Universality and Diversity in Human Song

This study was conducted by Mehr et al. in 2019. The authors methodically analyzed the features of vocal music worldwide. In one part of their study, the authors attempted to demonstrate the universality of music using clips of 118 songs carefully curated from ethnic cultures across the world. These songs were analyzed technically, and also subject to surveys by “naïve” users, who blindly categorized them based on survey choices. The results demonstrated a high statistical correlation between the correct categorization of the song (infant care, healing, dance and love) vs. what blind surveyors chose. The study also collected data regarding valence and arousal.