Official: Pop Music's Too Loud And Does All Sounds The Same

Using an archive called the Million Song Dataset, researchers in Spain reduced pop songs from 1955 to 2010 into a series of numbers which were then analysed by a supercomputer, reports Reuters.

After analysing the results, artificial intelligence expert Joan Serra concluded that recordings have become much louder over the years, while employing fewer combinations of musical notes.

Chart-fodder has also come to rely on a narrower set of instrument sounds as use of digital production increased over the years.

Serra says: "We found evidence of a progressive homogenisation of the musical discourse. We obtained indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations – chords plus melodies – has diminished in the last 50 years."

And the resulting study concludes that if musicians want to sound more original, they need to look back in time for inspiration and think about simpler chord progressions while using a wider range of instruments.

Comments

[Poglia]

YOU DON'T SAY?

[metlahead666]

I'm not trying to sound like a show off or something, but this has been quite obvious to me by just listening to music from different eras. And not just pop, that is.

[muir]

And we needed a supercomputer to prove this why?

[wylde1994]

Yeah no Sh*t sherlock

[JayMichaelRayne]

louder? yeah, if you compare chuck berry and katy perry, katy sounds louder. because in 1955 the recording equipment was better.

[iommi600]

Ok seriously, who are you and what have you done to Ultimate-Guitar?

UG simply doesn't post anything on weekends.

[Lord_Doku]

The only reason I can give for using a supercomputer is that this study was done by teenage kids who don't want to spend their day listening to music their parents like.

You don't need to be an artificial intelligence expert to know that pop music had turned from bland to blank.

[Reages]

But there is a difference between your opinion and scientifically proved fact...

[Maestro1600]

Reages wrote:

But there is a difference between your opinion and scientifically proved fact...

My computer says there isn't...

[Eifler121]

This would include rock too. Three chords, guitar, drums, bass, vocals. It's not a bad thing, you can still write tons of significantly different songs with the same three chords.

[iommi600]

After analysing the results, artificial intelligence expert Joan Serra concluded that recordings have become much louder over the years

Yeah, recording techniques evolved a shitload in the last 50 years. Who would have known that, huh?

[LightxGrenade]

Who funded this research, a grumpy old man? Next we're going to use cutting edge technology to figure out why those neighborhood kids won't stay off the damn lawn.

[DisarmGoliath]

Anyone into audio engineering will know that the 'Loudness Wars' have been widely talked about for at least the last decade if not longer... not sure how this is news. As for variation in note choice - I doubt there's many people haven't realised this before either.

[getawaygman]

Wider range of instruments? All of my fav bands use 3 guitar bass drums. That's not the problem

[Maiden95]

I knew it! They've finally cracked the case

[Redfinton22]

JayMichaelRayne wrote:

louder? yeah, if you compare chuck berry and katy perry, katy sounds louder. because in 1955 the recording equipment was better.

...what?

[Kaadsj]

"And the resulting study concludes that if musicians want to sound more original, they need to look back in time for inspiration"

No no no no no, this is exactly what people should NOT be donig. For the past couple of years, musicians have listened to old music far too much, resulting in what is called 'retromania'. Almost all popular music nowadays sounds like the old stuff, which has made music self-referential and unoriginal. All indie bands sound like bands from the sixties, seventies, eighties. So-called 'neo-soul' actually sounds like old soul. Stop listening to old music and start listening to what's out there RIGHT NOW.

[spiff-corgi]

I-V-VI-IV and if you really want to shake things up VI-IV-I-V. Mad.

[foopeppers]

Ive known this for ages. Its what happens when you replace a talented musician with a laptop, it all sounds the same!!

[WaddleDeee]

spiff-corgi wrote:

I-V-VI-IV and if you really want to shake things up VI-IV-I-V. Mad.

Let's not forgot the completely overdone to death minor key progression of I-VI-III-V.

[Nero Galon]

Wait a minute now, since when has pop music had instruments?

[HigherThanAMile]

Rhianna "We found love" is a perfect example of this. Pop music is severely dimming the understanding of constructing melody. Its become "vertical" in that I heard shit like that and I think of someone jumping up and down on a pogo stick.

