"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," a 1968 Beatles
The conclusion came after a study published by researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Germany.
80,000 different chord progressions from 700 songs released between 1958 and 1991 were studied. Each chord was assigned a score, using a "machine learning" process, to determine how 'surprising' it was compared to the preceding chord.
From there, chord progressions from 30 songs were shown to a group of volunteers without the lyrics and melody, so that the original song would not be recognized, and the participants had to say how pleasant each chord was.
According to the results, the volunteers enjoyed songs with unexpected chord progressions more than those with predictable ones. This result was then accompanied by data that cataloged activity in a region of the brain connected to musical pleasure each time a person was unsure how the song would continue in sequence.
After “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” came “Invisible Touch” by Genesis and “Hooked On A Feeling” by BJ Thomas .
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