Pop music genre-Pop music (from the English pop music, a contraction

of popular music), also known simply as pop, is a genre of popular music that
originated in the late 1950s as a derivation of traditional pop, in combination
with other musical genres. that were fashionable at that time

Hip hop music genre-Dance music style born in the United States of
America in the 1970s as a derivative of funk and characterized by its
electronic base and for being associated with alternative manifestations
such as break dance or graffiti. It uses a technique named “Rapping” which
is poetry spoken rhythmically

Rock music genre-Firstly, Rock music is a style born in the 1960s as a

derivative of rock and roll and characterized by the use of complex melodies
and rhythms, with fairly fixed instrumentation (basically electric guitar,
electric bass, keyboard and drums) and with an energetic rhythm underlined
by the power of the bass and the drums, all of which is often linked to an
anti-authoritarian and provocative attitude; it has developed a multitude of
variants and has given way to new styles, such as pop, punk or heavy.

Rhythm and blues music genre-Musical style born in the 1940s as

a derivative of blues and related to jazz, soul and gospel; It is characterized
by being a mainly vocal genre, typical of solo singers or grouped in quartets
or quintets that accompany their voice with the interventions of a choir.

Soul music genre-Soul is a term adopted to describe African-American

music in the United States as it evolved between the 1950s and 1970s. )

Reggae music genre-Musical style of Jamaican origin derived from

rock whose songs are characterized by a happy, repetitive and marked
rhythm, soft melodies and committed lyrics in favor of peace, aid to the Third
World, etc.

Country music genre-Country (also called country & western, country

music or country music) is a musical genre that emerged in the 1920s in the
rural regions of the South of the United States and in the Maritimes of
Canada and Australia. In its origins, it combined the folk music of some
European immigrant countries, mainly Ireland, with other musical forms,
such as blues, bluegrass and spiritual and religious music, such as gospel.
Funk music genre-Musical style born in the United States of America
in the 1970s as black popular music derived from soul and with jazz
influences, characterized by its strong, slow and very syncopated rhythm.

Folk music genre-Musical style born at the end of the 1950s in the
United States of America and characterized by the combination of traditional
music with the forms of rock, by the social content of its lyrics and by the
simplicity of its composition.

Jazz music genre-Jazz is an artistic-musical manifestation originating

from communities in New Orleans, in the United States.[1] This manifestation
would have appeared around the end of the 19th century in the region of New
Orleans, having its origins in the popular culture and creativity of the black
communities that lived there, one of its most important development spaces.

Disco music genre-Disco music (also known in English disco music or,
in French, discothèque) is a dance music genre whose popularity peaked in
the mid-1970s. Latin Americans and psychedelic music connoisseurs, as well
as other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the 1970s

Classical music genre-Classical music is an erudite musical genre,

characterized by the complexity of instrumentation and by being represented
in the form of symphony, opera or other types of musical developments.

Also known as “erudite music”, the beginnings of classical music can be

traced back to the 9th century, based on Western Christian sacred music
traditions. Its growth became more accentuated mainly during the Middle
Ages (between the 16th and 18th centuries).

Electronic music genre-Electronic music is music production made

with various types of electronic devices. For example, synthesizers, digital
recorders, software, computers and the like.

Blues music genre-We can define blues as a style or musical form that
is based on the use of low (bass) notes for expressive purposes and that
maintains a repetitive musical structure.

New age music genre-New Age music, also known as New Age music,
is a musical genre that is characterized by a soft melody, using instrumental
sounds (harp, keyboards, flute, guitar, organ), ethereal voices and sounds of
nature.
Christian Music genre-Gospel music (from English gospel; in
Portuguese, “gospel”) is a type of music composed to express belief,
individual or community, predominantly Christian.

Traditional Music genre-Traditional music belongs to each of the

countries with an important tradition of original music from that region

Ska music genre-Ska is a musical genre that originated in Jamaica in

the late 1950s, combining Caribbean elements such as mento and calypso
and American elements such as jazz, jump blues and rhythm and blues.

Indian classical music genre-Classical music in India belongs to the

region of India. It’s a complex song that uses special metrics and scales. It is
said that other songs are derived from here such as el flamenco

Metal music genre-Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a rock genre that
developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom
and the United States.

Brazilian music genre-The music of Brazil encompasses several

regional musical styles influenced by European, American, African and
Amerindian forms. Brazilian music developed some unique and original styles
such as forró, repente, coco de roda, axé, sertanejo, samba, bossa nova,
MPB, nativist music, pagode, tropicália, choro, maracatu, embolada (sudden
coconut), frevo, brega , Brazilian funk, modinha and Brazilian versions of
foreign musical styles, such as rock, pop music, soul, hip-hop, disco music,
country music, ambient, industrial and psychedelic music, rap, classical
music, fado and gospel.

Flamenco music genre-Flamenco is a typically Spanish style of music

and dance. This cultural manifestation is mainly related to the autonomous
community of Andalusia, in the south of Spain, as well as to the city of
Murcia and the region of Estremadura.

Salsa music genre-Salsa is a mix of musical rhythms such as son

montuno, mambo, cha-cha-chá and Cuban rumba. It also received influences
from merengue (from the Dominican Republic), from Calypso (from Trinidad
and Tobago), from Colombian cumbia, from North American rock and from
Jamaican reggae.
Merengue music genre-Merengue is a type of music and dance in
which one foot marks the time and the other is dragged along the floor. It is
very popular in several Latin countries such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama,
Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, Sao Tome and Principe, Venezuela
and is the Dominican national dance. It is also widely known in Angola as its
origin is African and was taken by slaves from Southern Africa (Angola) to
the new territories of the Americas. The most popular style of merengue is
usually performed by a wide range of instruments that includes various
saxophones, accordions, trumpets and keyboards, with fun vocalists. At the
choreographic level, the merengue presents easy and fast steps, danced by
intertwined couples.

Bachata music genre-Bachata is a musical genre that originated in

the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. It is a fusion of
influences from southwestern Europe, mainly Spanish guitar music, with
indigenous Taino and sub-Saharan African musical elements, representative
of the cultural diversity of the Dominican population.

Blues
When millions of Africans were transported to America as slaves in
the 18th and 19th centuries, their melodies and rhythms went with
them. They knew that singing together made working easier, and it
was in these work songs that African rhythms and melodies were
preserved until slavery ended in 1865. Many African Americans
became Christians and sang hymns in church. Others learned to
play popular songs and dance tunes for money. But whenever they
sang and played, the African rhythms of the old work songs could
be heard. And when they expressed their feelings by creating new
songs, African melodies could be heard in the tunes.

It was this new combination of African and Western music that led
to the genre we now call "blues". Some blues songs told stories of
heartbreak and pain, and these were often slow and sad. But others
were about being in love, or having fun, and these were up-
tempo and good to dance to. Various blues styles developed over
the years, some in small towns of the American south and others in
cities like Chicago and New Orleans. But wherever the music was
played, listeners heard a sound that was going to influence nearly
every genre of popular music to come, from jazz and soul to hip
hop. If you'd like to hear some early blues, try searching for the
recordings of Blind Willie McTell, Bukka White and Lightnin'
Hopkins. For later blues, try Billie Holiday, Muddy Waters, Howlin'
Wolf and John Lee Hooker.

Jazz
Most African American musicians only played blues, but some
played classical music as well and learned European harmony.
Some even mixed European harmony with the rhythms
and scales of blues, and it was from this mixture that "jazz" was
born. One of jazz's greatest musicians was the trumpet player Louis
Armstrong, who helped to develop many styles of jazz. He was in
New Orleans, his home town, in the 1910s when the marching-band
style of New Orleans jazz (or "dixieland") was being born. In the
1920s he was in Chicago inventing new ways of improvising with
Joe "King" Oliver and his band. Then he was in New York City in the
1930s when big band jazz and swing were developing. These new
styles were played by jazz orchestras with a rhythm
section (drums, double bass, piano and
guitar), brass and woodwind sections, and
sometimes strings and one or more singers. Swing was hugely
popular in the 1940 s, becoming the music that nearly everyone
danced to. Some of the greatest jazz orchestras were those led by
Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Fletcher Henderson, with whom
Louis Armstrong played. All the most popular singers of the day,
like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, sang with jazz
orchestras.

