Styles of Popular Music

Music is truly the one universal language. Although all cultures have music, each culture develops its own musical forms and styles. In
particular, popular music varies from culture to culture and from generation to generation. In the past 100 years or so, there has been an explosion
of popular music styles in the West. Three of the more successful styles are reggae, punk, and rap.

One successful style of popular music is reggae, which was born on the Caribbean island of Jamaica in the 1.960s and spread throughout
the world in the 1,970s. Reggae developed from a kind of Afro-Caribbean music called mento, which was sung and played on guitars and drums.
Some musicians changed mento into a music style called ska by adding a hesitation beat. A few years later, other musicians changed ska, and
reggae was born. Reggae's special sound comes from reversing the roles of the instruments: The guitar plays the rhythm, and the bass plays the
melody. An important influence on reggae music was the Rastafarian cult. The Rastafarians added unusual sound mixes, extra-slow tempos,
strange lyrics, and mystical-political themes. The best-known reggae musician was the late- Bob Marley. Well-known groups are Toots & The
Maytals, Burning Spear, and Steel Pulse. Reggae has influenced later styles of popular music, including punk and rap.

A second successful style of popular music is punk. Punk is a style of rock music that began in the mid-1,970s as a reaction against
previous forms of rock. Punks felt that rock music no longer represented the counterculture from which it had sprung and had, in fact, sold out to
the mainstream culture. With their clothing and hairstyles, punks intended to shock society. The "punk look" included spike hairdos, theatrical
makeup, ripped clothing, body piercings, and jewelry made from objects such as razor blades and safety pins. The onstage behavior of punks was
aggressive and provocative. At concerts, fighting and other violent behavior by the fans were common occurrences. Punk music itself is simple
(often just three chords), and its songs are short (rarely more than three minutes long). Its songs are anti-government, anti-authority, and anti-
conformity. The first bands to popularize punk were the Sex Pistols and Clash in Great Britain and the Ramones in the United States. As with all
music styles, punk has evolved into other styles. Groups such as the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag play hardcore punk, which is a faster and
louder punk style. The band Fall Out Boy plays emo, a style in which the musicians become so emotional during a performance that they scream
and cry. Pop punk, made popular by the group Green Day, is another new punk style.

A third successful style of popular music is rap, which is also, called hip-hop. Rap is a type of dance music in which the singers -
rappers - speak in rhythm and rhyme rather than sing. The art of rapping originated in Africa and probably traveled to the United States via
Jamaica, where it was known as toasting. In the United States, rap first appeared in the mid-1,970s in the discos of New York City's black
neighborhoods. Disco DJs teamed up with rappers to play songs for dancers at parties. At first, the role of the rapper was to keep the beat going
with hand claps while the OJ changed records. Soon, rappers added lyrics, slogans, rhymes, and call-and-response exchanges with the audience,
and rap was born. Early rap songs were mainly about dancing, partying, and the romantic adventures of the rappers, but, politics became an
important theme in rap in the late 1,980s and 1,990s. Most rappers are young black males, but there have been female rappers such as Queen
Latifah and white rappers such as the Beastie Boys and Eminem.

To sum up, popular music changes constantly. New styles are born, grow, change, and produce offshoots, which in turn grow, change,
and produce offshoots. Some styles enjoy lasting popularity, but others disappear rather quickly. However, all contribute to the power and
excitement of popular music in our time.

Questions on the Model

1 . How many different successful styles of popular music are discussed in the model essay? What are they?

2 . How many body paragraphs are there? What is the topic of each one? Underline the topic sentences.

3 . Circle the transition words and phrases that introduce the body paragraphs.

4 . What information is given in the supporting sentences about each style of popular music? Name at least five kinds of
information (Example: how it started).

Structure of an Essay
I. Introduction : An essay is a group of paragraphs written about a single and specific topic. It will give the information
surrounding the topic but will show the opinion and thoughts of the writer. It must have at least three paragraphs.
II. Structure of an Essay
 There are 3 main parts :
- The introduction: is the first paragraph of an essay and explains the topic with general ideas and also includes the thesis
statement.
- The Main Body: there are 3 or more paragraphs for this part. Each paragraph has a topic sentence and several supporting
sentences. The body of the essay supports the main points presented in the thesis. Each point is developed by one or more
paragraphs and supported with specific details
- The conclusion: the last paragraph of an essay .It summarizes or restates the main point and the supporting ideas of the
essays.
III. Thesis Statement : is usually the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. It has 3 purposes ;
- states the specific topic of essay.
- list the sub topics of the main topic.
- mention the method of organization.

Exercise 1
In the following introductory paragraphs, the sentences are in scrambled order. On a separate piece of paper, rewrite
them in the correct order. Begin with the most general statement. Then add each sentence in correct order, from the next
most general to the least general Write the thesis statement last.

1 . (1 ) Therefore, workaholics' lifestyles can affect their families, social lives, and health. (2) Because they work so
many hours, workaholics may not spend enough time in leisure activities. (3) Nowadays, many men and women work
in law, accounting, real estate, and business. (4) These people are serious about becoming successful, so they work long
hours during the week and even on weekends. (5) People who work long hours are called "workaholics."

2. (1 ) Therefore, anyone who wants to drive must carry a driver's license. (2) It is divided into four steps: studying the
traffic laws, taking the written test, learning to drive, and taking the driving test. (3) Getting a driver's license is a
complicated process. (4) Driving a car is a necessity in today's busy society, and it is also a special privilege.

3. (1) During this period, children separate themselves from their parents and become independent. (2) Teenagers
express their separateness most vividly in their choice of clothes, hairstyles, music, and vocabulary. (3) The teenage
years between childhood and adulthood are a period of growth and separation.