Understanding Musiio’s Standard Moods Classifier

Illustration: Steven Walker/OGRE Studio

Something we often get asked is how Musiio Moods work. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be walking you through our entire set of Moods to give you a greater understanding of how these tags work and how you can best use them.

First, we will be looking at our Standard (V1) Moods. Used on 500 million tracks to date, this set of moods will set a solid foundation of mood-based metadata for your catalogue.

We often refer to them as ‘basic’ or ‘simplified’ moods because the tags are easy for users to understand. There’s also not much crossover between these and our Enhanced (V3) Moods, which provide more nuance.

Why would customers still use Standard moods if there’s a new mood set?

Normally, when we add a new version of a classifier – like we did last year with Enhanced Moods (V3) – it supersedes our old classifier.

However, we found that while the new moods (which we will be covering next week) are excellent at giving more nuance and detail, Standard (V1) Moods are no less accurate.

Our customers, therefore, can decide to choose both versions to have a solid foundation of simplified mood descriptors (from V1) and nuanced, specific moods (from V3).

Below are a couple of examples of what that combination can look like.

With that explanation out of the way, let’s take a look at Standard (V1) Moods to understand how the AI is tagging music, and how you can continue to get real value from this legacy set of simplified mood descriptors.

Angry	Ideal for hulk-out scenes on the big screen and those “stay away from me, I’m coding” moments in front of your computer screen. The angry tag is high-energy, rebellious and loud in nature. WARNING: Tracks with this tag may contain shouting, screaming and distorted instruments.	Nirvana – Aneurysm
Dark	The dark tag can appear on anything from slow and brooding Hans Zimmer-style cinematic scores, to peak time 128 BPM industrial techno. Think minor keys, menacing reverbs, and unsettling undertones.	Ripples in the Sand – Hans Zimmer
Dramatic	The dramatic tag tends to appear on music that is effervescent and expressive in style. Theatrical or cinematic music with rich, full dynamic range and world music like Latin or tribal sounds written to accompany dramatic flamenco-like performances, and anything by Kate Bush… obviously.	Duel Of The Fates – John Williams
Energetic	The soundtrack to your Saturday night, the Energetic tag will return on tracks that would feature in peak time house music sets and Bon Jovi-style lung-testing group karaoke bangers.	Born This Way – Lady Gaga
Exciting	Exciting tracks get the heart racing and tend to have higher BPMs and a lot going on dynamically. Loud, proud in-your-face artists get an Exciting tag. So do tracks that feature in high-octane adventure sports like Red Bull downhill mountain biking and GoPro base jumping videos.	Starships – Nicki Minaj
Happy	For anything from cliche “tech start-up ad” ukelele, to Disney sing-alongs and ‘Feel good songs to sing in the shower’ type playlists. The happy tag is vibrant, and uplifting, and has a major amount of major chords.	Gin No Saji Theme – Goose House
Majestic	For awe-inspiring locations and superhero power stance moments, the Majestic mood tag is for music that inspires a sense of grandeur, pride and wonder. It’s commonly found in large orchestral works. Cue Jurassic Park theme…	Jurassic Park Theme – John Williams
Neutral	The neutral tag can appear on music for many different uses. Lofi and ambient music to study to, music you can use in your latest tech review video, or background music for a shop or restaurant. Neutral music isn’t going to challenge your ear, but it will add subtle atmosphere to an otherwise dead sonic space.	Escape Gravity – Yoga Enlightenment Paradise
Powerful	More muscular than Energetic and Exciting moods. Often corresponds with distortion, heavy compression and chunky rhythm guitars and searing leads. Air punch-inducing. Pins your ears back. Commonly performed by musicians wearing neon spandex. And Skrillex.	Bangarang – Skrillex feat. Sirah
Quirky	Against-the-grain, boundary-pushing, forward-thinking artists like Tyler the Creator and Billie Eilish that feature non-traditional rhythmic elements, unusual vocals, sound effects or instrumentation get a Quirky tag. Very common among TikTok hits and breakthrough Trap artists.	Mad At Disney – Salem Ilese
Relaxed	Music to enjoy sitting down while the sun shines. Puts your audience in a warm cocoon of safety. Commonly features traditional instrumentation at a medium-slow tempo. Vocals tend to be smooth, if present.	Put Your Records On – Corinne Bailey Rae
Romantic	The Romantic tag and sentimentality go hand in hand. Need the perfect track for when the lead character realises they’ve fallen in love? Or a playlist full of heartfelt vocal performances and slower, seductive songs. Look no further.	Bunga Sayang – Dick Lee
Sad	Real tear-jerking tracks trigger this tag. Almost always features minor chord progressions. These tracks have an immense emotional pull. For orchestral work, this could mean solo cello, for pop, it could be an emotive vocal. Generally lower energy and slower.	Death Of Cedric – John Williams
Scary	The Scary tag is for music that ranges from skin-crawling ASMR to existential dread-inducing dissonance. These tracks will keep your audience up at night. One for horror soundtracks rather than morning commutes. Pure nightmare fuel.	Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima – Penderecki
Tense	From the white knuckle car chase to the hide-behind-your-pillow psychological thriller, the Tense tag is triggered by the suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat.	Mysterious Psychological Horror Music – Dukkha