The music of any given composer does not change but the audience will change as a result of the appearance of new forms of music and living. The works of the eighteenth century, with few exceptions, were loved by its contemporaries but find a small audience to-day. The musical taste of an individual changes noticeably from childhood to maturity but the change is gradual, and except for those studying music intensively, during any one year of life the change is hardly appreciable. Even established favorites will become less desirable to the individual. “After a certain number of repetitions, varying with both the founded experience of the listener and the complexity of the item, the enjoyment is diminished. One might here propose the hypothesis that the rate of ascent to popularity is directly in proportion to the rate of the decline ... as illustrated by the sharp rise to popular acclaim of the ephemeral popular hits and their subsequent precipitous decline into oblivion.”[59] Among the many factors which sometimes have a great effect on musical taste, contemporary events are outstanding. During a war, the people welcome songs which sing of their prowess, impending victory, or derision of the enemy. Such songs become popular because of their literary rather than their musical content, but they affect taste indirectly, since the only test of taste lies in the songs to which people will freely listen. Soldiers pick up foreign songs and marching songs and bring them home as souvenirs and favorites. It is now well recognized how great and prolonged such an influence can be. Whatever the musical taste of the patient may be, and regardless of how he came by it, it should be satisfied. As soon as an individual attains the status of being a patient, there is an immediate mental depression which may continue to increase if not checked. The patient may develop anxiety, fear, self pity or boredom. There may be sensory depression from pain, unpleasant sight or disability. In addition to these saddening factors there may be undesirable response to environment, personnel, and the monotony of medical or nursing routines. All efforts should be directed at substituting joyful experiences for saddening introspection. The formula for joy is very personal. Although most people will laugh at some comic situations, the response to music cannot be predicted except upon the basis of individual desire. The person who becomes a patient may not have a fundamental change in musical taste but his appetite may be altered by variations in mood, and this is of prime importance. “More people express a wish for music dynamically similar to the existing mood than for music of the opposite effect. The amount of enjoyment is slightly affected by the kind of mood change taking place.”[71]