Music Genres for Dummies

[two fingers]

Oy.

Everything and everybody must be labeled and categorized these days. It's ridiculously annoying.

Ironically enough, it only serves to feed stereotypes in my view.

 

[Chad Michael]

Americana "is contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw"

Hmmmmm |c: I learn something new everyday

 

[BadSanta1281]

Everything and everybody must be labeled and categorized these days. It's ridiculously annoying.

Yup. I like music.

 

[Blueinred]

Thanks for the replies. It makes a bit more sense to me now.

I get that you need a way of verbally communicating the style of music you're going after but the sheer number of variables is overwhelming. On this list there's 40 sub-genres just under the blues category. 21 different types of alternative. Is death metal really different than doom metal?

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

www.musicgenreslist.com

I could see Hunter on bass. He loved things that went "boom".

 

[IamGroot]

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





(Edit: corrected Japanese -> Korean)

Thank you for posting this.

 

[IamGroot]

Your Tango is not a musical genre.

Deaf metal is my favorite.

 

[Michedelic]

You got your funk in my western swing!

There's always Hick-Hop...

 

[5StringBlues]

There's always Hick-Hop...

Yessir.

 

[Michedelic]

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





(Edit: corrected Japanese -> Korean)

Holy cow!
I've been to three county fairs and a goat-roping and I ain't never seen nothing like that!

You made my day!

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.

--^@

My head's about to explode!

That’s so super fun that I can’t stand it!

Thank you for posting this.

Anything is possible...

 

[Michedelic]

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.

Well, this sure isn't 'prog'...





So, what would Hawkwind be, if not..?


Lemmy ain't singing about a Lamborghini
Gong certainly isn't grounded...


All I know is Alpha Centuri isn't exactly around the corner...


Let's take a trip...
Space Odyssey
blast off...
The Tornados - Telstar - New improved stereo remix

 

[Skybone]

There are only two genres of music: good music and bad music.

There are only two genres of music:

1. Music you like.
2. Music you don't like.

 

[brianrost]

So is it merely a way of cataloging artists and music?

Yes, but in most cases genres are too restrictive. If you talk to people who are into electronic dance music, you will find there are literally hundreds of genres and subgenres, with new ones popping up all the time. Most of these genres are defined by something as simple as the tempo or whether a particular synthesizer is used!

Some genres are too inclusive, like "Americana" which I absolutely hate. That term seems to include country, folk, bluegrass, blues and "roots" rock with the only common characteristic being that it's not mainstream. It doesn't even have to be from America to be called Americana.

Then there are genres like "post-rock". OK, what comes after that, "post-post-rock"? Is the music somehow not rock?

Musicians complain about this all the time, that they are being labeled as something that they are not. On the other hand, Ozzy Osbourne used to say that Black Sabbath was really a jazz band

So genre labels can be useful to newcomers exploring unfamiliar music they also are useless in many ways.

A way of protecting the origins of the music?

No

Are you thinking about genre when you're working on original music?

No

Aren't you kind of putting artists and music in a box with so many labels?

Yes

 

[Skybone]

Then there are genres like "post-rock". OK, what comes after that, "post-post-rock"? Is the music somehow not rock?

"Alt (insert genre here)"

What's the alternative to Rock/Country/Blues/etc.?

Isn't "Alt" just an "easy" tag to categorise a band or sound, that sounds similar to another band or sound, but slightly different in some way?

 

[Skybone]

OK, how about 3 types of music genres...

1. Music you've heard and like.
   
2. Music you've heard and don't like.
3. Music you haven't heard yet.

 

[soundsupport1]

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.

The BBC broadcast of the Moon landings (long before DSOTM was released!) featured a panel of scientists on one side of the studio, and Pink Floyd improvising/jamming live on air on the other side of the room.
Invalid Link Removed

I agree, there's no such thing as 'space rock', but I would argue that it can be a useful term for describing the sort of sound you're going after: lots of echo, lots of reverb, lots of tremolo. A very open sounds. Weirdly, I'd associate it with a lot of playing on the toms and cymbals, rather than hihat and snare. Very little in the way of groove or beat.

It's pretty much identical to psychadelic/trippy music. Early Pink Floyd, David Bowie, stuff like that.

As to the OP: The place I find 'genre' most useful is in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). CCM is so homogenous, so much of the same sound, same melodies, same harmonies, same form (V1CV2CBBCC) and (above all) same chords, that everything sounds the same, very quickly. Especially since in a church service, the same musicians will be playing the same instruments on the same settings the whole way through.

Knowledge of genre then becomes VERY useful because you can break things up quite considerably. Slapping in one song (Funk), driving quarters in the next (classic rock), tone rolled off playing up near the fingerboard and not going above the 5th fret on any string (reggae)...same chord sequence for each song, TOTALLY different feel. And that's just the bassist's input. If the whole group is genre-savvy, it becomes much more effective, much more fun, and makes rehearsal a lot more interesting.
As well as playing technique, genre also has a big impact on rhythm. Reeeally worth knowing what beat is emphasised in each!

Peace,
SoundSupport

 

[4dog]

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.

--^@

genuis!

 

[TwentyHz]

Help me out <snip)>

I sincerely do not understand the importance of classifying artists and their music into all these genres and sub-genres..

Well, cuz people ask “What kind of music is it?”,

One of my bands is about to roll out having retooled.... I find myself answering with things like “Kind of mid-century west coast garage rock with a touch of a Batman surf-a-billy vibe, 70s-Americana influence and 70s game show theme song moments.

Because “rock” isn’t very descriptive.

 

[Kelly robinson]

I think it's time to invent Delta Prog.

I believe that's already been invented and mastered by Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside ! LOL ... Kelly

 

[Kelly robinson]

Thank you for posting this.

I second this sentiment - kudo's to BHolder for exposing us all to the light ! I went to her site and liked " Riders On The Storm " as my current favorite - I'd post it if I knew how .....

 

[mambo4]

As a musician, it might help a lot to know the genres for communication.

This was my thought. Sure many "styles" are superficial marketing labels. But there are also labels that represent deep wells of musical knowledge and vocabulary ( blues, jazz, country, Latin, celtic to name just a few) Any one of those, studied seriously, can fill a lifetime.