How Pandora Chooses Music Pandora’s “Music Genome Project” breaks down the musical qualities of five parent genres or “genomes,” as well as hundreds of subgroups called “genes.” Through musical analysis, Pandora is able to define the characteristics of every song within its genome. Most of this process is performed by real people, but the process of play-listing and recommending music is controlled by mathematical algorithms. Here are some examples of how songs may be characterized: Mellow rock instrumentation, folk influences, disco influences, subtle use of vocal harmonyAcoustic rock instrumentation, subtle use of vocal harmony, acoustic rhythm piano, extensive vamping Electronica influences, rhythm-and-blues influences, subtle use of vocal harmony, synthetic sonority Mellow rock instrumentation, subtle use of vocal harmony, intricate melodic phrasing, minor key tonality Female lead vocals, minor key tonality, catchy hooks, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation...