Contemporary

Contemporary music literally covers all genres of new age Christian music, but is most commonly associated with a new movement of Christian music that has alternative rock, pop, and country sounds. The contemporary movement began in the 1960s, with this type of music then referred to as Jesus music. Some Christians dispute whether or not the contemporary tones fit into their religion, but contemporary is a popular genre that gives Protestant listeners an alternative faith-based style of music. The growth of contemporary styles has been strong since the mid 1990s, and newer artists and subgenres help to continue the expansion of Christian music.

Hip Hop

Christian hip hop, or gospel rap, is a unique genre of Christian music. Due to the often sinful nature of mainstream rap lyrics, it has been a tough road for Christian rap artists to gain popularity. However, beginning in the 1990s Christian rap has become popular with the younger generation looking for an uplifting form of music that reflects their urban lifestyle. The most popular innovators among Christian hip hop artists would likely be DC Talk, who took the music scene by storm in the late 1980s before making a switch to a more pop sound in the mid 1990s. Christian hip hop is a fabulous way for Christians to spread their faith to kids from the street and other youth looking for a fresh music genre.

Gospel

If gospel music does not fill your sole with spirit, then I am not sure what can! Gospel music is uplifting, inspiring, and fun to listen to. When most think of gospel music, churches in the south come to mind. In fact, gospel music has been thought to have started during times of slavery in the late 1800s. The genre of gospel became more defined and gained popularity in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and is now listened to worldwide. Gospel music is known for its strong vocals surrounded by electric guitars, bass, and drums. Gospel music thrives today and is certainly considered a staple of Christian music.

Christian Rock

Christian rock music covers a lot of ground with many different subgenres contained within the rock category. The “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll” explosion in the 1960s certainly made many Christians wary of jumping into the rock scene, but by the early 1970s Christian rock bands began to separate themselves from a demonic image, and instead produced Christian lyrics with rock tones. Today many bands are considered Christian rock artists, some more devoted to the Christian title than others. Although some might not realize this, the band U2 was a catalyst for Christian rock in the 1990s based on their enormous success beginning in the 1980s.

This is hardly a complete list of Christian music genres, but sampling some of these genres will give you a good taste of the great listening Christian music offers. Finding your favorite genre is important and will certainly enhance your experience. Being able to listen to your favorite Christian bands at home or on the go is a relaxing way to worship throughout the day.

article written by Justin Palmer.

One of the most important categories of music is classical music. This is the type of music that needs a lot of hard work because of its inherent complexity. Classical music is not simple and definitely not for bathroom singers. It needs a lot of practice and learning to master this art. Most operas feature this music and the divas who sing the classical songs are highly respected for their range and layered performances. Classical music is taken very seriously by people who love it and if you are interested in it you may have to be coached rigorously to be stage ready.

Another type of music that has roots in very early days is the tribal music. Tribal music is inherent to particular tribes and does not need any expensive studio equipment for its creation. The tribal music of many African, Hawaiians and the American Indian tribes have qualities unique to them. Lots of African tribal music is fast paced while the Hawaiian music is very lively. American Indian music often has a haunting quality that stirs the soul. Similarly, the Nordic tribes or the Arabic ones have their own music that can be very spontaneous and emotive. If you love dancing to simple, nature based music, tribal music is best for you.

Hip-hop is a rather new kid on the block in comparison to the aforementioned veterans of music. However, it has caught the fancy of the young generation to a huge extent. Low waist pants, gesturing moves, a cool attitude and rhythmic word play – all come together to give a special quality to hip hop music. If you want to be considered hip and cool, you may want to consider a number of hip hop songs while you download music on your iPod.

Another famous music genre is Rock. Long hair, a guitar in hand and a loud voice are the main features of a rocker. The kind of frenzy a rock band evokes is hard to emulate. The pulsating music and aggressive moves make this music, one of the most popular on earth. If you are a member of a rock band, you have a ticket to instant fame.

You can also opt for the rustic and definitely much softer music genre called country music. Other musical forms are jazz which is one of the most soulful categories, blues which as the name suggests specializes in sad numbers, dance which you will love if you work as a disc jockey, folk which is another age old form of music and many others.

