Why Do Mainstream Songs Sound the Same?
Another explanation of a musical mystery
When I listen to the radio, I’m often boggled by how songs sound familiar to me or similar. And it’s on more than one level. Let’s be clear, I’m not talking cross-genre — obviously, something in metal or alternative doesn’t have the same sound as something in pop.
However, hip-hop, pop, and mainstream music have similar sounds. So, I began paying attention and found several reasons why.
The goal of the music industry is to make money. To that end, record labels have purposely marketed songs that make sounds that appeal to us, have dialed into our nostalgia, and have literally forced songs into earworms. That’s why many popular, mainstream songs sound the same!
Let me break this down further for you, so you can see and “hear it” yourself!
The Four Chords & The Millennial Whoop
Discovered by the comedy band The Axis Of Awesome, four chords are present in so many pop songs that it cannot be ignored as a coincidence. Humans seem to go crazy for this sound. And it may be something that came about in a purely accidental situation.
A fundamental concept in learning to play songs by ear is the “1 4 5 progression”, also known as the “3 chord…
