# An album is a story: Feature arcs in sequences of tracks

## TL;DR

Musicians tend to arrange album tracks with a consistent pattern of loudness and energy, similar to storytelling structures in literature.

## Contribution

This study reveals consistent statistical patterns in album track sequencing based on tempo, valence, arousal, and loudness.

## Key findings

- Musicians show broad agreement on song placement within an album.
- Tempo follows an inverted U-shape, while valence, arousal, and loudness show the opposite pattern.
- Sequencing trends align with patterns found in song lyrics and literary works.

## Abstract

When releasing an album, musicians often think about the order in which their songs will be presented to the listener. In a previous study, we analyzed sequencing patterns within a set of 50,000 published works and found that louder, more energetic tracks are usually placed before quieter ones. Here we asked 130 music professionals to deliberately arrange the order of songs for a hypothetical album release. Our findings reveal consistent statistical patterns of track sequencing, with musicians showing broad agreement on the placement of songs within an album. Overall, tempo follows an inverted U-shape, while valence, arousal and loudness exhibit the opposite pattern. Results are interpreted in light of auditory science, and compared with sequencing trends commonly found in song lyrics and literary works.