Music Genres
All Genres
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Ambient
Emphasizes texture and tone over traditional musical structure, aimed at evoking a particular atmosphere or mood.
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Blues
Originated toward the end of the 19th century in African American communities in the United States, particularly the Deep South; drew on traditional Spirituals and Work Songs; highly influential to the whole of Western popular music.
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Classical Music
Part of a broad generalization about the structure and function of music throughout history across the globe, describing traditions distinct from Traditional Folk Music and popular music.
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Country
American genre derived from Southern and Appalachian forms of American Folk Music and later Rock and Pop influences, with a focus on the life and culture of rural America.
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Dance
Rooted in Disco and developed largely within Electronic Dance Music; emphasizes rhythm and is generally produced for play by DJs at clubs, parties, or festivals.
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Electronic
Uses non-traditional electronic instrumentation and sound manipulation technology as the primary backbone of a composition.
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Experimental
Most radical approaches throughout history, featuring non-traditional production methods resulting in sounds and styles that go largely beyond traditional boundaries.
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Folk
Rooted in mostly oral traditions of the peoples of the world, encompassing international Traditional Folk Music as well as Western Contemporary Folk which arose in the 1940s.
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Hip Hop
Emerged primarily on the United States east coast in African American communities in the late 1970s; emphasizes rhythmic beat patterns and a type of spoken vocal delivery known as rapping.
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Industrial & Noise
Umbrella encompassing Noise and Industrial, as well as later derivatives that combine the latter aesthetics with other styles and in more accessible directions which fall under Post-Industrial.
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Jazz
Originating in African American communities in the Southern United States around the turn of the 20th century, building on New Orleans Brass Band ensemble and influences from Ragtime and Blues to become a very popular style by the emergence of Swing in the 1930s.
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Metal
Driving and distorted riffs, aggressive drumming, vigorous vocals, and an all-around show of brute force in its early days, since branching into dozens of subgenres.
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Musical Theatre and Entertainment
Range of styles of theatre individually popular in the United States or in various countries in Europe, mostly from the 19th century to the mid-20th century.
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New Age
Broad genre centered on peaceful, meditative melodies, using a wide variety of instrumentation.
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Pop
Umbrella of popular styles closely tied to mass production and mass marketing, focusing on catchiness and accessibility through melody, rhythm, lyrics, and hooks.
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Psychedelia
Umbrella of styles intended to replicate or enhance the altered state of consciousness brought on by the use of psychedelic drugs, originating in the 1960s.
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Punk
Musical and cultural product of Punk Rock known for its simplistic, brash playstyle and anti-establishment themes.
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R&B
Umbrella of styles covering the most popular forms of Black American music from the late 1940s, when the term Rhythm & Blues first appeared; includes the developments of Soul and Funk in the '60s and '70s, and the Contemporary R&B of the 1980s onward.
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Regional Music
Music of regional cultural traditions, that is or was predominantly played and produced in these regions.
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Rock
Typically uses a verse-chorus structure with a backbeat rhythm and the electric guitar at the forefront; generally heavier and/or faster than its predecessors.
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Singer-Songwriter
Heavily focused on lyrics and songwriting, with musical accompaniment tending to take lower precedence.
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Ambient Pop
Emphasizes texture and atmosphere with a degree of structural experimentation, drawing on Dream Pop, Neo-Psychedelia, and Post-Rock while tending towards more minimal, repetitive arrangements which may incorporate elements of Electronic or Krautrock.
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ASMR
Recordings intended to induce a pleasurable tingling sensation in the listener.
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Beatboxing
Form of vocal percussion developed during the 1980s, primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and more.
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Bugle Call
Short tunes played on a bugle; used in militaries for communication.
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Comedy
Range of styles, both musical and non-musical, that always set out to make the listener laugh through humor.
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Dark Cabaret
Dark, moody style incorporating elements of Cabaret in a modern context, with varied instrumentation.
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Darkwave
Expands on the dark, introspective and sorrowful atmosphere of Gothic Rock; borrowing aspects from Electronic and other non-Rock influences.
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Easy Listening
Typically instrumental, including lush arrangements and melodies played by orchestras or big bands aiming for light entertainment.
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Field Recordings
Material recorded outside of a recording studio for the purpose of capturing the audible illustration of an environment.
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Gospel
Arising from vocal Christian tradition often featuring emotive performances, layered accompaniments, and themes of faith and salvation.
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Hanmai
Chinese performance style featuring a performer shouting lyrics over an upbeat backing track.
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Mantra
Sounds, words or phrases, often repeatedly chanted, used in religions originating in the Indian subcontinent, and spiritual practices influenced by them.
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Marching Band
Covering the music of Western-derived marching bands, primarily used for entertainment, competition, military, and parade settings, typically involving large-scale orchestras featuring a variety of instruments.
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Mashup
Songs created by mixing parts of two or more recordings together.
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Mechanical Music
Generated by self-playing devices, which read and reproduce music through purely mechanical means with no major electronically controlled elements.
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Parlour Music
Early form of light, sentimental popular music; popular in USA and Europe from the late 1700s to the 1870s.
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Shibuya-kei
Eclectic scene emerging from the Shibuya district of Tokyo near the end of the 1980s; often borrows kitschy, retro-inspired aesthetics alongside diverse musical influences from Indie Pop, 1960s Pop and Easy Listening, Jazz, and Electronic styles.
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Ska
Originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, characterized by a signature off-beat rhythm (referred to as the ‘skank’ rhythm), chop-style guitar work, busy bass lines and a use of horn sections.
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Sound Effects
Non-musical audio works, including recorded sounds and sounds recreated synthetically or by other means, which are either sounds of known objects or abstract noise manifestations.
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Visual kei
Fashion-oriented styles that take influence from Gothic Rock, Glam Rock, and Heavy Metal.
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YTPMV
Internet-based musical remixes which sequence small samples from audiovisual material as a method of composition, usually with a humorous or memetic approach.
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