Abstract
As an integral part of contemporary life, popular music subtly influences people’s cognitive perceptions, lifestyles, and other aspects of daily experience through its evolving forms and modes of dissemination. This study explores the core sonic characteristics of popular music and their multifaceted impact on listeners from the perspectives of emotional experience, cultural transmission, and commercial value. Through a detailed analysis of pitch, melody, rhythm, timbre, and loudness, the paper reveals how these elements have become increasingly standardized and strategically designed to enhance memorability, emotional resonance, and market adaptability. The research highlights that sonic features not only shape listeners’ affective responses through mechanisms such as emotional induction and rhythmic synchronization, but also serve as crucial media for cultural exchange in a globalized context. Furthermore, the study examines how the optimization of sonic characteristics in response to digital media platforms and audience analytics has strengthened popular music’s role in branding, advertising, and consumer behavior. These evolving features enable pop music to achieve emotional immediacy, cultural connectivity, and global influence, positioning it as a key driver in contemporary cultural production and communication.
References
Koelsch, S. (2015). Music-evoked emotions: Principles, brain correlates, and implications for therapy. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1337(1), 193-201.
Kong, F. Y. J. (2021). Soundscapes of feminist protests in London: collective identity construction through sonic resonance (Doctoral dissertation, London School of Economics and Political Science).
Li, Y. K., Loo, F. C., & Fei, W. (2024). Investigating the Impact of Emotional Resonance on Consumer Behavior in the Traditional Music Market. Pakistan Journal of Life & Social Sciences, 22(2).
Ma, X., Bai, X., & Tao, Y. (2013). A mechanistic model of music and emotion evocation. Advances in Psychological Science, 21(4), 643-652.
Mauch, M., MacCallum, R. M., Levy, M., & Leroi, A. M. (2015). The evolution of popular music: USA 1960-2010. Royal Society Open Science, 2(5).
Otuokere, T. O., Imoize, A. L., & Atayero, A. A. A. (2021). Analysis of sonic effects of music from a comprehensive datasets on audio features. ELEKTRIKA-Journal of Electrical Engineering, 20(1), 43-53.
Schubert, E. (2013). Emotion felt by the listener and expressed by the music: Literature review and theoretical perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 837.
Serrà, J., Corral, A., Boguñá, M., Haro, M., & Arcos, J. L. (2012). Measuring the evolution of contemporary western popular music. Scientific Reports, 2, 521.
How to cite this paper
Exploring the Sonic Identity of Popular Music: Detailed Characteristics and Expressions
How to cite this paper: Yiyang Geng. (2025) Exploring the Sonic Identity of Popular Music: Detailed Characteristics and Expressions. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(7), 1303-1307.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.07.010