Dropping some science on your mix tapes

Standing in my basement, my finger poised over the record button, I wait patiently for a good song to come on my radio. There it is: "The Sign" by Ace of Base. Record. Deodorant commercial. Pause. "I Swear" by All-4-One. Record! At 11 years old, I decided to claim a musical identity and create my first mix tape, purging myself forever of my mother's old Neil Diamond tapes.

That was the first of many mixes I would make. A classic rock compilation CD for my mom; a mix of new music for my sister who was desperately lost in a "Nickelback" phase. But each time I set out to create one of these masterpieces, I selected songs that I thought would fit the bill and haphazardly threw them together.

As it turns out, there is science behind creating a great mix.

Daniel J. Levitin, an associate professor of psychology, neuroscience and music at McGill University, has been researching how music affects the brain for 16 years. In his recent book "This Is Your Brain on Music," he pinpoints where our musical tastes originate and some of the reasons why we gravitate to certain types of music.

"Research has shown we're all musical experts in the same way we speak our native language," Levitin says. "We can hear in a piece of music if a note is out of tune, even if we can't necessarily say what the note is."

Using his findings and drawing on his experience as a musician and former record producer, Levitin provides some tips on how to craft a truly great mix tape.

Levitin says that you have to start with the right ingredients ...

Mix tape do's

• Make seamless transitions by finding the commonalities and linking songs with similar themes, musical styles and characteristics.
• Diversify your selections by adding a new band or genre, while considering the listener's taste.
• Be yourself by including some music that speaks to who you are.
• Meet your listener halfway by including music they like even if it is not your taste.
• Plan for more songs than you'll be including in the mix in case some don't work out.

Mix tape don'ts

• Overstate the message with a compilation of songs saturated with one idea.
• Overly obscure. A lack of familiarity will have your listener tuning out. Include at least two songs they've heard before.
• Leave out personality and thought.
• Include songs with your friend's name. This is never original and clever no matter how obscure the song.
• Add insulting or vulgar songs unless you know your listener well.

And now the science ...

So why do certain types of music make you belt out a few lines in your shower, while others make you reach for the "off" button? As it turns out, the keys to our musical taste lie in our awkward youth.

In his book, Levitin points to our teens as the years when our musical tastes solidify. During the years of self-discovery around the age of 14, our brains become hard-wired for adulthood. Levitin emphasizes that although we continue to have an interest in new music as we age, our tastes tend to solidify by the age of 18 to 20.

At this age we are also particularly influenced by our peers in musical taste, and listen to similar music as a way of "externalizing the bond," Levitin says in the book. "New music becomes assimilated within the framework of the music we were listening to during this critical period."

If you have a mysterious and unexplainable affinity with Neil Diamond (uh, is that just me?) you could blame it on your mother. Research by Alexandra Lamont at Keele University in England found that our musical preferences are also influenced by outside environments, even in the womb.

"Music we like has something in common with something we liked before," Levitin says.

So what's your perfect mix tape? Here's what a couple local high school students suggested:

Nicholle Hinkle, 17, Jackson High School senior

1. What Hurts the Most by Rascal Flatts

2. Shook Me All Night Long by ACDC

3. Be My Escape by Relient K

4. Run It by Chris Brown

5. I Wanna Love You by Akon

6. Far Away by Nickelback

7. Making Memories of Us by Keith Urban

8. I Ain't in Checotah Anymore by Carrie Underwood

9. Another Round by Jason Aldean

10. Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

Madeline Story, 18, Notre Dame Regional High School senior

1. All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan

2. Two Step by Dave Matthews Band

3. Character Zero by Phish

4. Let the Good Times Roll by The Cars

5. Break on Through by The Doors

6. Time by Hootie and the Blowfish

7. Happiness by Guster

8. Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix

9. City On Down by O.A.R.

10. Hey Jealousy by Gin Blossoms