Now do your Epic Riff, and then smash that lyre!
"Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand..."
— Stevie Wonder, "Sir Duke"
This index page lists tropes applying to music, songs, artists, and the listening experience.
See also Poetry Tropes, Dancing Tropes, and Theatre Tropes.
Note that tropes applying to specific genres and subcategories are listed on their respective pages.
Tropes:
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Genres + Subcategories
Trope categories:
Music by country:
Music by decade:
- Afrobeat
- Alternative Dance
- Andean Music: Folk music originating from South American indigenous communities in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru.
- Avant-Garde Music
- Barbershop Music: A subgenre of a capella music that utilizes a consistent four-part harmony.
- Bardcore: Modern music rewritten in the style of medieval music.
- Baroque Music
- Bedroom Pop: Pop music with a purposely amateurish feel, sounding like it was sung by a teenage girl in her bedroom.
- Bluegrass
- Blues
- Bossa Nova: A fusion genre originating from Brazil in The 50's and The 60's that combines samba and jazz. Also known as that music you hear in elevators.
- Cantata: Classical Music pieces that focus on the vocals.
- Chanson
- Christmas Songs: Exactly What It Says on the Tin: music specifically themed around the Christmas holiday.
- Chutney Music
- Classical Music
- Comedy Music
- Country Music
- Alternative Country
- Country Rap
- Gothic Country Music: Country music with a Southern Gothic aesthetic.
- Outlaw Country Music
- Doo-wop
- Electronic Music
- Ambient
- Chiptune
- Drum and Bass
- Dubstep: Electronic music with an emphasis on the BASS.
- Electro House
- Electro Swing: Electronic music that samples music from the olden days (eg. jazz and big-band).
- Electronicore
- Eurobeat: Electronic music normally created in European countries, characterized by a high tempo and a synth-centric melody.
- House Music
- Synthwave
- Techno
- Trance
- Vaporwave
- Dungeon Synth: Electronic music with elements of black metal and ambient music, thus creating a very dark, moody atmosphere.
- Filk Song: Music written by geeks or fans of a work (or both) to express their love for it.
- Filmi Music: Indian music created for Bollywood productions.
- Folk Music
- Funk
- Gaita Zuliana: Folk music performed in Zulia, a state in Venezuela, which is normally heard around Christmas time.
- Gospel Music
- Hip-Hop
- Alternative Hip Hop
- Battle Rapping
- Conscious Hip Hop
- Crunk
- Crunkcore
- Country Rap
- Dirty Rap
- Disco Rap
- Drill Music
- Gangsta Rap
- G-Funk
- Glam Rap
- The Golden Age of Hip Hop
- Hardcore Hip-Hop
- Hip Hop Soul
- Horrorcore: Rap with horror elements, using an unsettling, creepy sound and dark lyrics.
- Instrumental Hip Hop
- Jazz Rap: Hip-hop infused with elements of jazz.
- Melodic Rap
- Miami Bass
- Nerdcore
- New Jack Swing
- Political Rap: Rap music which is used as a vehicle to discuss political and sociopolitical issues.
- Pop Rap
- Punk Rap
- Rap Metal
- Rap Rock
- Southern Rap
- Swag Rap
- Trap Music
- Hyperpop: Regular pop music taken to the extreme.
- Instrumentals: Music without the vocals.
- Jazz
- March
- Medieval Music
- Opera
- Oratorio
- Outsider Music: Music made by non-musicians, thus having a very amateur and slapdash feel.
- Pop
- Baroque Pop: Pop music written with the complex instrumentations of classical music.
- Boy Band
- Disco
- Dream Pop
- Europop
- Girl Group
- Indie Pop
- J-Pop: Pop music made in Japan.
- K-Pop: Pop music made in South Korea.
- Power Pop
- Teen Pop: Pop music almost exclusively made to cater to teenagers, with a bubbly, cheerful sound and lyrics revolving around themes that teens can relate to.
- R&B
- Reggae
- Renaissance Music
- Rock
- Alternative Rock
- Blues Rock
- Christian Rock: Rock music made almost exclusively for Christians.
- Christian Metal: Metal music made almost exclusively for Christians.
