GENRE
What are music genres ?
A genre is a style/category. In music they can be defined by the use of specific instruments, song structures, time-signatures, keys and the tempo. For example you can tell the difference between a Classical piece of music and a Drum and Bass song. The Classical genre typically uses orchestral instruments compared to Drum and Bass that uses synths and a fast tempo.
However, there is a very long list of different genres, their sub-genres, sub-genres and their sub-genres and genre blending.Take Metal as an example it has lots of sub-genres: pirate metal, nu metal, Christian metal, death metal - and many more.
Here's a fundamental list of genres:
Pop
Short to medium-length songs written in a basic song structure (often verse-chorus), with common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes and hooks.
Example sub-genres: Disco-pop, Space age, Country-pop
Example artists: Lady gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift
Blues
Often uses the twelve-bar bar blues chord structure and repetitive patterns.
Example sub-genres : Jazz Blues, Country Blues
Example artists : Jimmy Rogers, David Maxwell
Classical
Can range from being romantic to dramatic and involves use of orchestral instruments(piano, violins etc).
Example sub-genres: Baroque, Opera, Avant-Garde
Example artists: Beethoven
Country
Country music often consists of ballads and dance tunes with generally simple forms and harmonies. Songs are often accompanied by mostly string instruments such as banjos, electric, acoustic guitars and harmonicas.
Example sub-genres : Blues Country, Bluegrass, Country-Rock
Example artists : Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Bob Dylan
Electronic
Consists of digital instruments, synths, and drum machines. With how technology has evolved it is very easy to create an electronic song with the use of MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface)instruments and DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation).
Example sub-genres: Drum and bass, dubstep, video game music, wonky
Example artists: Marshmallow, Daft Punk, deadmau5
Hip-hop and Rap
Is known for rhyming and rhythmic speech style vocals, DJing and scratching, beatboxing and easy-to-use looping softwares. The loops are often short but very catchy.
Example sub-genres: Rap-rock
Artists: JayZ, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Eminem
Jazz
Jazz is known for its use of polyrhythms, syncopated rhythmic patterns and use of live improvisation.
Example sub-genres : Jazz Blues, Bebop, Swing
Artists : Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson
Reggae
Reggae is known for its offbeat rhythms. It is also known for it use of staccato chords played by a guitar or piano (or both) on the offbeats, often referred to as the skank.
The lyrical content is often themed around: love, freedom from slavery, equality, peace, freedom from government oppression, kindness and the oneness of humanity.
Example sub-genres: Ska, Reggaeton, Dub
Artists: Bob Marley, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff
Rock
Rock is known for its high energy, loudness and raucous. Alongside the use of simple unsyncopated rhythms, and typical use of the verse-chorus structure.
The song lyrics often refer to love, sex, rebellion of some form or life styles.
It’s stereotypically seen that rock music, as well as metal, is antisocial, angry and rebellious.
A typical rock band line up would include: drums, electric guitar, bass and lead vocalist (think Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Example sub-genres: Alternative Rock, Punk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Emo
Artists: Led Zeppelin, 12 Stones, The Beach Boys, Beatles, Eric Clapton
Metal
Metal is well known for its use of highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, thick massive sound and overall loudness.
The lyrics range from plain philosophy to rage against warfare, human ruthlessness and anger about other topics.
Example sub-genres : Trash Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Gothic Metal
Artists : Metallica, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth
Genre blending
What is genre blending ?
As of recent times musical genres are more perceived as subjective and fluid. As “music in the modern age is incredibly diverse and every genre borrows something from another, then evolves.”(Hayes, 2019) The lines have become so blurred that assigning genres to modern artists doesn’t have the same significance that it used to.
Genre divides in music have become increasingly irrelevant and it’s now very hard to pinpoint the direct use of genres in songs. This is not a bad thing as the merging of genres has proved to produce interesting, new sounding music.
Here are some of my favorite examples and example artist that use genre blending:
Issues
This song is a mixture of pop and metal.
The Prodigy
This song is a mixture of electronic and punk rock.
Gorillaz
This song is a mixture of rock and hip hop.
How do people perceive genres?
It is clear that everyone has their own individual preference on what genres they like and dislike. Regarding the way individuals approach music, music “can be utilized to alleviate sadness or actually boost happiness.” (Team, 2016)Some may choose to listen to emotional music when they feel sad to enhance that feeling and get it out of their system. “sad music offers a catharsis to individuals who are already feeling sad. By tapping into the emotions that are causing the pain, people are able to process the feelings more productively.” (Team, 2016) However, just because a piece of music or genre is classed as uplifting or depressing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will forcefully alter your mood. There are a number of reasons why this may be the case, the era people grew up in, people may not resonate with songs due to personal experiences or it could even be a biological thing.