[HigherThanAMile]

Kaadsj wrote:

"And the resulting study concludes that if musicians want to sound more original, they need to look back in time for inspiration"

No no no no no, this is exactly what people should NOT be donig. For the past couple of years, musicians have listened to old music far too much, resulting in what is called 'retromania'. Almost all popular music nowadays sounds like the old stuff, which has made music self-referential and unoriginal. All indie bands sound like bands from the sixties, seventies, eighties. So-called 'neo-soul' actually sounds like old soul. Stop listening to old music and start listening to what's out there RIGHT NOW.

So up and coming bands should continue to regurgitate most of the garbage that is being produced RIGHT NOW?

LOL

[JuteJute]

Kaadsj wrote:

"And the resulting study concludes that if musicians want to sound more original, they need to look back in time for inspiration"

No no no no no, this is exactly what people should NOT be donig. For the past couple of years, musicians have listened to old music far too much, resulting in what is called 'retromania'. Almost all popular music nowadays sounds like the old stuff, which has made music self-referential and unoriginal. All indie bands sound like bands from the sixties, seventies, eighties. So-called 'neo-soul' actually sounds like old soul. Stop listening to old music and start listening to what's out there RIGHT NOW.

But if all music sounds like the old music, and we should listen to the new music to creat something new and forget the old. Isnt the new music still kind of old?
Lets call Horatio for this one

[aig91]

Checked

[Metal-pro]

Pop and those radio hits are usually rubbish.. If a metal band want to make a "popular" radio hit they could do, but of course they won't do that. Metal is real music \m/

[Guitar92player]

In other news.....water is wet.

[scrymusic]

This just in... Meh!

[LesPaulGuy77]

Poglia wrote:

YOU DON'T SAY?

My thoughts exactly.

[Revocati0n]

foopeppers wrote:

Ive known this for ages. Its what happens when you replace a talented musician with a laptop, it all sounds the same!!

Completely irrelevant point, dude.
Pop music and electronic music are two completely different things.
And unfortunately for you, it's not as simple as just HAVING a laptop.
You still have to come up with riffs.
You don't just press a button and music just happens.
you still have to create it.

[Sam Wotrey]

In other news, sky blue, water wet.

And now Varg with the weather.

[oneblackened]

It has nothing to do with pop music being louder - music as a whole has been produced louder and louder over the last about 25 years, starting with Appetite For Destruction.

[SteveHouse]

The volume increasing isn't the problem, it's how they're doing it. It's overcompression to the point of noticeable decreased fidelity.

And it's all the same because Pitbull is on every single single, and he uses the same kick and snare on all of them.

[Archer250]

Thanks captain!

[purgatory358]

--__--

nuff said.

[MartynInEurope]

Would have been more useful using the supercomputer as an anchor on the Titanic.

[bassplayer0895]

getawaygman wrote:

Wider range of instruments? All of my fav bands use 3 guitar bass drums. That's not the problem

Well you can also add symphonies playing through chords that complement the guitars chord progression to give more personality and such. or harmonize more too

[sweatleafjones]

hmm maybe people will actually beleive me now..

[Mikeyrox3162]

thank you for speaking my mind!

[Firehawk2410]

Hey! I finally have some backup to my opinions on pop music.

[dream_theater24]

This is why I listen to metal. More and more bands are becoming exceedingly technical, while less bands are brick walling their music. Between the Buried and me, periphery and protest the hero come to mind.

[med1616]

Kaadsj wrote:

"And the resulting study concludes that if musicians want to sound more original, they need to look back in time for inspiration"

No no no no no, this is exactly what people should NOT be donig. For the past couple of years, musicians have listened to old music far too much, resulting in what is called 'retromania'. Almost all popular music nowadays sounds like the old stuff, which has made music self-referential and unoriginal. All indie bands sound like bands from the sixties, seventies, eighties. So-called 'neo-soul' actually sounds like old soul. Stop listening to old music and start listening to what's out there RIGHT NOW.

Ummmm.....no

You get inspiration by listening to all music. Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Punk, Pop, Electronic, Dub-Step, even Silence.

