The report on the topic "Genres of Music", summarized in this article, will help you learn a lot of useful information about musical genres, including modern ones.
What are the musical genres?
Genres of music determine the nature and style of the musical direction. The first genres that stood out were church music. It was matet and mass. Later, a genre of secular song arose. In the 17th century, the oratorio, opera, and cantata appeared. With the development of chamber music, new genres appeared, such as folk song, romances, ballad, requiem, vocalise, serenade, cant.
In the future, the development of musical genres was very fast. Today there are 4 categories:
- theatrical genres. This includes ballet and opera, musicals, musical dramas, operettas, vaudevilles, melodramas and musical comedies.
- concert genres. This includes sonatas, oratorios, symphonies, cantatas, quartets and quintets, trios, suites.
- Mass genres. These include songs, marches and dances.
- Cult and ceremonial genres. The works are associated with festive or religious rites. For example, carnival songs, Christmas carols, spells, funeral and wedding laments, troparia, bells and kontakia.
Genres of contemporary music
In modern music there are many directions and genres. Let's look at the main ones:
- Rock(heavier music for perception with elements of folk motives):
- pop rock
- Hard rock
- folk rock
2.Pop
- House is music played on a synthesizer.
- Trance is music with comic and sad melodies.
- Disco is music with rhythmic bass and drum sections.
3.rap
- alternative rap.
- Rapcore is a mixture of rap with heavy music.
- Jazz rap.
- Dirty rap.
- comedy rap.
4.Electronic music
- Deep house
- Garage house
- new disco
- Soul full house
There is also a classification of genres of such main areas as:
- Classical music. They spread in the 18th century. Among them are overture (instrumental introduction to plays, performances or works), sonata (for chamber performers), etude (small piece for honing music performance), scherzo (live and fast-paced music), symphony, opera, oratorio.
- Rock music. We have already talked about it above. The list of rock music genres also includes Grunge (guitar sound), Gothic rock (gothic music), Viking rock (punk rock combined with folk music).
- . The list of its genres is liturgy (Christmas or Easter service), antiphon (music with alternating choral groups), rondelle (original melody for one motive), proprium (part of the mass), ordinarium.
- secular music. The list of its genres is composed of guilliard (rhythmic and fast), ballad, villancico (ballad with poetic text).
We hope that the report on genres of music helped you prepare for the lesson, and you learned a lot of interesting information for yourself. And you can leave a story about musical genres through the comment form below.
Continuing the series of articles on music theory, we would like to tell you about how genres in music were formed and developed. After this article, you will never again confuse a musical genre with a musical style.
So, first, let's look at how the concepts of “genre” and “style” differ. Genre- This is a type of work that has developed historically. It implies the form, content and purpose of music. Musical genres began their formation at an early stage in the development of music, in the structure of primitive communities. Then music accompanied every step of human activity: life, work, speech, and so on. Thus, the main genre principles were formed, which we will analyze further.
Style means the sum of materials (harmony, melody, rhythm, polyphony), the way they were used in a piece of music. Usually the style is based on the trend of a certain era or is classified by composer. In other words, style is a set of means of musical expression that determines the image and idea of music. It may depend on the individuality of the composer, his worldview and tastes, approach to music. Also, the style determines the currents in music, such as jazz, pop, rock, folk styles and so on.
Now back to genres of music. There are five main genre beginnings, which, as we said, originated in primitive communities:
- Motority
- Declamation
- chant
- signaling
- Sound imaging
It was they who became the basis of all subsequent genres that appeared with the development of music.
Quite soon after the formation of the main genre principles, the genre and style began to intertwine into a single system. Such genre and style systems were formed depending on the occasion for which the music was created. This is how genre-style systems appeared, which were used in certain ancient cults, for ancient rituals and in everyday life. The genre had a more applied character, which formed a certain image, style and compositional features of ancient music.
On the walls of the Egyptian pyramids and in the surviving ancient papyri, lines of ritual and religious hymns were found, which most often spoke about the ancient Egyptian gods.
It is believed that ancient music received its highest point of development in ancient Greece. It was in ancient Greek music that certain patterns were discovered on which its structure was based.
As society evolved, so did music. In medieval culture, new vocal and vocal instrumental genres have already been formed. During this era, genres such as:
- Organum is the earliest form of polyphonic music in Europe. This genre was used in churches, and it flourished in the Paris school of Notre Dame.
- Opera is a musical and dramatic work.
- Choral - liturgical Catholic or Protestant singing.
- Motet is a vocal genre that was used both in church and at social events. His style depended on the text.
