes a song or not on the very first time of hearing it, and that other people have this instant awareness too. I think he's overestimating his powers of judgement and perception though, and underestimating how easily the brain gets tricked.

I've discussed this before on here. I think with new music it takes a few goes to get acclimatised. A good example is when you buy a new album.

You maybe buy a band's album because you like the single from it. When you start listening to the album the single itself is a joy to hear - you're tempted to just put it on repeat. However, the other album tracks are harder going. You're just not feeling them the same way. But then it happens. After a few listens some of the album tracks begin to stand out. (Assuming it's actually a decent album that is.) Then you start enjoying those tracks as much as the single. In fact, one of those other tracks could well be a future single that's yet to be released. It didn't sound like a single the very first time you put the album on, but now, all of a sudden, it does.

You're rewarded for that bit of effort and perseverance.

With the first single you didn't need to make that effort. As you'd already subconsciously heard it in the background on the radio, or in other places, multiple times before. Long before you started humming it and wanting to buy it.

So there's that little period of unfamiliarity, where it isn't enjoyable. Once you get past that the real enjoyment begins. Then, after a while, it gets overfamiliar - that's when boredom sets in. Hence the tail end of the graph.

People often complain that they're bored and that they want new music (or new food, or whatever else). But they're usually not willing to put the effort in to overcome the unfamiliarity of new things. They hear something for five seconds and say, "No, don't like it!" 😠

And the more new or unfamiliar something is the more this is the case.

For instance, say someone likes Radiohead. If you play them a band that sounds similar to Radiohead, they won't have that, "Don't Like It!" response. As it sounds familiar. However, as it's derivative and samey it'll get boring for them pretty quickly, and it'll never give them the high that Radiohead gave them.

In contrast, if you play that same person a band that sounds very different to Radiohead they will indeed have that, "Don't Like It!" first impression ..and they'll push it away. Like a baby pushing away a spoonful of unfamiliar food.

As they're unwilling to try it again they'll never get over that initial "unfamiliar" period. So they'll never get to experience the high that that music might have offered them.

It's similar with food. If someone offered me a pack of pickled onion Quavers that'd be a novel experience for me, and there'd be a slight apprehension that I might not like them. However, it wouldn't be that novel. I've had Quavers before. I've had other brands of crisps that are pickled onion flavoured. So it's not too difficult to imagine what pickled onion Quavers might be like, and it wouldn't take too long to judge their merits.

However, if someone offered me some weird food from another country, with some weird name, that I had little frame of reference for, that would be different. Then I'd need a bit more time to acclimatise. The first time trying it I'd be truly out of my depth. "Hmm. Okay, that's not too bad, I guess." It'd only be the second or third time that I'd truly settle down to comfort binge on that food (assuming I did end up liking it).

"Go on, give us another one of those whatever-they're-called. They're not too bad, actually."

Before you know it they're your new favourite food and you can't remember a time when you didn't like them.

Nevertheless, my friend really disagrees - and maybe you do too.

If I'm right his folk band are missing a trick at their gig though.