You can't just listen to what's being produced now and what is popular otherwise you will be a narrow minded jackass like most of the popular musicians in this world

[Phiddler]

There was a good article in the Boston Globe a few weeks back that dealt with this study. Not only are recordings getting louder, but they have a tendency to hit max volume within moments of the song starting, as opposed to Stairway to Heaven (the example given in the article) which gradually gets louder as the tune goes on. Lets hope the use of dynamics in producing and engineering isn't becoming a lost art

getawaygman wrote:

Wider range of instruments? All of my fav bands use 3 guitar bass drums. That's not the problem

It is a problem. Instead of hiring a classically trained string quartet or a horn section that have been playing jazz since birth bands can simply synthesize the sound. It creates less of a demand for these types of musicians, and more importantly, doesn't sound half as good

[TheChaz]

And UG shows yet again how its commenters are only half a step above yahoo news commenters. Hurr durr metal is the best! Seriously. Get some recording equipment and try to make a good sounding electronic song. I'll be waiting... most likely forever.

[NightmareTheory]

halleh-****ing-luyah!

[Lapidus]

"We obtained indicators that the diversity of transitions between note combinations – chords plus melodies – has diminished in the last 50 years."

And then...

"if musicians want to sound more original, they... need to think about simpler chord progressions "

Uh? Sure about that UG? Isn't there a contradiction somewhere?

[ozzyismetal]

Revocati0n wrote:
Completely irrelevant point, dude.
Pop music and electronic music are two completely different things.
And unfortunately for you, it's not as simple as just HAVING a laptop.
You still have to come up with riffs.
You don't just press a button and music just happens.
you still have to create it.

Not sure why downvoted. This guy is right on the money. You don't just push a button that says "MAKE MUSIC" and boom, pop or electronic music is made. There's just as much crap in the genre as any other, but there are also songs that are absolutely gold, also like every other genre. This blind bashing does nothing to sway the typical stereotype that guitarists are douchebags who disregard the merit of any music that's made without any kind of string instrument in it. Open minds make better music dudes.

[wildinferno2010]

Chart-fodder

[Chromaticdeth]

Time and money was spent on this...

[wyldelife]

Oh yeah? Your co-worker's sister in law is a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

[Jazz1992]

TheChaz wrote:

And UG shows yet again how its commenters are only half a step above yahoo news commenters. Hurr durr metal is the best! Seriously. Get some recording equipment and try to make a good sounding electronic song. I'll be waiting... most likely forever.

So electronic music is more technical than metal? Now I've heard everything. You know, not all heavy metal consists of Norwegians randomly growling and worshipping Satan in their basements (no offense to anyone from Norway who might be reading this).

[MrFlibble]

"Official" doesn't mean what you think it means, UG.

Jazz1992 wrote:
So electronic music is more technical than metal?

Yes, it is. Actually try listening to some, then take a look at how it's made. Pro tip: it's not hammered together with Fruity Loops.

[damillion]

If everyone listened to five minutes of Meshuggah and Yes every week the world would be a better place...

[TheMetalMan94]

Or maybe we can end this war old vs new on what you should be listening to, both is fine. But find your own inspiration...

[Way Cool JR.]

Today's artists need to take a look back at 80's Pop, that was the golden age of Pop music. It offered a plethora of styles and sounds and was actually enjoyable and fun to listen to.

[GeekInThePink]

You can say it's simpler, not as technical, all sounds the same, etc. all you want. Actually, you wouldn't be wrong, but despite all this people still find pop music more enjoyable than whatever you think is better. But who cares anyways? Listen to what you enjoy and let other people listen to what they enjoy. No need to get butthurt over what other people like.

[RickyThomson]

I'd say the same applies for progrock and screamo in my opinion.
(prepare for rapid downvotes)

[Skyvalve2012]

Progressive metal is the best thing since sliced bread!

There, i said it...

[Axelfox]

What i've been trying to tell people all the time

[gypsyblues7373]

oneblackened wrote:

It has nothing to do with pop music being louder - music as a whole has been produced louder and louder over the last about 25 years, starting with Appetite For Destruction.

Pretty sure it started long before "AFD"...Spector with his "wall of sound" recording techniques was kinda like the gateway drug...

[noahi9]

Amen!