New study discovers pop music has suffered “significant decline” in one area
A new study exploring chart music from the 1950s onwards has claimed there has been a “significant decline” in melody.
The report has been sanctioned by Madeline Hamilton, a co-author of the research from Queen Mary University of London and Dr Marcus Pearce, Dr Marcus Pearce, a senior lecturer at the same university’s Electronic Engineering and Computer Science department.
Together, the academic duo used songs that had reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States between 1950 and 2022 for the report. In total, they used 360 year-end singles from this period and analysed 1,131 melodies to decipher the change in trends.
Fascinatingly, they highlighted 1975, 1996 and 2000 as key years for melodies becoming more simplified, with the latter being down to the emergence of hip-hop in the mainstream, according to the study.
When analysing the songs for the report, the team analysed eight features of each track which directly related to the pitch and rhythm in each melody. Overall, they discovered that the complexity in melodies had gradually declined over the years.
Hamilton said of her conclusion: “When it comes to extremely popular music, we no longer listen for complex vocal melodies, but perhaps for something else – maybe interesting chord progressions, lyrics, or sound textures.”
Looking back upon the early days of contemporary music in the 1950s, during the era of Little Richard and Elvis Presley, the team explained how the lack of technology played a pivotal role in the reliance upon melody, stating, “In the 50s, the range of possible timbres (the quality of sound) for music production was limited to whatever sounds one could make with the physical instruments and accessories available at the time.”
However, due to the “the accessibility of digital music production software and libraries of millions of samples and loops” in the modern age, the research team said “anyone with a laptop and an internet connection can create any sound they can imagine” which has led to the robust change.
Hamilton also said hip-hop is responsible for “very simple melodies, normally”. As it has been one of the dominant chart genres of the 21st century, it’s prominence has effected trends and made melodies become more straightforward, the research suggests.
While the report also discovered a minor decline in 1996, they concluded this was due to technological advancements and they found “moderate evidence” of a “melodic revolution” in this time period.
Although they discovered a decline in the complexity of melodies, there hasn’t been any reduction in the quality of the timbre or harmonisation in pop music in 1960.
Despite the conclusion of the report into melody, Hamilton wants to continue exploring the history of pop music. Looking ahead to the future, she added, “Right now, we’re looking at chords. We also want to expand our analysis to include more songs, to see if this trend [for melodies] holds up for a bigger set of music.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.