ANSWERS: 14
  • There will always be the "unsung note"
  • Incredibly unlikely, but theoretically possible (for those whole enjoy calculating esoteric math problems). There are over 100 discrete notes, as well as pauses in which no note is played. Notes and pauses can be held for differing durations: whole, half, quarter, eight, sixteenth, plus whole and fractional multiples of any of these. Some instruments can alter the attack, sustain, and decay characteristics of a note dynamically (e.g., piano, synthesizer). Some can change sound if played using different techniques, introducing even further variations (e.g., tongue and lip techniques with a trumpet). Some can generate notes in between the fixed notes (e.g., trombone, slide whistle). The type of instruments used in the percussion family is probably endless (e.g., symphony for ashcan and hammer). The length of any indivdual composition can be varied from a few seconds to tens of minutes. I don't think they're going to run out of variations in my lifetime. That said, there may thankfully be a finite number of sappy 4-chord pop tunes.
  • This question is a question of mathematics and bothered me while I was going to college. Fortunately, in a course on math or science or music--can't remember which--I found that the possible combinations of notes, timing, and so forth are so astronomical that you could listen to a different song every waking moment for your entire life and there would still be plenty left over to be written.
  • Technically, I would assume no because even if humanity did somehow catalog that every possible combination of musical notes were used in music the songs themselves would not necessarily end because different words could be written for the same musical piece.
  • Even if the combinations of notes is exhausted, we should consider that the melody is also a factor in songwriting. Since a melody can make the same chord sequence sound completely different, and a melody cannot be "pinned down" by a note (every single musician may sing a different melody to the same chord sequence) the combinations are infinite. When considering the note combinations and the melody factor, we can see that this argument runs true.
  • -As this question depends on how long the song is I have written a rule at the bottom in which given the number of seconds measuring the duration of the song it is possible to calculate how many songs are possible in that period of time. (The following numbers I work with are also theoretical but will give you a reasonable answer based on the human processing capabilities). The human hearing range is 20Hz to 20000Hz. Therefore range is 19980 (humans can't detect 10ths of hertz) Humans can hear from 0.00 to 250.00(any greater and you're deaf) decibels So that's 25,000 (for the loudness distinguishing) 25000 * 19980 = 499500000 Planck's time (smallest unit of time) is about 3.3 x 10-44 sec so that would be about (1.64835 * 10^53)*seconds of duration = number of possible songs. For 2 seconds there are a possible: 329,670,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 songs possible, theoretically of course...
  • What a wonderfully interesting and informative answer!! but, I guess, from a pure mathematical point of view, the number of notes is in fact finite, so there fore, not withstanding, the number of any combinations of notes, must also be finite, those two points given, eventually, ( as with any finite matter) an end point will occur.Now, debatable is when that will happen, as the former answer points out, probably not in our life time, but again, there are now so many new songwriters out there, that if each and every one of them, were specifically given the task of formatting only new tunes, maybe it would be sooner than later.
  • What an interesting question. But it depends what you mean. You can see from some of the answers which have been submitted that people interpret the question differently. For one person, a "song" may be defined as a melody, or particular sequence of pitches and rests, irrespective of the key and the instrument or voice used to "sing" it. At the other extreme, a "song" may be regarded as the full waveform, so that even the same recording played through two different speakers could be regarded as a different "song", since the waveform will differ. Going back to the first definition, of melody irrespective of key, which is a closer definition of a song than anything else (although if you think for example of the Scissor Sister's cover of "Comfortably Numb", you can see that there is extreme variation possible with the same melody). I won't attempt a calculation of the number, but it may be lower than some values quoted in other answers. In even temperment, which is the system of pitches which has been used in Western music for the last 400 years, there are actually only 12 distinct pitches used. They are repeated in higher and lower octaves. Intervals in melody (distance between sucessive notes) can span more than one octave, so admittedly composers are not limited to intervals within these 12 notes. However, it is a feature of music development that intervals which to previous generations sounded discordant or even frightening (the Catholic church banned the use of certain intervals in music, saying they were heresy) begin to be accepted by subsequent generations as pleasant and then pass from pleasant to plain and boring. But it is already happening that every possible interval or chord has been used, and to future generations will sound boring and plain. This is a limitation of the system of even temperment currently used. However, since the 1930s there has been talk of abandoning this system before it is all "used up", in favour of a new system called "Just Intonation". This system places no restrictions on what relative pitches may be used, and the discerment of note intervals is limited only by the human ear, which one other answer alluded to. This promised to open up a new space of possible melody construction. However, it may be some time before we begin to hear it commonly, as it has implications for instrument designers (think of a guitar or piano, for example). Until then, we will just have to contend with the imperfections of the 12 note system and listen to boy bands with 4 chord "songs" and pitch "corrected" vocals, although to my ear there is some pleasure even in that.
