Mark Henderson answered
A music genre is a collection of different bands, artists and songs that may share the same musical approach or basic musical language.
Genres are a loose and controversial way of identifying music, and the classifications are often arbitrary and overlap. It is possible to notice similarities between bands and songs of the same genre, but there is no scientific way of allocating a particular sound to a specific genre.
A genre will also include a wide variety of sub-genres and/or fusion genres.
Traditional genre music is compliant to a familiar form and attractive to critical interest and developed musical taste, and is sometimes referred to as "art" music.
In contrast, pop music (which is perhaps the broadest and loosest "genre") is only conceived for mass distribution in a capitalist society. Pop's only objective is to shift as many units as possible, it has little consideration for artistic merit or integrity.
Music Genre Categorization Criteria
- Musical approach: Similar song structure, use of dynamics and general "feel" of the songs.
- Time Period: For example, rock and roll is restricted almost entirely to the 1950s/60s, as it has evolved into pop and rock music since then.
- Instrumentation: The use of instruments in the genre. Rock music places an emphasis on the electric guitar, whereas dance music focuses on synthesizers and drum machines.
- Origins: New genres are almost always a product of other genres. For example grunge music is the fusion of punk and heavy metal.
- Geography: Where a band comes from has a huge impact on their genre classification, especially if they are part of a local "scene". For example the Madchester genre, where all bands are from the Manchester area.
- Social function: E.g, Christmas music and wedding music have their own "genres".
Genres are a loose and controversial way of identifying music, and the classifications are often arbitrary and overlap. It is possible to notice similarities between bands and songs of the same genre, but there is no scientific way of allocating a particular sound to a specific genre.
A genre will also include a wide variety of sub-genres and/or fusion genres.
Traditional genre music is compliant to a familiar form and attractive to critical interest and developed musical taste, and is sometimes referred to as "art" music.
In contrast, pop music (which is perhaps the broadest and loosest "genre") is only conceived for mass distribution in a capitalist society. Pop's only objective is to shift as many units as possible, it has little consideration for artistic merit or integrity.
Music Genre Categorization Criteria
- Musical approach: Similar song structure, use of dynamics and general "feel" of the songs.
- Time Period: For example, rock and roll is restricted almost entirely to the 1950s/60s, as it has evolved into pop and rock music since then.
- Instrumentation: The use of instruments in the genre. Rock music places an emphasis on the electric guitar, whereas dance music focuses on synthesizers and drum machines.
- Origins: New genres are almost always a product of other genres. For example grunge music is the fusion of punk and heavy metal.
- Geography: Where a band comes from has a huge impact on their genre classification, especially if they are part of a local "scene". For example the Madchester genre, where all bands are from the Manchester area.
- Social function: E.g, Christmas music and wedding music have their own "genres".