Why are so many songs between 3 – 4 minutes long?
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People are correctly pointing out that recording formats – dating back to the wax cylinder – are a factor here. However, I would argue that these media reinforced the 3-4 format rather than creating it. The format of modern albums is broadly influenced by the structure of symphonies in classical music, which would be a 30-40 minute symphony split into 3-5 minute movements.
So why did this structure emerge in the first place? I think there are a handful of sociological reasons. This sounds obvious, but the amount of time any piece of entertainment can be is broadly defined by the length of a person’s waking day and the availability of leisure time. Between work, daily tasks etc. the average person is probably looking for up to a couple of hours of entertainment at most, so a 30-40 minute symphony makes some sense.
But it’s hard for a solo composer to “manage” an entire 30-40 minute continuous piece of music; it then makes sense to chunk this down into movements so that you can focus your attention on 3-5 minute building blocks that fit together into the bigger dynamic shape of the symphony. In some symphonies these movements feel very distinct while in others they flow into each other completely seamlessly. In any case, each movement has it’s own internal dynamics, motifs and musical ideas. This approach has held true for many years, of course influenced and consolidated by factors such as formats and media.
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