Why do we get bored of music after listening to it multiple times?

You are listening to the wrong type of music. Some music actually stands the test of time. It is called ‘art’. Most music created for commercial mass consumption these days is and has been called ‘bubble gum’ pop for the very reason that it looses its flavour and is disposed of after we lose our taste for it. It is designed that way, like most commercial fashion products, it has a built-in expiration or use-by date.

There is no “scientific” explanation, there IS a psychological explanation.
Everythings newness wears off eventually and humans crave new experiences, sensations, stimulation.
Ego is responsible for a never ending quest of new, exciting, and stimulating experiences.
The music itself does not become boring, it is neutral, it is the mind that loses interest.

Learning to see with new eyes or listen with new ears is the ticket.
This is true for many things.
I live in the hills and have deer in my yard everyday, I hardly notice them anymore but to city friends that come up here it is a wonderland to them and everything I take for granted, deer in the yard, horses hanging around, the beauty, blows them away.
It reminds me how much I take for granted my lifestyle and helps me remember to really keep “seeing” with new eyes.

Boredom is a state of mind not an actual condition.

I do not always get bored with music. Some pieces I can listen to over and over again.

There are some songs I can listen to everyday, and never get tired of them (The Beatles “Drive My Car”). There are some classical pieces that are almost revered amongst the hoi polloi, yet after hearing them annually since I was a kid, I now find them gimmicky and overdone (The 1812 Overture).

Determining why one person doesn’t tire of a song or tune while another does has nothing to do with science, it’s all about taste. And one’s taste is one’s own, as one matures it is difficult to criticize another’s taste (but people do it all the time.)

I enjoyed a real treat last night. New neighbors had a big, live music party. Nothing like good music wafting around a quiet mountain. :-)

@cazzie Hey, you can’t really know what kind of music this person listens to, can you? Maybe she does listen to what you refer to as art, but she gets bored of it.

Anyway. I think it depends on the mood. Somestimes I don’t listen to music I love for some time, because I’m in the mood for something else and then at some point I return to the old music and I love it all over in a different way. I think it’s all about different moods, newness and so on. Nobody wants to eat the same food all the time either, even though it might be amazing food. We need variation.

@tups my point is that there is a reason that Mozart, Beethoven, osv are still performed all over the world and why Dexys Midnight Runners isn’t. Of course I don’t know what type of music they are listening to, they didn’t specify, but I know what I grow sick of quickly.

Beats me. I’m listening to “Weapons of Mass Distortion” by the Crystal Method for the 528th time…

@cazzie Well I bet a lot of people grow sick of Mozart and stuff. I’m no fan of today’s pop myself, but maybe this person does listen to Mozart, Cohen, Dylan…

Plain old whatever music I might not even want to listen to once.
I can listen to Bach solo partitas and sonatas for violin again and again, and have, hundreds of times over the years I’m sure.
Some pop musicians I can get hooked on…. e.g. the old Talking Heads.
Nothing wrong with not liking some music, turn that off and listen to something you do like.

“Why do we…”

I do not fall into your presumption. I really enjoy the same music over and over.

no guys these are not the types of replies I wanted

@Anythingnew You wanted a good scientific explanation, but you’re being told in various ways that there is not a scientific explanation, and that your premise states an absolute that is not true.

We’re not mind readers, what type of reply did you want?

[ donning the Mr Science speculator’s cap ]
I’ll suggest to start with ‘what is it about music that bears a LOT of listens’.
I will guess that it resonates with the human nervous system quite a bit – at least your personal nervous system. The beats and the tones and the harmonies and the chords all work together to make you feel good or excited.

Music that does not make us feel good might even make us feel bad or uncomfortable, and who wants to repeat that ?

Um, this is a weird question. Well, if you ate spaghetti every day you’d probably start to hate it even if you love it now. Too much of anything is not good. That is as scientific as it gets. Shit gets old, you don’t wanna do the same thing anymore.