Popular Kinds of Music

Popular Kinds of Music

The word “Mucis” derives from Greek “mousike” which means art of the Muses.

Ancient Greek and Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as

melodies and vertically as harmonies. To many people in many cultures,music is an

important part of their way of life. With 20th-century,rock music,electronic music and

R&B music are become popular for teenagers.

Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in 1950s

America. It was extremely high worldwide since 1960s. The sound of rock music

often revolves around the electric guitar or acoustic guitar and it uses a strong back

beat laid down by a rhythm section of electric bass guitar,drums and keyboard

instruments such as organ and piano. Typically,rock is song-based music usually with

a 4/4 time signature utilizing a verse-chorus form and the lyrics not only stress

romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes which are social and

political in emphasis. Moreover,starting from the late 1960s which referred to as the

“golden age” period of rock music,lots of distinct rock music subgenres had emerged

such as heavy metal,alternative rock and rap rock which is also very popular in

teenagers group nowadays.

The first subgenre is heavy metal which was emphasized volume,power and speed.

It developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s,largely in the United Kingdom and

United States. When asked what heavy metal music would be,many may says it is

very noisy. However,the true is heavy metal is not only overall loudness but with a

thick,massive sound,and characterized by highly amplified distortion,extended guitar

solos and emphatic beats. The typical instruments are electric guitar,bassguitar,drums,

vocals and keyboards. And there are many famous metal music bands in the late

1960s and early 1970s. For example,Led Zeppelin,Black Sabbath and Deep Purple

which were the pioneer of the heavy metal music and brought the heavy metal music

to the mainstream successfully.

The second subgenre is alternative rock which emerged from the independent

music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. It came of

punk rock,hardcore punk and new wave. Although alternative rock music seemed to

not fitting into the mainstream genres of music in the past,it linked by the collective to

punk rock through hardcore,new wave or the post-punk movements. The typical

instruments are vocals,electric guitar,bass,drums and keyboards. To understand more

about alternative rock music,it is important to know this two bands in the 1980s which

is R.E.M. and The Smiths. The former is an american alternative rock band and the

latter is a British alternative rock band. Both R.E.M. and The Smiths achieved

mainstream success,but despite a lack of spectacular album sales,they exerted a

considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 1980s

and ended up breaking through to mainstream success in the 1990s.

The third subgenre is rap rock which is a cross-genre fusing vocal and instrumental

elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. At first,rap rock music did not fit into

the mainstream and can’t gain the public’s appreciation. Therefore,it became

underground in 1980s,moderate in early 1990s,and finally gained much mainstream

success in the mid to late 1990s. Rap rock music are described as having big,lurching

beats and heavy riffs. The most special characteristic is that it occasionally sound as

the riffs were merely overdubbed over scratching and beat box beats. In addition to

the characteristics above,another obvious characteristic is having a more organic

sound. And it is no doubt that characterizing many songs in the genre as rock songs in

which the vocals were rapped rather than sung. The typical instruments are rapping,

vocals,electric guitar,bass guitar,drums,turntables,sampler,synthesizer and keyboard.

There are lots of successful band which create rap rock music,but it is widely kown

that Linkin Park is the most famous and successful rap rock band. Part of the

explanation for this is that Linkin Park is not only create rap rock music but mixing

with many new elements into their songs such as alternative metal,nu metal and punk

rock.

Another equally popular kind of music is electronic music which employs

electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production.

It became popularization from 1970s to early 1980s because many pop and rock

musicians,including The Beach Boys and The Beatles,began to use electronic

instruments,like the theremin and Mellotron to supplement and define their sound in

the late 1960s. Generally,there is a distinction that can be made between sound

produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic

technology. And the typical instruments are the telharmonium,Hammond organ and

the electric guitar. Nowadays,electronic music includes many varieties and ranges

from experimental art music to popular forms such as electronic dance music. Also,

with the accessible and advanced of computer technology and music software,the

interaction with music production technology is now possible using means that bear

no relationship to traditional musical performance practices. For instance,laptop

performance and live coding .In general,the term Live PA refers to any live

performance of electronic music,whether with laptops,synthesizers or other devices.

Finally,R&B music which means rhythm and blues is a genre of popular African-

American music that originated in the 1940s. The music style is mixing with electric

blues,as well as gospel and soul music. The typical instruments ara drum kit,double

bass,saxophone,horns,piano,organ,electric guitar,vocals and background vocalists. In

the 1980s,two newer style of R&B developed which is contemporary R&B and

smooth jazz.

The first one is contemporary R&B which combines elements of rhythm and blues,

pop,soul,funk and hip hop. It was moderate developing since 1980s and became

worldwide in the 1990s. When talking about the style of Contemporary R&B

music,many may says that it has a polished record production style,drum machine-

backed rhythms,an occasional saxophone-laced beat to give a jazz feel and a smooth,

lush style of vocal arrangement. The typical instruments are synthesizers,keyboard,

drum machine and vocal. And there are lots of vocalists are often known for their use

of melisma,popularized by vocalists such as Michael Jackson,Stevie Wonder,Whitney

Houston and Mariah Carey.

The second one is smooth jazz which grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by

R&B,funk,rock and pop music styles. It can be traced to at least the late 1960s and

developed from 1970s to present in United States. In general,a smooth jazz track is

downtempo which is the most widely played tracks are in the 90–105 BPM range,

layering a lead,melody-playing instrument such as saxophones,especially soprano and

tenor are the most popular. The typical instruments are guitar,saxophone,bass guitar,

piano,trumpet,flute,drums and synthesizers. And there are many smooth jazz groups

or recording artists tend to play their instruments in a melodic fashion such that they

are recognizable within just a few measures. For example,the famous saxophonists

Kenny G.

Finally,these three kinds of music—rock music,electronic music and R&B music

are just few kinds of the popular mucis that teenagers love. To me,no matter what

different kinds of music,they all is a universal language which inspires common

human feelings and bridges gaps between cultures that spoken languages can not.

Music makes one that bring people together and create universal community.