Quantitative Study Misinterprets the Evolution of Musical Information
Slippedisc
A study from Sapienza University claiming a reduction in musical complexity mistakes harmonic simplification for a total loss of information. The researchers, focusing on statistical probability in pitch and rhythm, overlook how timbre (the character or quality of a musical sound distinct from its pitch and intensity) has replaced functional harmony as the primary driver of development. In modern soundscapes, complexity is found in spectral density and electronic textures rather than in the syntax of the circle of fifths. The study's conclusion reflects a methodology trapped in the 19th-century harmonic grid, missing the actual evolution of information density in contemporary sound.