Are lead singers’ voices getting quieter in chart-topping songs?

By Pol Allingham via SWNS

The volume of lead singers on chart-topping songs has gradually been turned down over the last 75 years, reveals a new study.

Tracks are often built to keep the lead singer’s voice in the foreground, but scientists found these vocals are being made quieter and quieter in comparison to their band.

Previous research suggested lead vocals were mixed at a higher volume than other instruments, but University of Oldenberg (UO), Germany, scientists found the opposite was true when they looked at a selection of songs more fully representative of popular Western music.

The team studied Billboard Hot 100’s top four tracks each year from 1946 to 2020, picking the U.S. music industry chart for its diversity and independence.

Lead vocals were separated from other sounds in the 300 selected songs to figure out the lead vocal to accompaniment ratio, or LAR.

They put the snub down to changes in music technology, but suggested it could also be linked with the “stylistic evolution” of pop songs.

In a follow-up investigation, country music was found to have the highest LAR, followed by rap and pop.

And the LAR was almost zero for rock, negative for metal, and far higher for solo singers versus bands.

Karsten Gerdes, MA student at UO, said: “Due to their diversity, the Billboard Charts are considered independent and representative.

“Our analysis showed a significant downward trend in the LAR from about 5 decibels in 1946 to approximately 1 decibel in 1975, after which time the LAR remained constant.”

Most recordings aren’t available split up into individual tracks for different instruments.

Consequently, researchers used software to break each song into tracks for vocal, bass, percussion and all remaining sounds.

Backing vocals were removed too, to measure the volume of the lead singer only.

To test the hypothesis that changing pop song styles produced quieter leads, investigators studied tracks nominated for Grammy Awards in the genres of country, rap, pop, rock and metal.

Sound amplitudes were deduced by subtracting the decibel of the track from the maximum decibel of the lead vocal.

In the study published in the journal JASA Express Letters, Kai Siedenburg of UO, said: “Another possibility involves the stylistic evolution within popular music.

“Guitar riffs are a distinctive feature of rock and metal, with guitars taking a position comparable to lead vocals.”