The Billboard Hot 100 is a rich source of information for tracking musical trends. Using available data analysis tools, we devised a method to accurately track tempo throughout a song. In this paper we demonstrate through an analysis of all number one songs from the chart that tempo variation within a song has declined over a 60-year period. In the 5-year span from 1955–1959, the average standard deviation of tempo was 5.01 beats per minute, or about 4.8%. Conversely, from 2010–2014, the average standard deviation was less than 1 beat per minute, or only about 0.85% of the average tempo.
https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=19246
Click to purchase paper as a non-member or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $33 for non-members and is free for AES members and E-Library subscribers.
Learn more about the AES E-Library
Start a discussion about this paper!