- Dark Cabaret: A very Gothic genre, with influences from cabaret (or vaudeville and burlesque), folk, and rock/metal music.
- Funk Rock
- Garage Rock
- Glam Rock
- Goth Rock
- Hard Rock
- Arena Rock: Rock music with a majestic, energetic feel, which makes it great music to perform in front of large crowds in stadiums.
- Hair Metal
- Heavy Metal
- Alternative Metal
- Funk Metal
- Nu Metal
- Black Metal
- Death Metal
- Melodic Death Metal
- Technical Death Metal
- Djent
- Doom Metal
- Folk Metal
- Metalcore
- Deathcore
- New Wave of British Heavy Metal
- Power Metal
- Speed Metal
- Symphonic Metal: Metal with orchestral elements.
- Thrash Metal
- Groove Metal
- Traditional Heavy Metal
- Heartland Rock
- Jazz Fusion: Jazz combined with more contemporary genres, such as rock, pop, or R&B.
- New Wave
- Post-Punk
- Post-Rock
- Progressive Rock
- Psychedelic Rock
- Punk Rock
- Emo Music
- Hardcore Punk: Punk music with a rougher, more aggressive feel.
- Grindcore
- Pop Punk: Punk rock with pop sensibilities, thus making it more accessible for mainstream audiences.
- Post-Hardcore
- Proto Punk
- Psychobilly
- Riot Grrrl
- Ska Punk
- Rap Rock
- Rockabilly
- Rock & Roll
- Shock Rock
- Soft Rock: Rock's Lighter and Softer cousin.
- Space Rock
- Surf Rock
- Visual Kei
- Samba
- Ska
- Soul
- Neo Soul: Soul music with a more contemporary R&B, jazz, and funk influence.
- Tango
- Voice Clip Song
- World Music: A general term used to refer to music originating from other countries.
Basic Music Tropes
- Chord Progression
- Common Meter
- Common Time
- Fade Out: The end is marked by the music gradually quieting down.
- Improv
- Harmony
- Melody
- Modulation
- Pitch
- Scales
- Theme and Variations
- Uncommon Time
Motifs
Score and Soundtrack
- Evil Music Index
- Heroic Music Index
- Music and Sound Effects
- Score and Music Tropes - for score and soundtrack in general.
- Sound FX Tropes
- Main article: Background Music
- Audio Diegesis
- Autobots, Rock Out!
- Awesome Music
- "Bringer of War" Music
- The Day the Music Lied
- Heartbeat Soundtrack
- Iconic Sequel Song
- Insert Song
- In-Universe Soundtrack
- Jukebox Musical
- Playlist Soundtrack
- Public Domain Soundtrack
- Real Song Theme Tune
- Soundtrack Cover Character Jam
- Soundtrack Dissonance
- Source Music
- Theme Music Power-Up
Singing Tropes
- A Cappella
- Beautiful Singing Voice
- Careful with That Axe
- Glass-Shattering Sound
- Harsh Vocals
- Incredibly Long Note
- Innocent Soprano
- Melismatic Vocals
- Metal Scream
- Motor Mouth
- One-Woman Wail
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice
- Recitation Handclasp
- Scatting
- Self-Backing Vocalist
- Serenade Your Lover
- Singing in the Shower
- Singing Voice Dissonance
- Something Something Leonard Bernstein
- Soprano and Gravel
- Spoken Word in Music
- That Syncing Feeling
- Tenor Boy
- Tuneless Song of Madness
- Stutter Stop
- Un-Duet
- Vocal Range Exceeded
- Vocal Tag Team
- Yarling
Lyrics Tropes
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable
- Album Title Drop
- Dual-Meaning Chorus
- Hashtag Rap
- Last Note Hilarity
- Limited Lyrics Song
- Lyrical Cold Open
- Lyrical Dissonance
- Lyrical Tic
- Lyric Swap
- Midword Rhyme
- Multilingual Song
- Non-Appearing Title
- Painful Rhyme
- Phrase Salad Lyrics
- Rhyming with Itself
- Scatting
- Sequel Song
- Singer Namedrop
- Single Stanza Song
- Song of Song Titles
- Stock Rhymes
- Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion
- Title-Only Chorus
