Song melodies have become more basic over the past 70 years.
Music has become less complex over the past 70 years
Experts at Queen Mary University of London have analysed the melodies of tracks that reached the top five in the US Billboard chart between 1950 and 2022 and put the two major declines in complexity down to changing genres.
The first shift occurred in 1975 and can be attributed to the rise of disco while the second in 2000 could represent the rise of hip-hop.
Madeline Hamilton, a PhD student in computer science at the university, said: "The complexity of melodies in the most popular songs has shown a significant decline since 1950.
"This implies that what people enjoy about music is shifting.
"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."