- Conduct is a medieval song, the text of which was most often spiritual and moralizing. Until now, they cannot accurately decipher the medieval notes of conducts, since they did not have a definite rhythm.
- Mass is a liturgical service in Catholic churches. Requiem is also included in this genre.
- Madrigal is a short work on lyrical and love themes. This genre originated in Italy.
- Chanson - this genre appeared in France, and initially choral peasant songs belonged to it.
- Pavane is a smooth dance that opened the holidays in Italy
- Galliard - a cheerful and rhythmic dance also comes from Italy
- Allemanda is a procession dance that originated in Germany.
IN XVII-XVIII For centuries, rural music - country music - has developed quite actively in North America. The genre has been heavily influenced by Irish and Scottish folk music. The lyrics of such songs often talked about love, rural life and cowboy life.
At the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, folklore developed quite actively in Latin America and Africa. In the African American community, the blues is born, which was originally a "work song" that accompanied work in the field. The blues was also based on ballads and religious chants. The blues formed the basis of a new genre - jazz, which is the result of a mixture of African and European cultures. Jazz has become quite widespread and universally recognized.
Based on jazz and blues, at the end of the 40s, rhythm and blues (R'n'B), a song and dance genre, appeared. He was quite popular among the youth. Subsequently, funk and soul appeared within this genre.
Curiously, along with these African-American genres, the genre of pop music appeared in the 1920s. The roots of this genre are found in folk music, street romances and ballads. Pop music has always mixed with other genres, forming quite interesting musical styles. In the 1970s, the “disco” style appeared within pop music, which became the most popular dance music at that time, relegating rock and roll to the background.
In the 50s, rock bursts into the ranks of already existing genres, the origins of which are in blues, folk and country. It quickly gained wild popularity and grew into many different styles, mixing with other genres.
Ten years later, the reggae genre was formed in Jamaica, which became widespread in the 70s. The basis of reggae is mento - a genre of Jamaican folk music.
In the 1970s, rap appeared, which was “exported” by Jamaican DJs to the Bronx. The founder of rap is DJ Kool Herc. Initially, rap was read for pleasure, to throw out their emotions. The basis of this genre is the beat that sets the rhythm for recitative.
In the second half of the 20th century, electronic music established itself as a genre. It is strange that it did not receive recognition at the beginning of the 20th century, when the first electronic instruments appeared. This genre involves the creation of music using electronic musical instruments, technology and computer programs.
Genres formed in the 20th century have many styles. For example:
Jazz:
- new orleans jazz
- Dixieland
- Swing
- Western swing
- Bop
- hard bop
- Boogie Woogie
- Cool or cool jazz
- modal or modal jazz
- avant-garde jazz
- soul jazz
- free jazz
- bossa nova or latin jazz
- Symphonic Jazz
- progressive
- Fusion or jazz rock
- electric jazz
- acid jazz
- crossover
- smooth jazz
- Cabaret
- minstrel show
- music hall
- Musical
- Ragtime
- lounge
- Classic crossover
- Psychedelic pop
- italo disco
- Eurodisco
- Hi-energy
- Nu-disco
- space disco
- Ye-ye
- K-pop
- europop
- Arabic pop music
- Russian pop music
- Rigsar
- Laika
- Latin American pop
- J-pop
- Rock'n'roll
- Big Beat
- rockabilly
- psychobilly
- neo-rocabilly
- skiffle
- doo wop
- Twist
- Alternative Rock (Indie Rock/College Rock)
- Mat rock
- Madchester
- grunge
- shoegazing
- Britpop
- noise rock
- noise pop
- Post-grunge
- lo-fi
- indie pop
- Twee pop
- Art rock (Progressive rock)
- jazz rock
- kraut rock
- garage rock
- Freakbeat
- Glam rock
- country rock
- Merseybit
- Metal (Hard rock)
- avant-garde metal
- Alternative metal
- black metal
- Melodic black metal
- Symphonic black metal
- true black metal
- viking metal
- gothic metal
- Doom metal
- death metal
- Melodic death metal
- Metalcore
- New metal
- power metal
- progressive metal
- speed metal
- stoner rock
- Thrash metal
- folk metal
- Heavy metal
- New wave
- Russian rock
- pub rock
- Punk rock
- ska punk
- pop punk
- crust punk
- hardcore
- crossover
- Riot folk
- pop rock
- Postpunk
- Gothic rock
- no wave
- Postrock
- Psychedelic rock
- soft rock
- folk rock
- techno rock
As you can see, there are many styles. It will take a lot of time to enumerate the full list, so we will not do this. The main thing is that you now know how modern popular genres appeared and you will definitely no longer confuse genre and style.
