It is a familiar complaint from those of a certain age: today’s pop music is louder and all the songs sound the same. It turns out they are right.
年齡稍長(zhǎng)的人都抱怨說(shuō)：現(xiàn)在的流行音樂(lè)聲音大，而且所有歌曲聽(tīng)起來(lái)都一樣。事實(shí)證實(shí)他們說(shuō)的沒(méi)錯(cuò)。

Research shows that modern recordings are louder than those of the 1950s and 60s. They are also blander, with less variety in terms of chords and melodies.
研究顯示，現(xiàn)代唱片的確比五、六十年代發(fā)行的那些聲音要大，在和弦與旋律上缺乏變化，聽(tīng)起來(lái)單調(diào)。

The finding, which will come as no surprise to all those over the age of 35 or so, comes from Spanish researchers who carried out a computer analysis of the key features of almost half a million pop, rock and hip hop songs from 1955 to 2010.
西班牙研究人員利用電腦對(duì)發(fā)行于1955到2010間50萬(wàn)首流行、搖滾和嘻哈歌曲的主要特點(diǎn)進(jìn)行分析，分析結(jié)果并沒(méi)有使年齡35歲左右的人群感到意外。

This revealed today’s tracks to be louder. The researchers say this is because sound engineers and producers are cranking up the volume at the recording stage.
這一研究揭示了現(xiàn)代唱片聲音大的特點(diǎn)。研究人員解釋說(shuō)，錄音師和制作人員在錄音階段加大了音量。

As a result, if two tracks are turned up to the same volume at home, the more recent will sound noisier.
如果在家播放兩張不同的唱片，并調(diào)到同等音量，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)較新的唱片聽(tīng)起來(lái)聲音更大。

This is thought to not simply due to better recording equipment but an attempt to make music that catches the attention and is suitable for playing in discos.
人們認(rèn)為這樣的結(jié)果并不單單取決于錄音設(shè)備的質(zhì)量，還與試圖制作出聽(tīng)眾喜歡并適于迪斯科伴奏的音樂(lè)密切相關(guān)。

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, also found evidence that songs are more similar than in the past.
這項(xiàng)研究在《科學(xué)報(bào)告》雜志上發(fā)表，它同時(shí)還發(fā)現(xiàn)，現(xiàn)代歌曲之間比以往更具相似性。

The chords used and the changes between chords are simpler, leading to the production of music that is easy on the ear but contains little variety.
現(xiàn)代歌曲中的和弦與和弦間的變化更簡(jiǎn)單，這樣的音樂(lè)作品悅耳卻又有些單調(diào)。

Researcher Martin Haro, of Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University, said: ‘I think this is related to the role of music.
巴塞羅納法布拉大學(xué)的研究人員馬丁-哈羅說(shuō)：“我覺(jué)得，這與音樂(lè)所發(fā)揮的作用有關(guān)?！?/div>

‘Nowadays, it is more about relaxing, you don’t want to think about what the music is telling you. In the 1950s and 60s, music was more artistic and for getting messages, things about politics, across.
“如今人們傾聽(tīng)音樂(lè)以放松身心，并不在意音樂(lè)的內(nèi)涵。五、六十代的音樂(lè)更具美感，而且，我們可以從中獲取信息、了解政治形勢(shì)或兩者兼俱?！?/div>

‘When the synthesiser was introduced, you had lots of bands like Pink Floyd that were experimenting with different types of sound and chords, this was an experimental playground for them.
“聲音合成器的問(wèn)世讓你有機(jī)會(huì)見(jiàn)識(shí)很多像平克·弗洛伊德那樣的樂(lè)隊(duì)，他們嘗試著不同類(lèi)型的聲音和和弦，現(xiàn)代音樂(lè)成為他們的演練場(chǎng)?！?/div>

‘Now it’s about dancing and relaxing, rhythm and energy, with groups and bands not so interested in experimenting with sounds and chords.’ The study also found that instruments fall in and out of fashion, depending on the sound of the time.
“現(xiàn)在，在聲音與和弦方面趨于保守的組合和樂(lè)隊(duì)更受歡迎，人們更享受這種音樂(lè)環(huán)境下的舞蹈與放松、節(jié)奏與活力。”這項(xiàng)研究還發(fā)現(xiàn)，樂(lè)器的流行取決于時(shí)代的主流聲音。

Wannabe musicians looking for a hit should turn to the past for inspiration, said the researcher Joan Serra, of the Spanish National Research Institute.
西班牙國(guó)家研究所研究員瓊尼·薩拉說(shuō)，想要成為音樂(lè)家的人們應(yīng)該從過(guò)去的音樂(lè)中發(fā)掘靈感。

Professor Adrian North, a music psychologist, said: ‘There isn't much research out there on how music should evolve, but what little there is argues that composers and performers are in a continuing battle for the attention of listeners, and apparently tailor their music to achieve this.
音樂(lè)心理學(xué)家艾德里安.諾斯教授說(shuō)：“有關(guān)音樂(lè)沿革方面的研究不是很多，但毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，作曲家和表演者一直力求滿足觀眾的口味，他們大幅度地剪裁自己的作品以達(dá)到這一目的?！?/div>

‘One way in which they can achieve this is by, for example, making their music progressively louder over time, as seen in the research here.
“例如，隨著時(shí)間的推移，音量越來(lái)越大來(lái)迎合聽(tīng)眾，這一點(diǎn)從這項(xiàng)研究中可見(jiàn)一斑?！?/div>

‘However, music can only get so loud before it becomes simply unlistenable, and so the same theory argues that this is where musical styles begin to evolve: rather than making their music novel by simply making it louder, performers and composers have to find new types of music, and so this is how new musical styles come about.’
“然而，音樂(lè)的音量增加不是無(wú)限度的，超出限度會(huì)使音樂(lè)失去品質(zhì)，變得不堪入耳；所以這一理論也顯示，正因?yàn)槿绱艘魳?lè)類(lèi)型在演變：表演者和作曲家努力在音樂(lè)類(lèi)型上進(jìn)行創(chuàng)新，而不是通過(guò)簡(jiǎn)單提高音量來(lái)增加音樂(lè)的新鮮感，這樣新音樂(lè)類(lèi)型就出現(xiàn)了?！?/div>

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