There’s something different about the music we hear now, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what.

Music’s essence has changed, and one of the most significant shifts has been in the vocals. Legends like Elvis, Aretha, and Sinatra dominated in the past, and many say it’s not like it used to be.

And no, it’s not just about nostalgia.

Let’s look at this shift, and you’ll see what happened to music’s soul (i.e., the human voice) over the years.

The rise and fall of the lead vocal

A couple of researchers from the University of Oldenburg in Germany wanted to see if the importance of lead vocals has changed over time in popular music.

They dug deep into over 700 songs from 1946 to 2020, aiming to see if the mix of vocals to the accompanying instruments — what they call the Lead-Vocal-to-Accompaniment Ratio (LAR) — had shifted across decades. They covered various genres and decades to comprehensively understand how music has evolved.

Next, they analyzed each song’s audio mix and focused on this balance (lead vocals to the rest of the music). In other words, they were trying to figure out how loud the singer’s voice is compared to the instruments with a metric LAR to quantify this balance.

• A higher LAR = vocals are louder than the other instruments.

• A lower LAR = vocals are more blended into the music.

Were there any patterns across genres and decades?

In terms of trends over time, they saw that in the 1940s and 1950s, lead vocals were significantly more prominent in the mix, with an LAR of around 5 dB. This means the vocals were about 5 decibels louder than the accompanying instruments.

1940–1950s: vocals rule.

From around 1975, vocals became more important. The LAR dropped to about 1–2 dB above the instruments, which meant a more balanced mix between vocals and instruments.

1975–2020s: vocals blend.

Then, they looked at genres.

Pop and Country genres maintained a higher LAR, meaning vocals are still relatively prominent compared to the instruments. However, rock and metal genres showed lower LAR values, suggesting that vocals are less dominant and that the rest of the instruments are more important for the overall sound. Think of those guitar solos taking the spotlight away from the singer.

You could also say Rock and Metal are more collectively oriented, compared to Pop and Country which are more individualistic.

The main finding? The importance of vocals has generally decreased over time, and the focus has shifted from the lead singer to a more integrated band sound.

Music’s core elements are silencing vocals

A similar study from Spain took a different approach but arrived at a related conclusion. A team of data enthusiasts and music lovers from Spain, particularly from the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, investigated the evolution of popular music in a slightly different timeframe, from 1955 to 2010.

They focused on core music elements such as pitch, timbre, and loudness and analyzed over 464,000 tracks. As a point of reference, this playlist would take over three years of nonstop listening to finish.

The researchers analyzed each song's fundamental components using statistical physics and complex network analysis tools and found some interesting findings.

Although the study didn’t focus on vocals specifically, we can see how changes in the main parts of the music indirectly influence vocals. First, let’s see the pitch, timbre, and volume shifts.

• Pitch has become simpler over time: the melodies you hear today are less complex than those from the 60s or 70s. Songwriters are playing it safer today.

• Timbre is more homogenized. The unique sounds of different instruments are less distinct, and everything is starting to blend. Think of the colors of a painter’s palette slowly turning into shades of grey.

• Songs have become increasingly louder over the years: the average loudness increased by 9dB from 1955 to 2010. Music shouts to grab our attention, but in doing so, it loses the dynamic richness that makes music truly exciting.

While we think we’re hearing new things, what we’re really getting is louder, simpler, and more uniform. Unfortunately, it’s the sonic equivalent of fast food — easy to consume but lacking in so many other aspects.

But how does this relate to vocals?

Suppose there’s been a “homogenization” of timbre in popular music. In that case, it implies that the unique qualities of individual vocalists blend more with the overall instrumental mix rather than standing out as they did in the past.

Also, since tracks are mastered to be louder at the expense of dynamic range, vocals lose some of their natural dynamics and become less prominent.

Lastly, simplifying melodies over time means vocal lines don’t stand out as much, as they are not as melodically intricate or varied as they might have been in the past.

We hear more repetitive hooks, so there’s less space for a wider vocal range. More repetitive pitch sequences make vocals and instruments blend more, making the music more cohesive but less focused on the vocal performance as a separate, standout element.

Takeaway

These changes show us a more profound shift in how we consume art and how we express emotion through music.

We’re seeing a movement from the individual to the collective, from the distinct to the blended. The lead singer may not be the sole star anymore, but that’s telling us something profound about where we’re headed.

Music is a mirror of the culture that creates it.

As the vocalist's importance diminishes, the collective experience increases. For instance, the way we consume content (e.g., Spotify playlists over full albums) points to a culture that values the group, the collective, over the individual.

This shift in vocals indicates that our society is moving towards a different way of expressing who we are. If you can’t see it, listen to today’s music, and you’ll hear it.

It’s a new era for music.