We immediately warn you that it is very difficult to answer the question of what genres of music are in one article. Throughout the history of music, so many genres have accumulated that it is impossible to measure them with a yardstick: chorale, romance, cantata, waltz, symphony, ballet, opera, prelude, etc.
For more than a dozen years, musicologists have been “breaking spears” trying to classify musical genres (by the nature of the content, by functions, for example). But before dwelling on typology, let's clarify the very concept of genre.
What is a musical genre?
A genre is a kind of model to which specific music is related. It has certain conditions of execution, purpose, form and nature of the content. So, the goal of a lullaby is to calm the baby, so “swaying” intonations and a characteristic rhythm are typical for it; c - all expressive means of music are adapted to a clear step.
What are the genres of music: classification
The simplest classification of genres is according to the way of performance. These are two large groups:
- instrumental (march, waltz, etude, sonata, fugue, symphony)
- vocal genres (aria, song, romance, cantata, opera, musical).
Another typology of genres is related to the setting of the performance. It belongs to A. Sohor, a scientist who claims that the genres of music are:
- ritual and religious (psalms, mass, requiem) - they are characterized by generalized images, the dominance of the choral principle and the same mood among the majority of listeners;
- mass household (varieties of song, march and dance: polka, waltz, ragtime, ballad, anthem) - they are distinguished by a simple form and familiar intonations;
- concert genres (oratorio, sonata, quartet, symphony) - characteristic performance in a concert hall, lyrical tone as the author's self-expression;
- theatrical genres (musical, opera, ballet) - require action, plot and scenery.
In addition, the genre itself can be divided into other genres. Thus, opera-seria (“serious” opera) and opera-buffa (comic) are also genres. At the same time, there are several more varieties that also form new genres (lyric opera, epic opera, operetta, etc.)
Genre names
One can write a whole book about what are the names of genres of music and how they appear. The names can tell about the history of the genre: for example, the dance owes the name “kryzhachok” to the fact that the dancers were located in a cross (from the Belarusian “kryzh” - a cross). Nocturne ("night" - translated from French) was performed at night in the open air. Some names originate from the names of instruments (fanfare, musette), others from songs (Marseillaise, Kamarinskaya).
Often music gets the name of a genre when it is transferred to another environment: for example, folk dance - to ballet. But it also happens the other way around: the composer takes the theme “Seasons” and writes a work, and then this theme becomes a genre with a certain form (4 seasons as 4 parts) and the nature of the content.
Instead of a conclusion
Talking about what genres of music are, one cannot fail to mention a common mistake. This is a confusion in terms when such as classical, rock, jazz, hip-hop are called genres. Here it is important to remember that the genre is the scheme on the basis of which the works are created, and the style rather indicates the features of the musical language of creation.
Today's post is dedicated to the topic - the main musical genres. To begin with, let's define what we will consider a musical genre. After that, the actual genres will be named, and at the end you will learn not to confuse "genre" with other phenomena in music.
So the word "genre" is of French origin and is usually translated from that language as a "species" or genus. Hence, musical genre- this is a type or, if you like, a type of musical works. No more and no less.
How do musical genres differ from each other?
How is one genre different from another? Of course, not only the name. Remember the four main parameters that help to identify a particular genre and not confuse it with some other, similar type of composition. This:
- type of artistic and musical content;
- style features of this genre;
- the vital purpose of works of this genre and the role they play in society;
- conditions under which it is possible to perform and listen (view) a musical work of a particular genre.
What does all of this mean? Well, for example, let's take as an example such a genre as "waltz". Waltz is a dance, and that already says a lot. Since this is a dance, it means that waltz music is not played every time, but precisely when it is necessary to dance (this is a matter of performance conditions). Why do they dance the waltz? Sometimes for fun, sometimes just to enjoy the beauty of plasticity, sometimes because waltz dancing is a holiday tradition (this is the thesis about life's purpose). Waltz as a dance is characterized by whirling, lightness, and therefore in its music there is the same melodic whirling and graceful rhythmic three-part, in which the first beat is strong as a push, and the two are weak, flying (this is related to stylistic and substantive moments ).
Main musical genres
Everything with a high degree of conditionality can be divided into four categories: theatrical, concert, mass-domestic and cult-ritual genres. Consider each of these categories separately and list the main musical genres that are included there.
- Theatrical genres (the main ones here are opera and ballet, in addition, operettas, musicals, musical dramas, vaudeville and musical comedies, melodramas, etc.)