- Word Salad Lyrics
Subject Tropes
- Addiction Song
- Age-Progression Song
- Alma Mater Song
- Alphabet Song
- Answer Song
- Anti-Christmas Song
- Appeal to Familial Wisdom ("Mama said ... ")
- Ballad of a Sex Worker
- Bawdy Song
- Boastful Rap
- Bravado Song
- Break-Up Song
- Celebrity Elegy
- Counting Song
- Dance Sensation
- Driving Song
- Drunken Song
- Earth Song
- Educational Song
- Exhort the Disc Jockey Song
- Fan Music
- Fear Song
- Female Empowerment Song
- Food Songs Are Funny
- Football Fight Song
- Friendship Song
- Grief Song
- Hail to the Thief
- Heavy Meta
- Heavy Mithril
- Historical Biography Song
- Homesickness Hymn
- Horrible History Metal
- Hymn to Music
- Hypocritical Singing
- "I Hate" Song
- Job Song
- "Leaving the Nest" Song
- Let's Duet
- List Song
- Location Song
- Love Is a Drug
- Love Is Like Religion
- Love Nostalgia Song
- Melancholy Musical Number
- Memory-Restoring Melody
- Misogyny Song and Misandry Song
- Money Song
- Morality Ballad
- Murder Ballad
- Obligatory Bondage Song
- Ode to Apathy
- Ode to Family
- Ode to Food
- Ode to Intoxication
- Ode to Sobriety
- Ode to Youth
- Old Man Conversation Song
- One-Man Song
- One-Woman Song
- Pep-Talk Song
- Phone Number Jingle
- Protest Song
- Anti-Police Song - a subtrope of Protest Song specifically about police or police behavior
- Quarreling Song
- Radio Song
- Religion Rant Song
- Revenge Ballad
- Rock-Star Song
- Seduction Lyric
- Self-Demonstrating Song
- Self-Empowerment Anthem
- "Setting Off" Song
- Silly Love Songs
- Spelling Song
- Song of Prayer
- Teenage Death Songs
- Telephone Song
- This Is a Song
- This Is Your Song
- Torch Song
- Train Song
- Wanderlust Song
- Warning Song
- "When I'm Gone" Song
- Working Class Anthem
Musicals
- Musical Number Index - main index of songs in Musicals.
- Main article: The Musical
- Actually Quite Catchy
- Angry Mob Song
- Bad Girl Song
- Big Finale Crowd Song
- BSoD Song
- Busby Berkeley Number
- Climactic Music
- Colorful Song
- Counterpoint Duet
- Crowd Song
- Cut Song
- Dark Reprise
- Death Song
- Diegetic Musical
- Distant Duet
- Duet of Differences
- The Eleven O'Clock Number
- Fanfare
- Final Love Duet
- Gospel Revival Number
- Hakuna Matata
- Halloween Songs
- "The Hero Sucks" Song
- Hero vs. Villain Duet
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show
- "I Am Becoming" Song
- "I Am Great!" Song
- "I Am" Song
- Image Song
- Irrelevant Act Opener
- The Item Number
- "I Want" Song
- Let's Duet
- Major General Song
- Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number
- Medley Overture
- Minor Character, Major Song
- Movie Bonus Song
- Musical Chores
- Musical Exposition
- Musical Number Annoyance
- Musical World Hypotheses
- Musicalis Interruptus
- No Reprise, Please
- No Song for the Wicked
- Ondo
- Opening Chorus
- Parental Love Song
- Patter Song
- Reprise Medley
- Rock Opera
- Sanity Slippage Song
- Sidekick Song
- Silly Song
- Solo Duet
- "Somewhere" Song
- The Song Before the Storm
- Spoofing in the Rain
- Spontaneous Choreography
- Sudden Musical Ending
- Summon Backup Dancers
- Superfluous Solo
- Tenor Boy
- Triumphant Reprise
- Villainous Advice Song
- Villainous Lament
- Villain Love Song
- Villain Recruitment Song
- Villain Song
- "The Villain Sucks" Song
- Welcoming Song
- Wanderlust Song
Musician and Fan Tropes
- All Drummers Are Animals
- Anonymous Band
- Artist and the Band: A band's name follows the format of "[Lead Singer] and the [Plural Noun]".
