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March 14, 2026Musicae ScientiaeOpen Access

The ageing musician: Evidence of a downwards trend in song tempo as a function of artist age

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Authors

GLGeoff LuckAAAlessandro Ansani

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Overview

Analysis reveals a downward trend in song tempo with increasing age of artists, suggesting age influences musical performance.

Key Points

  • This research aims to investigate the relationship between artist age and musical tempo over time.
  • Analyzed 13,180 songs released from 1956 to 2020.
  • Utilized generalised additive mixed models (GAMMs) and linear mixed models (LMMs) for analysis.
  • Operationalized age by calculating the difference between release year and birth year of artists.
  • Slight tempo increase observed from early adulthood to age 30.
  • Marked linear slowdown in tempo from age 30 onwards.
  • Tempo decreased by almost 10 bpm from artists' thirties to eighties, averaging 2 bpm per decade.

Cite This Study

Luck et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69b4fc1fb39f7826a300cd67https://doi.org/10.1177/10298649261419738
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1The aging musician: Evidence of a downward trend in song tempo as a function of artist age2024
  2. 2Neurobiological slowdown in later life manifests in tempo of popular music2024 · 1 citations
  3. 3Effect of tempo on the age-related changes in temporal expectation driven by rhythms2024 · 1 citations
  4. 4Sensorimotor Impairment in Aging and Neurocognitive Disorders: Beat Synchronization and Adaptation to Tempo Changes2024 · 2 citations
  5. 5Neurological and Psychological Implications of High - Tempo Music on Variability in Fine Motor Dexterity: A Comparative Case Study2026