It is a familiar complaint from those of a
certain age: today’s pop music is louder and all the songs sound the same.
It turns out they are right.
Research shows that modern recordings are louder
than those of those of the 1950s and 60s. They are also blander, with less
variety in terms of chords and melodies.
The finding, which will come as no surprise to
all those over the age of 35 or so, comes from Spanish researchers who carried
out a computer analysis of the key features of almost half a million pop, rock
and hip hop songs from 1955 to 2010.
This revealed today’s tracks to be louder. The
researchers say this is because sound engineers and producers are cranking up
the volume at the recording stage.
As a result, if two tracks are turned up to the
same volume at home, the more recent will sound noisier.
This is thought to not simply due to better
recording equipment but an attempt to make music that catches the attention and
is suitable for playing in discos.
The study, published in the journal Scientific
Reports, also found evidence that songs are more similar than in the past.
The chords used and the changes between chords
are simpler, leading to the production of music that is easy on the ear but
contains little variety.
Researcher Martin Haro, of Barcelona’s Pompeu
Fabra University, said: ‘I think this is related to the role of music.
‘Nowadays, it is more about relaxing, you don’t
want to think about what the music is telling you.
‘In the 1950s and 60s, music was more artistic
and for getting messages, things about politics, across.
‘When the synthesiser was introduced, you had
lots of bands like Pink Floyd that were experimenting with different types of
sound and chords, this was an experimental playground for them.
‘Now it’s about dancing and relaxing, rhythm and
energy, with groups and bands not so interested in experimenting with sounds
and chords.’
The study also found that instruments fall in and
out of fashion, depending on the sound of the time.
Wannabe musicians looking for a hit should turn
to the past for inspiration, said the researcher Joan Serra, of the Spanish
National Research Institute.
Old tunes re-recorded with increased loudness,
simpler chord progressions and different instruments could sound new and
fashionable.
Professor Adrian North, a music psychologist,
said: ‘There isn't much research out there on how music should evolve, but what
little there is argues that composers and performers are in a continuing battle
for the attention of listeners, and apparently tailor their music to achieve
this.
‘One way in which they can achieve this is by,
for example, making their music progressively louder over time, as seen in the
research here.
‘However, music can only get so loud before it
becomes simply unlistenable, and so the same theory argues that this is where
musical styles begin to evolve: rather than making their music novel by simply
making it louder, performers and composers have to find new types of music, and
so this is how new musical styles come about