- Artists Are Attractive
- Barbershop Quartets Are Funny
- The Bard
- Band Episode
- The Band Minus the Face
- Band of Relatives: A group of musicians who are related to one another.
- Blind Musician
- Borrowing the Beatles: A band based on The Beatles.
- British Rock Star: An English rock musician.
- Celebrity Break-Up Song
- The Chanteuse: A lady whose voice is as beautiful as her appearance.
- Child Popstar
- Christmas Carolers
- City Shout Outs: A live performer appeals to the audience by saluting their city.
- Concert Episode
- Creator Couple
- The Diva
- Deaf Composer
- Dumb and Drummer: The drummer of the band is not very smart.
- Dumbass DJ
- Fake Band: A show uses a fictional musical group when they can't afford to have a real band as guest stars.
- Female Rockers Play Bass
- Five-Man Band Concert: When The Team decides to form a music band to show unity.
- Free-Handed Performer
- Garage Band
- Glamorous Wartime Singer
- Gratuitous Mariachi Band
- Groupie
- Horny Bard
- I Am the Band
- Idol Singer
- Impractical Musical Instrument Skills
- Lead Bassist
- Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar
- Lesser Star
- Long-Runner Line-up
- Lounge Lizard
- Magic Idol Singer
- Male Band, Female Singer: The lead singer is the only member of the band who is female.
- Metal Head
- Music/Age Dissonance
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: The bassist is the least popular member of the band.
- No-Hit Wonder
- One-Hit Wonder: A band or artist has only produced one noteworthy and popular song.
- One-Song Bard
- The Piano Player
- Polka Dork
- The Quincy Punk
- Quirky Ukulele
- Revolving Door Band
- The Roadie
- Robot or Spaceman Alter Ego
- The Rock Star
- Rock Trio
- Sexy Sax Man
- Singer-Songwriter
- Skeletal Musician
- Stage Names
- Street Musician: A musician plays on the streets to try and get money.
- Supergroup
- Tenor Boy
- Trash-Can Band
- Two-Hit Wonder
- Unreplaced Departed: When a member of the band leaves, they move on without replacing the absent member.
- Wandering Minstrel
- Yoko Oh No
Tropes
- Adventurous Irish Violins
- Air Guitar
- Album Filler
- Amen break
- Artistic License – Music
- Audience Participation Song
- Avian Flute
- Award-Bait Song
- Background Music
- Ballad of X
- Band Land
- Band Toon
- Battle of the Bands
- Big Rock Ending
- Bizarre Instrument
- Black Sheep Hit
- Blow That Horn
- Bo Diddley Beat
- Boléro Effect
- Breakaway Pop Hit
- Breakup Breakout
- B-Side
- Call-and-Response Song
- The Cancan Song
- Car Song
- Cartoon Conductor
- Celebrity Song
- Character Signature Song
- Character’s Most Hated Song
- Charity Motivation Song
- Chart Displacement
- Chronological Album Title
- Chorus-Only Song
- Classical Music Is Boring
- Classical Music Is Cool
- Colonel Bogey March
- Concept Album
- Cover Version
- Creepy Circus Music
- Dancing Is Serious Business
- Dead Horse Genre
- Disco Sucks
- Disco Tech
- Dramatic Choir Number
- Dramatic Timpani
- Dreadful Musician
- Drum Roll, Please
- Duet Bonding
- Ear Worm
- Eclipsed by the Remix
- Elegant Classical Musician
- Epic Instrumental Opener
- Epic Riff
- Epic Rocking
- Everything Dances
- Everything Is an Instrument
- Evolving Music
- Fake Radio Show Album
- Falling Bass
- Filk Song
- The Four Chords of Pop
- Four More Measures
- Freaky Electronic Music
- Freestyle Version
- Gift of Song
- Girl Group
- Girls Like Musicians
- God-Is-Love Songs
- A Good Name for a Rock Band
- Gratuitous Disco Sequence
- Gratuitous Rap
- Greatest Hits Album
- Harp of Femininity
- Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut
- Hell Is That Noise
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show
- Hidden Track
- Hitless Hit Album
- Iconic Song Request
- Idiosyncratic Album Theming
- Incessant Music Madness
- Incredibly Long Note
- Indecipherable Lyrics
- Instrumental Weapon
- Instrument of Murder
- In the Style of
- Ironically Disabled Artist
- Isn't It Ironic?
