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.
年龄稍长的人都抱怨说：现在的流行音乐声音大，而且所有歌曲听起来都一样。事实证实他们说的没错。

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.
研究显示，现代唱片的确比五、六十年代发行的那些声音要大，在和弦与旋律上缺乏变化，听起来单调。

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.
西班牙研究人员利用电脑对发行于1955到2010间50万首流行、摇滚和嘻哈歌曲的主要特点进行分析，分析结果并没有使年龄35岁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.
这一研究揭示了现代唱片声音大的特点。研究人员解释说，录音师和制作人员在录音阶段加大了音量。

As a result, if two tracks are turned up to the same volume at home, the more recent will sound noisier.
如果在家播放两张不同的唱片，并调到同等音量，结果发现较新的唱片听起来声音更大。

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.
人们认为这样的结果并不单单取决于录音设备的质量，还与试图制作出听众喜欢并适于迪斯科伴奏的音乐密切相关。

The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, also found evidence that songs are more similar than in the past.
这项研究在《科学报告》杂志上发表，它同时还发现，现代歌曲之间比以往更具相似性。

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.
现代歌曲中的和弦与和弦间的变化更简单，这样的音乐作品悦耳却又有些单调。

Researcher Martin Haro, of Barcelona’s Pompeu Fabra University, said: ‘I think this is related to the role of music.
巴塞罗纳法布拉大学的研究人员马丁-哈罗说：“我觉得，这与音乐所发挥的作用有关。”

‘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.
“如今人们倾听音乐以放松身心，并不在意音乐的内涵。五、六十代的音乐更具美感，而且，我们可以从中获取信息、了解政治形势或两者兼俱。”

‘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.
“声音合成器的问世让你有机会见识很多像平克·弗洛伊德那样的乐队，他们尝试着不同类型的声音和和弦，现代音乐成为他们的演练场。”

‘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.
“现在，在声音与和弦方面趋于保守的组合和乐队更受欢迎，人们更享受这种音乐环境下的舞蹈与放松、节奏与活力。”这项研究还发现，乐器的流行取决于时代的主流声音。

Wannabe musicians looking for a hit should turn to the past for inspiration, said the researcher Joan Serra, of the Spanish National Research Institute.
西班牙国家研究所研究员琼尼·萨拉说，想要成为音乐家的人们应该从过去的音乐中发掘灵感。

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.
音乐心理学家艾德里安.诺斯教授说：“有关音乐沿革方面的研究不是很多，但毫无疑问，作曲家和表演者一直力求满足观众的口味，他们大幅度地剪裁自己的作品以达到这一目的。”

‘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，随着时间的推移，音量越来越大来迎合听众，这一点从这项研究中可见一斑。”

‘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，音乐的音量增加不是无限度的，超出限度会使音乐失去品质，变得不堪入耳；所以这一理论也显示，正因为如此音乐类型在演变：表演者和作曲家努力在音乐类型上进行创新，而不是通过简单提高音量来增加音乐的新鲜感，这样新音乐类型就出现了。”