An experiment that took place (Juslin, P.N. & Sloboda, J.A. (ed.) (2001)) played consonance(notes in harmony) and dissonant sounds/music to children who have never been exposed to music before. It was shown that the children preferred the consonance sounds over dissonant. ‘the authors suggested that the human infant might possess a biological preparedness that makes consonance more attractive than dissonance.’ (Juslin, P.N. & Sloboda, J.A. (ed.) (2001))
This research suggests that we biologically prefer nice, in tune, music and sounds. If you link this to your own personal experience this is true, you only listen to music that’s pleasing to your ears. ‘theory predicts that if I have to listen to music that I tend to abhor and that in addition disturbs my concentration on an important task at hand’ (Juslin, P.N. & Sloboda, J.A. (ed.) (2001)) this suggests that we only listen to music that we find aesthetically pleasing to us.
Overall, everyone has a different taste in music and utilizes music in contrasting ways, This isn’t a bad thing, having the same taste in music with the whole population would be boring.
TEMPO
What is tempo ?
Tempo is the speed at which a music is or should be played. You can see it as the speedometer of the music but instead of being measured in MPH it’s in Beats Per Minute or BPM.
Tempo is used to help composers and producers convey a feeling of either intensity or relaxation. A slow tempo would be more calm and less busy compared to an intense fast tempo.
Example tempo speeds=
Very, very slow (20 BPM and below)
The most commonly indicated “slow” tempo (40–60 BPM)
A popular tempo that translates as “at a walking pace” (76–108 BPM)
Perhaps the most frequently used tempo marking (120–168 BPM, which includes the “heartbeat tempo” sweet spot)
The most popular way to write “very fast” and a common tempo in fast movements of symphonies (ranges from 168–200 BPM)
Extremely fast (more than 200 BPM)
TIME SIGNATURES
What are time signatures ?
A time signature is used to specify how many beats are contained in each measure of music, and which note value is equivalent to one beat.
The fraction-like pair of numbers found at the beginning of a piece of sheet music and in DAWs represents the beats or a bar and what kind of notes are used. The left number indicates how many beats will be present in a bar. Whereas, the right number in a time signature indicates what kind of note is considered one beat. For example, a time signature of 4/4 has four quarter note beats; a measure with a 3/4 meter has three quarter note beats; and a measure of 2/4 time has two quarter note beats.
Here are some simple Time Signatures:
4/4(common time)
This is the most commonly used time signature. To count a 4/4 signature, each time you tap the beat, you’re tapping the equivalent of one quarter note. “4/4 is a time signature that is agreeable to the ear and fits perfectly with the structure of most rock and pop songs.” (U Team, 2018)
3/4
This time signature has three beats to a bar and has a waltz-like quality to the beat.
2/2
For this signature the half note gets one beat, and there are two beats to a bar.
It also replicates a ticking clock or a march(like a marching band with their left right march pattern).
STRUCTURE
A song structure is the arrangement of a song. It’s typical that parts get repeated during a song. However, there is no set way of structuring your song. There are some common structures however, it’s not necessary to use them.
These are components you may add to a song structure:
What is an Introduction ?
An introduction is the opening of the story, it establishes the tempo, key, rhythm and melody of the song. It’s also the make or break if the listener will stay for the journey. Normally, an intro starts slow with instruments fading in letting the listener get used to the rhythm, it starts the building of tension.
What is a Verse ?
A verse is where the story is told and advanced. In essence it’s the most adventurous part of a song as it highlights any changes in subject of lyrical content, instruments, key, melody, rhythm etc.
What is a Pre-Chorus ?
The job of a pre-chorus is to help heighten the impact of the chorus but can also break a pattern to introduce the chorus if needed.
What is a Chorus ?
The hook. The catchiest part of your song. The peak/climax of your song. This is the part that the listeners have been waiting for. It is the release of tension that has been building up since the introduction.
What is a Bridge ?
A bridge happens near the end of a song. However, it stands out; this could be due to a key change or a mighty guitar solo.
What is a Middle eight ?
Happens near the middle of a song. It’s purpose is to break repetition and introduce new elements (e.g. melody and lyrics).
What is an Outro ?
Does the opposite to an introduction and it’s clear to the listener that it’s the end to the song. Much like an introduction, instruments and vocals may fade out concluding the end.
Not all of these features are included in every song structure. However, a song structure needs to be interesting to keep the listener engaged. I think that having variation gives a sense of drama and that is key for a song.
Here are the most common song structures:
Verse-chorus
The most popular structure in pop and rock. That normally includes a solo.
Outkast’s “Hey Ya”
AAA = Verse / Verse / Verse
AABA = Verse/ Verse /Chorus / Verse
ABA = Verse/ Chorus or Chorus/ Verse
ABAB = Verse/ Chorus/ Verse/ Chorus
Particularly common in folk and hip-hop. Think of how many hip-hop songs go between a rapped verse and a sung chorus.
Song example:
ABABCB = Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Bridge / Chorus
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