Product Description
An accessible introduction to the study of popular music, this book takes a schematic approach to a range of popular music genres, and examines them in terms of their antecedents, histories, visual aesthetics and socio-political contexts. At the centre of each chapter is a textual analysis of key examples of the genres concerned: soul, psychedelia, progressive rock, reggae, funk, heavy metal, punk rock, rap, synthpop, indie, jungle. Within this interdisciplinary and… More >>

Popular Music Genres: An Introduction

It was born as Rock and Roll in 1950s. It was a fusion form of Rhythm & Blues, Country and other popular forms. It became instant hit across the United States of America. Bo Didley and Chuck Berry were the early rock artists. Little Richards and Fats Domino were also popular. It was widely accepted as popular form of music and spread to Britain and other countries.

Its spread to United Kingdom was fast and swift. Cliff Richards and John Lennon were the early artists. Both of them achieved great success. John Lennon later formed the legendary ‘The Beatles’. It enjoys great popularity even today. The Rolling Stones also achieved international success.

Cream, Judas Priest, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Pink Floyd among many others dominated the Heavy Metal genre of rock. U2, R.E.M, Sex Pistols, Devo, and Pattie Smith served the Punk rock as well. Madonna and Mariah Carey achieved great successs in soft rock area. Songs of all famous artists are available as mp3 music downloads also.

With fusion with other forms, many sub genres became popular. Christian rock, Classic rock, Garage, Glam, Grunge rocks are the chief ones.

Dance Music also became very popular along with rock. It is electronic music with dance beats. Important forms are House, Electronica, Trance and Disco. It is usually played at discos and night clubs. Now, it is played at parties, functions and gatherings also. As the name itself implies, it creates great dancing atmosphere.

Copyright @ 2008 Jayshree Shah

Though Latin American music has its own unique characteristic it echoes the same universal human feelings and emotion.Some of the very popular Latin Music forms are Tango, Salsa, Samba, Son, Bossanova and the list goes on.

Tango:

Tango, one of the most popular music genres of Latin America was originated in Argentina in 1890s. The working class created this new rhythm. They were inspired by the Cuban habanera as well as the local milonga. The music used to reflect a pessimistic mood. It used to depict the sorrow brought forth by unavoidable destiny.

Tango was adopted by the people of USA in 1910s and it took a new direction. Instead of echoing a melancholy mood it started portraying a more erotic mood. “Yo Soy La Morocha” by Enrique Saborido is considered to be one of the earliest hits of Tango. Tango was enriched with more poetic lyrics in the era of 1930s when literate song writes make it an intellectual affair.

Bossanova:

Bossanova can be described as the music of the bourgeoisie since it was formed by the while young intellectuals. Bossanova mingled both jazz music and a slower, gentler form of Samba. Bossanova mainly captures a romantic mood, bohemian life, natural beauty and so on. It is the most favorite genre of the easy-listening crowd. Bossanova was made popular by artists like Jobim, Moraes, Cardoso, Gilberto and so on. Some of the popular Bossanova numbers include Garota de Ipanema, Desafinado, Chega de Saudade etc. The contribution of DeAndrade can not be denied who composed “The Solo Guitar”, Shambhala Moon and Ocean by mingling American folk music, jazz, samba and European classical music.

Son:

The next name that comes into the list is Son. This popular music genre was born in Cuba in the 20th century. Artists like Miguel Matamores, Ignacio Pineiro, made a mixture of African Rumba and Spanish popular music and made Son popular. The instruments that initially accompanied Son were claves, tres, bongos and contrabass. Son took a new turn in the 1920s when Miguel Failde Perez first documented Dazon, another version of Son (for the upper class). It was mainly performed with flute and violin orchestras. Some of the famous names of this field include Xavier Cugat, Arsenio Rodriguez, Rene Alvarez etc.

Salsa:

Salsa is a very popular form of Latin Music. It is even more popular as a dance form. Salsa owes its origin to Son as Son was renamed as Salsa in 1973. Salsa owes its fame to the “Salsa” concert held in New York in 1976. Salsa is also known as “Guaguanco” in Puerto Rico. Guaguanco reminds us of a kind of Rumba dance.

In 1978 Ruben Blades composed the music of the best selling Salsa album ever. Different people like Angel Canales introduced various versions of Salsa. The members of Eddie Palmieri’s orchestra created a jazzy and aggressive version of Salsa.
Gradually Salsa was also contaminated with various political issues.

Samba:

This is mainly a dance form related to the Candomble rituals of Africa. The word “Samba” originated in 1838. It was influenced by the Brazilian dance form “Maxixe”. Soon it established itself as a popular music genre. The rhythm of Samba is designed in such a manner so that it can be associated with singing, dancing as well as parade. Samba became popular in Europe also and the credit for this goes to Manuel Duque Diniz. The first recorded hit song of this genre was Pelo Telefone by Ernesto Donga dos Santos.