Music has changed, there’s no doubt about that. There’s more sounds, new techniques and instruments to be used, and there’s plenty of people with fresh and fun ideas that now work in the industry. Think of people like Dua Lipa or Mark Ronson, making songs people can relate to with good beats the public hadn’t indulged in before. This evolution in music has happened mainly in the last 50 years or so, with a lot of change before that taking us out of the Victorian age. But how exactly is the industry different in the 21st century?
The Human Brain Likes Beats
This seems to be something we’ve only recently discovered. When we have a rhythm to get involved with, our brains are more focused, and are better stimulated this way than with something gentle. Modern productions allow for a stronger beat to be followed, with each instance recognized and amplified at the same level.
We like heartbeats for a reason, and when we have an artificial sound to produce a similar result, we get more involved with the sound. That’s why we like to almost obsessively listen, and recreate the sounds; why modern music is so much easier to tap out than something from the 50s. Our brains are just wired that way!
Different Sounds Started Being Used
Speaking of our love for beats, our current musical trends tend to be upbeat, with Pop music having loud backing tracks with hard hitting drums and guitars strums, and less subtlety than we’ve ever seen in art. This is something the current generation enjoys, you can’t deny that, but it’s this constant energy that some people can’t get on with. Calmer periods have existed before and they sure will again, but music will keep this funky nature with it.
Similarly, there are more computerized mechanisms and instruments for people to use nowadays; just think of the electric violin as an example of our move away from the traditional.
There’s More Variance in People Too
Considering music has evolved, so too has the industries and its big behind the scenes professionals. More and more small town people are coming into their own with their producing talent and skills, like that of Coran Capshaw. However, this might not seem such a big difference, as the music industry is still predominantly white behind the scenes. Yet a definite change is in the air and rapidly growing, with about 80% of top 10 music being made by non white artists in the current generation.
This doesn’t mean the hard work and social change stops there however, as more and more talent across the globe is willing to be discovered due to the removal of exclusivity from the music industry.
Arguably, music has gotten better for our brains to listen to. Old musical tracks are still classics, but a lot of the time people will find them lacking in substance compared to what we have available now. Hopefully, music will keep evolving for a good balance.