  • I agree with all the previous answers. My two cents would be that musical notes are like a painters colors...I doubt painters/artists alike will ever run out of ideas using the available colors. Even those who only paint with charcoal and plain pencil will never run out of things to draw. In all of musical history look how much has been written. Because every composer hears different musical phrases in their head I doubt we will ever run out of combinations of musical notes thus producing compositions of all sorts. Concidred to be the most famous and influencial composer of the 20th century, Igor Stravinsky said "a good composer does not imitate, he steals" so essentially we've already heard all the possible sounds except we hear them in different orders.
  • The only way the answer of this question can be anything other than "no, it's infinite" is to set parameters on everything, and rule that interpretive differences do not make different songs, even if different notes are played (say there is a bend in a guitar solo, we have to say that a bend is a bend is a bend, as opposed to counting every possible frequency the string could bent to. We have to set a time limit, perhaps designate a set of scales, a minimum note duration, a maximum number of notes to be played at a time, limit dynamic markings, and so on. Very complicated. However, there are limited note combinations that sound musical in a given culture (or even a musical genre... e.g. the common use of the "devil's interval" in metal music), so if you look at songwriting in a formulaic fashion, then yes, there are a finite set of MUSICAL note combinations. (Song formulas even provide convenient length parameters... 3-4 minutes for a pop song, etc.) Regardless, there are many ways to look at this question.
  • you have to consider the texture and styles in which a melody or song can be played... one melody played on a guitar sounds very different on a xylophone. the combinations of notes could possibly run out, but the styles and ways in which they are payed are infinite.... one singers voice will never sound the same as another's. And that goes for every musician.
  • Idoims that follow paticular strategies become exhausted, When this happens we hear what we call cliches. However, innovative musicians refresh music by either finding new strategies of form, or developing existing strategies in unexpected ways. A very radical strategy of composition often sounds un musical to those not primed for hearing such a piece just as a foreign language can sound like gibberish. The jazz musician Charlie Parker gave us his incredible new take on the jazz solo at a time people thought the Idiom was exhausted. The problem is such geniuses are rare and always have been. This presents problems in a post modern capitalist society were all scarcity must be banished - and a hunger for novelty must be ever satisfied. Having said this music in the MTV age has at last been completely commodified " A sound track to OUR lives. We live in an age of dicontinuity and a kind historical cultural amnesia which is no longer concerned about the authenticity of any musical or cultural innovation as long as it is packaged as new. The description of this problem by many post modernist thinkers has sadly mutated into a PRE-scription thanks to their determinist sensibilities. Personally I believe there are lots more tunes to write. Finally, - consider this the computer programmer basically works with zeros and ones. Think of the complexities that can rise out of that. THANKYOU FOR READING THIS. REGARDS MATT DEVEREAUX
  • Ha, My personal opinion, and this is honestly NOT an offensive comment, JUST my opinion, you are all fucking retarded :) i think disscussing this topic is a sin because the pure thought that music can become depleted makes me die a little inside. On a more serious note I do however agree with every answer posted. Allow me to offer my point of view: music is like conversation, will two friends ever seize to speak due to running out of things to talk about? It simply will not happen because although you may hear the same words, topics, or whatever over and over again, the setting, atmosphere, order, will always be different. Think of the mini conversations within a large conversation as musical fill ins as well. You can not put a number on the different ways to have the same conversation, not to mention different ones. Therefor, regardless of wether or not we finally come up with all the combinations to write a song "which i can almost guarantee will not happen in any of our lifetimes," the way we present those combinations are endless I would imagine.
  • But one day the mucical loop will repeat itself, and even if you change the words its still going to be the same notes, People change things all the time in music! and it never sounds the same as the original. Just like Rock n Roll is dying also!!. because of crap like xfactor, you will never see bands like Guns n Roses or Iron Maidon Bon Jovi packing out stadiums again you got crap like leona lewis for our furture.. just thought id get that bit about music cos i love music and its all going down the pan....

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