Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
07-28-12, 10:31 PM
#1
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Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...8IOE3320120726
Pop music too loud and all sounds the same - official
(Reuters) - Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same.
Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.
A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.
"We found evidence of a progressive homogenisation of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."
They also found the so-called timbre palette has become poorer. The same note played at the same volume on, say, a piano and a guitar is said to have a different timbre, so the researchers found modern pop has a more limited variety of sounds.
Intrinsic loudness is the volume baked into a song when it is recorded, which can make it sound louder than others even at the same volume setting on an amplifier.
The music industry has long been accused of ramping up the volume at which songs are recorded in a 'loudness war' but Serra says this is the first time it has been properly measured using a large database.
The study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, offers a handy recipe for musicians in a creative drought.
Old tunes re-recorded with increased loudness, simpler chord progressions and different instruments could sound new and fashionable. The Rolling Stones in their 50th anniversary year should take note. (Reporting by Chris Wickham)
(Reuters) - Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same.
Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million Song Dataset, which breaks down audio and lyrical content into data that can be crunched, to study pop songs from 1955 to 2010.
A team led by artificial intelligence specialist Joan Serra at the Spanish National Research Council ran music from the last 50 years through some complex algorithms and found that pop songs have become intrinsically louder and more bland in terms of the chords, melodies and types of sound used.
"We found evidence of a progressive homogenisation of the musical discourse," Serra told Reuters. "In particular, we obtained numerical indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations - roughly speaking chords plus melodies - has consistently diminished in the last 50 years."
They also found the so-called timbre palette has become poorer. The same note played at the same volume on, say, a piano and a guitar is said to have a different timbre, so the researchers found modern pop has a more limited variety of sounds.
Intrinsic loudness is the volume baked into a song when it is recorded, which can make it sound louder than others even at the same volume setting on an amplifier.
The music industry has long been accused of ramping up the volume at which songs are recorded in a 'loudness war' but Serra says this is the first time it has been properly measured using a large database.
The study, which appears in the journal Scientific Reports, offers a handy recipe for musicians in a creative drought.
Old tunes re-recorded with increased loudness, simpler chord progressions and different instruments could sound new and fashionable. The Rolling Stones in their 50th anniversary year should take note. (Reporting by Chris Wickham)
07-29-12, 02:27 PM
#3
Banned
Re: Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
The "loudness" description refers to dynamic range compression. In the past, there was about 18 db between the average sound level and the peak sound level. The bigger this difference is, the more "punch" the music has. In recent years, the average sound level has been boosted, which reduces the difference between the average sound level and the peak sound level. Turning down the volume control on your stereo does not fix this "loudness" problem. Here's a demonstration:
As far as today's music sounding more homogenous than the music of the past, here's a Donna Summer song from 1979, followed by a different Donna Summer song from 2008. It's very clear that the first is far more "musical" than the second:
As far as today's music sounding more homogenous than the music of the past, here's a Donna Summer song from 1979, followed by a different Donna Summer song from 2008. It's very clear that the first is far more "musical" than the second:
07-29-12, 02:35 PM
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
That's the point of "pop" music. To all sound the same. It's just background music for most people.
07-30-12, 03:06 PM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
Maybe it is just me but it was worse in the late 90's
07-30-12, 09:18 PM
#8
Banned
Re: Scientific evidence that current pop music really does suck
07-30-12, 09:22 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