But by the 1950s many young musicians no longer wanted to play in

jazz orchestras. They wanted the freedom to improvise and began
experimenting in their own bands. Before long they were playing
exciting new styles like bebop and modal jazz. These new styles
weren't as easy to dance to as swing, so they weren't as popular,
but they found a new audience of serious listeners for whom
modern jazz was art music rather than popular music. The best of
these musicians included Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, John
Coltrane, Miles Davis and Charles Mingus.
Rhythm and Blues

As jazz was becoming more

and more popular in the 1930s and 1940 s, another new genre was
starting to develop. Many African Americans were professional
blues musicians, but making money wasn't easy. They formed small
bands and looked for work in cheap bars and clubs. But to get work,
they had to attract audiences. Most young people who went to
these places thought blues was old-fashioned, so the bands had to
develop a new style, and what they created was "rhythm and blues"
(or R&B*).

Photo right: Louis Jordan’s Tympany Five in New York, mid-1940’s (William P.
Gottlieb Public Domain)

The early forms of R&B were loud and lively and mostly played on
drums, double bass, and electric guitar. Singers were men or
women with big voices, and audiences loved it. The style quickly
spread throughout the country, with larger bands adding piano,
trumpet and saxophone. R&B was great fun and perfect for dancing,
and by the mid-1940s many bands were selling records. Two of the
biggest sellers were T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan's "Tympany
Five", who had a number-one hit in 1944 with G.I. Jive. Later R&B
artists include Ruth Brown, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and Ray
Charles.

*The term "R&B" is now used to describe romantic soul songs

and ballads, a very different style to the original R&B.

Rock and Roll

By the early 1950 s, another new genre called "rock and roll" (or
"rock'n'roll") was being created by musicians who could play both
R&B and Western Swing, a popular style of country dance music.
This new music was played on the same set of instruments as R&B
- electric guitar, double bass and drums - with the guitarist often
singing as well. It had a strong blues beat and an R&B feel, but the
melodies were like those of country music. It was great to dance to,
and rock and roll dance styles soon developed as well. The lyrics
were fun to listen to, and it quickly became popular, especially
when teenagers heard rock and roll records on the radio.

One of the first bands to record was "Bill Hayley and His Comets"
who had a hit single with Rock around the Clock in 1954. They
were greatly influenced by R&B artists like Louis Jordan and Big
Joe Turner, as were many others like Little Richard and Chuck
Berry, whose 1956 single Roll Over Beethoven became a huge hit.
Jerry Lee Lewis, who amazed audiences with his wild piano playing,
also became very popular.

But rock and roll seemed wild and dangerous to many parents,
especially when they saw the sexy dancing of a handsome young
singer named Elvis Presley. There was nothing they could do to
stop their kids from loving rock and roll and being fans of Elvis,
however. He became hugely successful and made rock and roll one
of the most popular styles of music not only in America, but across
the world. Elvis had many hit singles, including Hound
Dog, Heartbreak Hotel and Jailhouse Rock, and he soon became
known as "the king of rock and roll" or simply "the king".

Video: Big Joe Turner performing his 1954 song Shake, Rattle and Roll
The 1960s
In the early 60s a new genre called Rock Music began to develop
when young musicians combined the rock and roll of artists like
Elvis with elements of R&B. New styles of Country Music also
became popular in the 60s, as did a new style of melodic R&B
called Soul Music. Later in the 60s soul artists like James Brown
developed a more rhythmic style called funk, and funk led to many
new styles of Dance Music in the 70s, the 80s and beyond. In the
late 70s a new genre called Hip Hop also developed. Hip hop is
now one of the most popular styles of music in the world, and like
all major genres of popular music it’s produced many hit singles on
the Pop Music charts.

