Music Genres for Dummies

[Chicory Blue]

Addendum: for some reason, all of the above might also be blues, proving that blues is objectively the best genre.

- ^@

 

[BadSanta1281]

Addendum: for some reason, all of the above might also be blues, proving that blues is objectively the best genre.

I like the blues because it's generally a slower tempo therefore easier for me to try to play along with. I just can't decide which of the 40 sub-genres of blues is the best.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

A guide-

3-4 chords, acoustically: folk
3-4 chords with overdrive: rock
3-4 chords with synthesizers: pop
3-4 chords with distortion: punk
3-4 chords with distortion, but faster: metal
3-4 chords with an accent: country
3-4 chords but nobody’s heard of you: indie
1 chord: funk or rap depending on how mad the singer is
3-4 chords but they’re insufferably complicated: jazz
More than 4 chords: ?!?!?!

Anything else: It’s alternative.

--^@

Too funny! Love it

 

[JTE]

"There are only two kinds of music; music that sounds good, and whatever you want to call that other stuff."

Duke Ellington

While these terms can be handy for communicating to people on stage who have a shared experience and so will interpret the "it's a blues in A, we'll play it calypso style", when it comes to actually describing music, these terms are really only for marketing, especially with the plethora of sub-sub-genres.

 

[Matt O]

According to this wikipedia page, there are 71 sub-genres of Metal: Heavy metal genres - Wikipedia

Honestly, I thought there'd be more.

 

[L Anthony]

And what the heck is acid-jazz anyway? Timothy Leary playing the piano with Hunter S. Thompson on the bass?

Let me know where I can find that album.

 

[JimK]

And what the heck is acid-jazz anyway? Timothy Leary playing the piano with Hunter S. Thompson on the bass?
www.musicgenreslist.com

The TB regulars from the UK always answered this best.
A favourite of mine, The Brand New Heavies, get labels as Acid Jazz. I get the "acid" part...but they're not Jazz, IMO, they're closer to retro-'70s R&B/Funk/Soul (that's why I like 'em).


Back in the day, we had Rock, Hard Rock, & Acid Rock. Most started with Rock & then gradually moved up.


Some bands are masterful at crossing genres/genre bending...how many can you spot-

 

[Coolhandjjl]

A guide-

3-4 chords, acoustically: folk
3-4 chords with overdrive: rock
3-4 chords with synthesizers: pop
3-4 chords with distortion: punk
3-4 chords with distortion, but faster: metal
3-4 chords with an accent: country
3-4 chords but nobody’s heard of you: indie
1 chord: funk or rap depending on how mad the singer is
3-4 chords but they’re insufferably complicated: jazz
More than 4 chords: ?!?!?!

Anything else: It’s alternative.

--^@

More than 4 chords: Prog

 

[Holdsg]

Steve Earle should just have his own genre called Badxxx

 

[TheReceder]

Here's some genre-busting Texican rock played on a traditional Korean instrument:





(Edit: corrected Japanese -> Korean)

You made my day!

 

[TheReceder]

Help me out here, please. I'm no musician and have never studied music until I started studying bass a few months ago. I have only been a consumer of music, not a student of it.

Actually you became a musician the day after you started studying bass.

 

[bholder]

The "genre" that always makes me cringe is when a critic or someone in the media refers to Pink Floyd as "space rock."
1) there is no such thing as space rock;
2) the only reason lazy-minded people call Pink Floyd space rock is because PF put out an album with the word "moon" in the title;
3) if these dolts would spend five minutes listening to virtually any Pink Floyd music, they would understand it has nothing to do with "space."

Give me a break.

Dark Side Of The Moon isn't even space rock. Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun and Astronmy Domine are, however. Along with the Stone's 10000 Light Years From Home...

 

[Chicory Blue]

Here's some genre-busting Texican rock played on a traditional Korean instrument:





(Edit: corrected Japanese -> Korean)

She... she is everything I’ve ever wanted to be in life. This is who I want to become someday.

Shine on, you crazy gayageum goddess. Shine on so I may follow you to that place in space where you live.

--^@

 

[smogg]

 

[ogreboy88]

is death metal really different than doom metal?

Doom is basically rehashing Black Sabbath with various twists (tuned down, slowed down, more fuzz...).

Death is usually faster, less melodic, and less attached to blues riffs. It's also broader and vaguer as a category.

(Sorry. At least I kept it short?)

 

[5StringBlues]

Addendum: for some reason, all of the above might also be blues, proving that blues is objectively the best genre.

- ^@

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Chicory Blue]

A guide-

3-4 chords, acoustically: folk
3-4 chords with overdrive: rock
3-4 chords with synthesizers: pop
3-4 chords with distortion: punk
3-4 chords with distortion, but faster: metal
3-4 chords with an accent: country
3-4 chords but nobody’s heard of you: indie
1 chord: funk or rap depending on how mad the singer is
3-4 chords but they’re insufferably complicated: jazz
More than 4 chords: ?!?!?!

Anything else: It’s alternative.

--^@

Expanded edition-

3-4 chords, acoustically: folk or Delta blues
3-4 chords with overdrive: rock or Chicago blues
3-4 chords with synthesizers: pop or Memphis blues
3-4 chords with distortion: punk or Texas blues
3-4 chords with distortion, but faster: metal or still Texas blues I guess
3-4 chords with an accent: country or blues
3-4 chords but nobody’s heard of you: indie but probably blues
1 chord: funk or rap depending on how mad the singer is or a Willie Dixon standard
3-4 chords but they’re insufferably complicated: jazz or jazz-blues
More than 4 chords: probably still blues

Anything else: it’s blues

--^@

 

[5StringBlues]

Expanded edition-

3-4 chords, acoustically: folk or Delta blues
3-4 chords with overdrive: rock or Chicago blues
3-4 chords with synthesizers: pop or Memphis blues
3-4 chords with distortion: punk or Texas blues
3-4 chords with distortion, but faster: metal or still Texas blues I guess
3-4 chords with an accent: country or blues
3-4 chords but nobody’s heard of you: indie but probably blues
1 chord: funk or rap depending on how mad the singer is or a Willie Dixon standard
3-4 chords but they’re insufferably complicated: jazz or jazz-blues
More than 4 chords: probably still blues

Anything else: it’s blues

--^@

Huge smile!

 

[OptimalOptimus]

Well you can catalog music just like you can catalog type of birds or flowers or trees etc.

It is because they do share common things ...

But here on TB we can say every falls under "Rock"

Then you have Pop, Blues, Funk, Metal and Classical music. everything else is Rock ... even then ... Funk and Blues do have the same type of pattern than Rock but hey whatever.

 

[43ManSquamish]

And even the sub-genres have sub-sub-genres. For example, here's a list of progressive rock sub-sub-genres from prograrchives.com:

Canterbury Scene, Crossover Prog, Eclectic Prog, Experimental/Post Metal, Heavy Prog, Indo-Prog/Raga Rock, Jazz Rock/Fusion, Krautrock, Neo-Prog, Post Rock/Math Rock, Prog Folk, Progressive Electronic, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic/Space Rock, RIO/Avant-Prog Rock, Progressivo Italiano, Symphonic Prog Tech/Extreme Prog Metal, Zeuhl, Proto-Prog

I suddenly feel the need to get busy and listen.