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By Vivien Schweitzer
15 Sep 2006
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The evidence is in — classical music lovers enjoy the occasional illegitimate treat as much as their funkier counterparts. A recent study reveals that more than a quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis, while twelve percent of opera lovers have experimented with hallucinogenic mushrooms.
The BBC reports that the study, by psychologist Adrian North of the University of Leicester (recently published in the scientific journal Psychology of Music) surveyed 2,500 Britons to analyze how their musical preferences reflected their lifestyles, based on questions regarding living arrangements, political leanings and hobbies, for example.
The controlled-substance dabblings of classical music lovers, however, are dwarfed by those of hip-hop and club music fans, who are the most enthusiastic drug takers as well as the most sexually promiscuous and most likely to break the law.
(More than 45 percent of classical and opera fans did admit, however, to traffic violations.)
Fans of musicals, on the other hand, are reportedly the most squeaky-clean, with low levels of drug-taking, drinking and criminality. With all that extra time on their hands, they also do the most charity work.
The blues, meanwhile, seemingly leads to fender benders, with blues aficionados the most likely to have received a driving penalty.
The study also demonstrated connections between education and musical tastes; postgraduates are more likely to be opera, jazz, blues or classical music fans.
Dr. North now hopes to launch a more extensive survey, based on findings from 10,000 people; he is taking recruits at www.musicaltastetest.com.
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