Best-selling Popular Music Artists of All

Time
The popularity of artists is usually measured by the number of
singles and albums they sell, and sales are listed in the
music charts. The ten most successful artists of all time are listed
below. Read the list and see how many different genres of popular
music you can find.
1. The Beatles - British pop and rock band
2. Elvis Presley - American rock and roll, pop and gospel artist
3. Michael Jackson - American soul, pop and dance-pop artist
4. Madonna - American pop and dance-pop artist
5. Elton John - British rock and pop singer-songwriter
6. Led Zeppelin - British blues, R&B and rock band
7. Pink Floyd - British rock band
8. Mariah Carey - American pop and soul artist
9. Celine Dion - Canadian pop, soul and jazz artist
10. Whitney Houston - American pop and soul artist

Did you notice that the list doesn't include any young artists? This
is because they haven't had time to sell as many recordings as the
artists listed. But if you look at a similar list in a few years, you
might find some of today's popular artists included as well.

album (noun): a record or sound file with an ordered collection of

songs - Michael Jackson's album Thriller has sold more copies
than any other album.

ballad (noun): a slow song usually about love - Janis sings up-
tempo rock songs as well as slow ballads.

bebop (noun): a complex style of up-tempo jazz from the 1950s

- The best bepop player I ever heard was Charlie Parker.

big band (noun): a large jazz band, esp. one that plays big band jazz
- Most popular singers of the 30s and 40s had their own big bands.

brass (noun): instruments made of brass, incl. trumpet, trombone

and tuba - Australian rock band "The Saints" used a brass section
on their second album.

(the) charts (noun): a list of the best-selling singles or albums of

the previous week - That song Happy by Pharrell Williams was at
the top of the charts for weeks.

dance-pop (noun): up-tempo pop music with a dance rhythm - Lady

Gaga has produced some great dance-pop singles.

double bass (noun): a large stringed instrument for playing low

notes - In jazz, double bass strings are plucked instead of bowed.

fan (noun): someone who likes a particular artist or band very much
- Barry's a really big fan of Bob Dylan.

gospel music (noun): rhythmic church music of African American

Christians - We heard some great gospel music in those old
churches.

hit (noun): a best-selling song near the top of the music charts
- One of the biggest hits ever was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
hymn (noun): a religious song that's sung in church - My grandma
loves singing those old hymns.

improvise (verb): to invent music spontaneously while playing - If

you want to be a jazz musician, you have to learn how to improvise.

modal jazz (noun): jazz that uses Arabic or Indian modes instead of
European scales - John Coltrane played some great modal jazz.

record (noun): a thin disc of black plastic on which recorded music

is imprinted and sold - I bought lots of punk rock records in the
1970 s.

scale (noun): a series of notes in a fixed order from lowest to

highest - The major and minor scales each have seven notes.

singer-songwriter (noun): a musician who writes and performs his

or her own songs - Most singer-songwriters play guitar or piano
while singing.

single (noun): a small record with a song on each side, or a sound

file with one song - The Beatles had more hit singles than any other
band.

soul (noun): a style of music that combines R&B and gospel music
- Two of my favourite soul singers are Al Green and Marvin Gaye.

strings (noun): an orchestral string section with violins, violas,

cellos and double bass - Only the biggest jazz orchestras had
strings.

swing (noun): up-tempo jazz for dancing played by big bands or jazz
orchestras - Benny Goodman wrote lots of swing tunes.

tune (noun): a song or melody - I know the tune, but I can't

remember what it's called.

up-tempo (or "uptempo") (adjective): having a fast beat - If you

want to write a happy song, it should be up-tempo.
woodwind (n): instruments played by blowing across a hole (e.g.
flute) or through a reed (e.g. saxophone) - Are you sure the
saxophone is a woodwind instrument?