- Concert genres (these are symphonies, sonatas, oratorios, cantatas, trios, quartets and quintets, suites, concertos, etc.)
- Mass genres (here we are mainly talking about songs, dances and marches in all their diversity)
- Cult and ritual genres (those genres that are associated with religious or festive rites - for example: carnival songs, wedding and funeral laments, spells, bells, etc.)
We have named almost all the main musical genres (opera, ballet, oratorio, cantata, symphony, concerto, sonata - these are the largest). They are indeed the main ones and therefore there is nothing surprising in the fact that each of these genres has several varieties.
And one more thing... We should not forget that the division of genres between these four classes is very conditional. It happens that genres wander from one category to another. For example, this happens when the real one is recreated by the composer on the opera stage (as in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden), or in some concert genre - for example, in the finale of Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony, a very famous folk song is quoted . See for yourself! If you know what this song is, write its name in the comments!
P.I. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 - final
There are a great variety of musical genres and trends. If you start listing the genres of music, the list will be simply endless, since dozens of new musical trends appear on the borders of different styles from year to year. This is due to the development of musical technologies, new developments in the field of sound production, sound production, but first of all, with the need of people for a unique sound, with a thirst for new emotions and sensations. Be that as it may, there are four broad musical directions that, in one way or another, gave rise to all other styles. There are also no clear boundaries between them, and yet the production of a musical product, the content of the songs and the structure of the arrangements differ markedly. So what are the genres of vocal music, at least the main ones?
Pop
Pop music is not only a direction, but also a whole mass culture. The song is the only form that is acceptable for the pop genre.
The key points in creating a pop-composition are the presence of the simplest and most memorable melody, the construction on the principle of a verse-chorus, and the rhythm and human voice are brought to the fore in the sound. The purpose for which pop music is created is purely entertainment. A pop-style performer cannot do without a show ballet, production numbers and, of course, expensive video clips.
Pop music is a commercial product, so it constantly changes in sound depending on the style that is at the peak of popularity. For example, when jazz was in favor in the US, artists like Frank Sinatra became popular. And in France, chanson has always been in honor, so Mireille Mathieu, Patricia Kaas are a kind of French pop icons. When there was a wave of popularity of rock music, pop artists widely used guitar riffs in their compositions (Michael Jackson), then there was an era of mixing pop and disco (Madonna, Abba), pop and hip-hop (Beastie Boys), etc.
Modern world stars (Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Lady Gaga) picked up the wave of rhythm and blues and develop it in their work.
Rock
The palm in rock music is given to the electric guitar, and the highlight of the song, as a rule, is the expressive solo of the guitarist. The rhythm section is weighted, and the musical pattern is often complicated. Not only powerful vocals are welcome, but also mastery of the technique of splitting, screaming, growling and all kinds of growls.
Rock is a sphere of experiments, expression of one's own thoughts, sometimes - revolutionary judgments. The problems of the texts are quite broad: the social, political and religious structure of society, personal problems and experiences. It is difficult to imagine a rock artist without his own group, since performances are carried out only live.
The most common rock music genres - list and examples:
- rock and roll (Elvis Presley, The Beatles);
- instrumental rock (Joe Satriani, Frank Zappa);
- hard rock (Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple);
- glam rock (Aerosmith, Queen);
- punk rock (Sex Pistols, Green Day);
- metal (Iron Maiden, Korn, Deftones);
- (Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 3 Doors Down) etc.
Jazz
Describing modern genres of music, it would be worth starting the list with jazz, since it had a huge impact on the development of other areas, including pop and rock. Jazz is music based on African motifs brought to the United States from West Africa by black slaves. Over the century of its existence, the direction has changed significantly, but what is unchanged is the passion for improvisation, free rhythm and widespread use. Jazz legends are: Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others.
Electronic
The 21st century is the era of electronics, and the electronic direction in music today occupies one of the leading positions. Here, bets are made not on live instruments, but on electronic synthesizers and computer sound emulators.
Here are the most popular and in-demand electronic music genres, a list of which will give you a general idea:
- house (David Guetta, Benny Benassi);
- techno (Adam Beyer, Juan Atkins);
- dubstep (Skrillex, Skream);
- trance (Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren), etc.
Musicians are not interested in sticking to the framework of style, so the ratio of performers and styles is always rather relative. Genres of music, the list of which is not exhausted by the above areas, have recently tended to lose their characteristic features: performers mix musical genres, there is always a place in music for amazing discoveries and unique finds, and the listener is interested every time to get acquainted with the next musical novelties.
