Music is part of our lives almost from birth, and for many it is considered the food of the soul. To help you understand it better we have compiled types of music that exist to help you better understand all musical styles and genres, which in turn have subgenres such as: Punk, Rock or Dubstep. Ready to embark on an acoustic journey?
There are different types of music, and each person can vary in their tastes, below we will talk about some of the most popular. There are a variety of musical genres, as music has evolved over time and each culture has developed its own musical styles.
The different types of music
Classical
The beginning of the melodies was precisely with this type of music, today turned into a classic. The trajectory began in the eleventh century and continues to this day, but its most relevant period covers 400 years from mid-sixteenth century to early twentieth century.
It is a musical genre based on the liturgical and secular musical traditions of the West, especially in Europe. And the most relevant performers or authors were: Wagner, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin.
Jazz
It was born at the end of the 19th century in the USA and is one of the most difficult musical genres to define as it has an infinite number of subgenres. Thus, jazz does not form as solid an identity as other types of music. What we can say is that it is a style that comes from the African-American culture that emerged in the 1920s.
We can say that jazz is mainly characterized by: improvisation, the treatment of rhythm, the use of notes at the wrong time and syncopations. One of the greatest jazz musicians was trumpeter Louis Armstrong, but artists like Les Paul, Ray Charles or Tito Puente are also known around the world as Frank Sinatra.
Soul
Soul is a combination of doo-wop and Göpel rhythms. It was developed in the USA in the late 1950s. While gospel was one of the happiest types of music, soul is slower and deeper. Characterized by the use of the palms and body movements of the singers. It is also a type of music that usually has both soloists and choirs.
Now let’s meet some of the most popular performers: James Brown, Sam Cooke, Mavin Gaye and Amy Whinehouse.
Blues
It is characterized by a twelve-bar structure that dates back to the African-American communities of the United States in the early 20th century. Since then, many styles have developed, some in small cities in the southern United States and others in large cities such as Chicago or New Orleans.
The main exponents of this genre were artists such as B.B. King, Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughn, among others.
Get to know the main genres in Spanish:
Flamenco
It’s about traditional music in our country. It was born in the south of Spain and is directly related to the gypsy culture. Its roots are developed thanks to the cultural mix of Andalusia, where civilizations such as: natives, Muslims, gypsies, Castilians and Jews stood out. All of them, propitiated their distinctive sound in which the voice and the guitar have the maximum protagonism.
Let’s take a look at some of those virtuoso artists who popularised flamenco music: Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Enrique Morente, Estrella Morente or Diego el Cigala.
Salsa
Salsa comes from the synthesis and combination of Cuban and Caribbean sounds, as well as jazz and other American rhythms.
This type of music includes several subgenres and has different styles depending on the country, we can notice a clear difference between: Puerto Rico, Venezuela, or Colombia. But in any case it is characterized by using a lot of percussion: maracas, timbales, the Cuban güiro, the Jamaican cowbell or the bongo.
Reggaeton
It originated in Puerto Rico in the late 1990s. It is influenced by hip hop and Latin American and Caribbean music. They use catchy, repetitive rhythms and lyrics, making a very danceable sound. The best known artists in this genre are: Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Arcángel.
Tango
Although it is usually associated with Argentina, the truth is that the area of influence of this musical genre is the Rio de la Plata, so it also involves some areas of Uruguay.
The passage of time was generating different branches giving rise to different historical stages: La Guardia Nueva, La Edad de Oro… Nevertheless, all its melodies and lyrics have common themes related to the deep and internal desires of the human being.
Most popular styles:
Pop
Its origin goes back to the decade of the 50’s and it is defined as all popular music, therefore it can have different subgenres. In fact, it covers a wide range of types of music. Some of the most famous are: Power pop, Dance-pop or Latin Pop. And its artists of reference: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears and Shakira.
House
Chicago became popular in the early 80’s and is one of the most evolved and subgenre types of electronic music since its birth. House is a purely electronic genre whose main influences are electro, synthpop, hi-NRG and electronics, although it is also influenced by the more soul and funk variants of disco music.
Rock
Originally popularized with the term denoting one of its subgenres, Rock and Roll whose top representative was the famous Elvis Presley. It became so widespread that it became a part of the whole, whose label gené
rich is uniquely Rock. It started in the 50’s in the 60’s in the UK and uses different instruments, the most common are: bass, drums, electric guitar and keyboard. Its creation came thanks to the type of music known as Rhyhm and Blues and the Country as well as influences of folk and blues. Some of the most popular groups: Queen, The Beatles, Guns and Roses, AC/DC or Nirvana.
Punk
The “Punk” is a style of music that is usually included within “Rock” and whose beginnings are located in the 70’s. It was characterized by representing and accommodating trends opposed to the established culture. Its independent attitude always stands out.
Other musical styles:
Metal
It is a musical genre that was born in the mid-sixties and early seventies in the United Kingdom and the United States, whose origins come from blues rock, hard rock and psychedelic rock. This is one of the most controversial types of music as many distinguish Traditional Heavy Metal from more general Heavy Metal. Some paradigmatic bands areLed Zeppelin, Deep Purple or Black Sabbath.
Country
We can say that country music is a subgenre of folk, which emerged in 1920 specifically in the U.S.. In its origins, it combined folk music from European countries that emigrated to the USA, such as the Irish, with other African-American musical forms already rooted in North America: blues and bluegrass.
Traditional country music is characterized by the use of certain string instruments such as guitar, banjo, simple violin and double bass. The accordion and harmonica were also frequently used. Some of their best known representatives are: Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline or Garth Brooks.
Funk
Born thanks to some soul artists like James Brown who during the 60s developed a more rhythmic and energetic style with very powerful bass lines. This genre was the starting point for many new styles of dance music such as disco music. George Clinton, Jamiroquai, Prince and Maceo Parker represent this musical style very well.
Disco
With a repetitive quaternary rhythm, an orchestral sound, a piano and an electronic guitar with touches of funk, disco music originated. In the early 1970s, nightclubs hired DJs to play songs that made their customers dance. They started out with funk and soul songs, but little by little this genre developed thanks to artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna, Earth Wind & Fire and Cher.
Techno
It was developed in Detroit in the early 1980s when DJs from nightclubs started doing electronic dance tracks. They used drum machines and electronic synthesizers with keyboards to add chords and melodies. Gigi D’Agostino, Chris Korda, Basshunter and Ellen Allien are some of the techno musicians.