- iSophagus
- Jungle Drums
- Karaoke Bonding Scene
- Kayfabe Music
- Kazoos Mean Silliness
- Kids Rock
- Last Chorus Slow-Down
- Last Note Nightmare
- Lead Bassist
- Lead Drummer
- Lead Singer Plays Lead Guitar
- Long Song, Short Scene
- Looped Lyrics
- Loud of War
- Lyrical Shoehorn
- Magic Music
- Magical Flutist
- Mating Dance
- Medley
- Metal Band Mascot
- Microphone Swinging
- Mind-Control Music
- Miniscule Rocking
- Minsky Pickup
- Misattributed Song
- Mixtape of Love
- Mohs Scale of Lyrical Hardness
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness
- Musical Assassin
- Musical Theme Naming
- Music at Sporting Events
- Music for Courage
- Music Genre Dissonance
- Music Is Eighth Notes
- Music Is Politics
- Music Soothes the Savage Beast
- Music Stories
- Music Video Tropes
- Music to Invade Poland to
- Myspeld Rökband
- New Sound Album
- Nobody Loves the Bassist
- No Export for You
- No Music Allowed
- Old School Introductory Rap
- One Last Song
- One-Man Song
- One-Woman Song
- "Pachelbel's Canon" Progression
- Pelvic Thrust
- Piano Cover Slam
- Piano Drop
- Piano Key Wave
- Piss-Take Rap
- Playground Song
- Power Ballad
- The Power of Rock
- Progressive Instrumentation
- Quieter Than Silence
- Raised Lighter Tribute
- Rap Is Crap
- Rarely Performed Song
- Rated G for Gangsta
- Rearrange the Song
- Recycled Lyrics
- Refrain from Assuming
- Repurposed Pop Song
- Re-release the Song
- Revival by Commercialization
- Rewritten Pop Version
- Rhythm Typewriter
- Rock is Authentic, Pop is Shallow
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!
- Rockers Smash Guitars
- Rockumentary
- Rooftop Concert
- Rotten Rock & Roll
- Scary Musician, Harmless Music
- Second Verse Curse
- Self-Titled Album
- Senseless Violins
- Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll
- Sexophone
- Signature Instrument
- Signature Song
- Siren Song
- Small Start, Big Finish
- Snake Charmer
- Snowy Sleigh Bells
- Solo Side Project
- Something Blues
- The Something Song
- Song Association
- Song of Courage
- Song Parody
- The Song Remains the Same
- Songs in the Key of Lock
- Song Style Shift
- Sound Off
- Sound Stone
- Spoken Word
- Step Up to the Microphone
- Stop and Go
- Subdued Section
- Surprisingly Gentle Song
- Suspiciously Similar Song
- Textless Album Cover
- Theremin
- Thunder Drum
- Three Chords and the Truth
- Truck Driver's Gear Change
- They Stole Our Act
- Tick Tock Tune
- To the Tune of...
- Triangles Are the Worst Instrument
- The Walrus Was Paul
- Waltz on Water
- What Song Was This Again?
- A Wild Rapper Appears! (during many pop songs).
- Wrong Song Gag
- Xylophone Gag
Production and Music Industry Tropes
- Album Closure
- Album Intro Track
- Album Single
- Auto-Tune
- Distinct Double Album
- Double Bass
- Echoing Acoustics
- Fade Out
- Fading into the Next Song
- Fake Loud
- Fake-Out Fade-Out
- Gratuitous Panning
- Longest Song Goes First
- Longest Song Goes Last
- Loudness War
- Music Industry
- The Not-Remix
- Pop-Star Composer
- Record Label Index
- Record Producer
- Remaster
- Remix Album
- Rock Me, Amadeus!
- Sampled Up
- Sampling
- Self-Referential Track Placement
- Siamese Twin Songs
- Studio Chatter
- Unplugged Version
- Waxing Lyrical
