Pop music dominates airwaves, TikToks and mall playlists alike, often at the cost of being called basic. This criticism isn’t just about taste — music theory backs this accusation. Student singer freshman Hailey Matta often encounters this simplicity when playing guitar chords.
“I’ve played some pop music (on the guitar) before,” she said. “There are very similar chord progressions in pop songs, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think with the same chord progression, there could be a lot done with a song.”
Pop music is often built around the same musical foundation: many songs use the 1-5-6-4 chord progression, a sequence of continuous notes that build a pattern within the song. It’s a harmony so ubiquitous that it forms the backbone of thousands of hits from The Beatles to Justin Bieber. It’s accessible and predictable, which is often the point.
Matta finds that pop music has a certain feeling to it that a wide range of people can connect with, no matter what music they listen to.
“I think some forms of pop music could be considered basic,” she said. “I’ve heard lots of people say it doesn’t have any merit to it, but I feel like pop music can set the mood for certain occasions or parties.”
This isn’t just a coincidence: Pop music being suitable for most events has a biological explanation. According to University of Arts Helsinki researcher Ivan Jimenez, our auditory system is neurologically wired to favor predictable, mid-frequency harmonies, making these chord structures not only catchy, but biologically appealing, which explains why pop music can be universally used.
Explaining how frequencies relate to chord progressions, the 1-5-6-4 progression tends to highlight consonant intervals — particularly perfect fifths and major thirds — that fall within the most sensitive range of human hearing, between 50 and 4000 hertz. This frequency band is also where our ears are most attuned to speech, which explains why pop music using these progressions often feels instantly familiar or emotionally resonant.
Repetition, whether in lyrics or in melody, also helps listeners remember and come back to the song, increasing profit and popularity for the artist.
Junior Reece Giresi, an avid music listener, notices that song structures are often very similar.
“There’s usually a catchy hook, which is repeated frequently,” he said. “Sonically, (there’s) a lot of lighter sounding instruments and (less) hard bass or drums.”
Giresi adds that these choices aren’t inherently bad, but they do contribute to why pop music is often deemed formulaic for many.
Giresi points out that the stigma around pop being basic may have more cultural forces than musical.
“There’s this idea that if something is really popular, then it’s not deep or meaningful,” he said. “It’s like calling blue jeans basic. Everyone wears them, but they’re also functional. Pop is just the most common form of music, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Giresi also believes that many pop artists are pushing the boundaries, creatively coming up with lyrics or blending smaller sub-genres.
“One of the reasons I like Sabrina Carpenter’s music is because she’s really funny in her lyrics,” he said. “Her personality really shines through. (It’s the same with) Chappell Roan too — people love her because she brings something different.”
Matta echoes that sentiment, remarking on unique aspects of songs that can make them more original, despite having a similar format and sound to other music.
“There can also be a creative side to pop,” she said. “Just because the patterns are similar doesn’t mean an artist can’t add their own personal touches that make it more interesting.”
