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

Correspondences between the timing of motor behaviour and that of musical performance are well-established. Motor behaviour, however, is known to degrade across the adult lifespan due to neurobiological decay. In particular, performance on speed-dependent motor tasks deteriorates, spontaneous motor tempo (SMT) slows, and upper motor rate limit falls. Here, we examine whether this slowdown in motor behaviour impacts the tempo of musical performance as a function of age. We analysed 13,180 songs released between 1956 and 2020 by artists with careers spanning at least 20 years. Generalised Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) and Linear Mixed Models (LMMs) were employed to assess the effects of age, operationalised by subtracting the birth year from the release year of each track, on musical tempo. Results revealed a slight tempo increase from early adulthood to age 30, followed by a marked, linear slowdown with age across the remainder of the lifespan. From artists’ thirties to their eighties, tempo decreased by almost 10 bpm, averaging around 2 bpm per decade. This decrease aligns with the slowing-with-age hypothesis and mirrors rates of decline observed in studies of SMT and gait speed. Our findings highlight a significant gap in the understanding of creative performance across the lifespan, particularly the role of age as a mediating factor in musical tempo. Moreover, that a discernible decrease in the tempo is apparent even in commercial recordings further emphasises the inescapable connection between the dynamics of motor behaviour and the timing of musical performance.