Wikipedia

List of popular music genres

Popular music is music with wide appeal[1][2][3] that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.[1] It stands in contrast to both art music[4][5][6] like Western classical music or Indian classical music, and traditional or "folk" music.

A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.[7]

This is a list of the commercially relevant modern popular music genres, with applicable styles classified using AllMusic[8] genre categorization.

Exclusions

Genres or styles that are not contemporary or commercially marketed in substantial numbers have been excluded from this list, as follows:

By region

African

Further information: African popular music

Asian

Further information: Music of Asia

East Asian

Chinese:

Hong Kong:

Taiwanese:

Japanese:

Korean:

South Asian

Southeast Asian

Further information: Music of Southeast Asia
Malaysian:

Indonesian:

Thai:

Filipino:

Lao:

Vietnamese:

  • V-pop

Avant-garde

Further information: Avant-garde music

Blues

Further information: Blues

Caribbean and Caribbean-influenced

Main article: List of Caribbean music genres

Comedy

Country

Further information: Country music

Easy listening

Further information: Easy listening

Electronic

Further information: Electronic music
See also: List of electronic music genres

House

Further information: House music
See also: Styles of house music

Flamenco

Further information: Flamenco

Folk

Further information: Folk music

Hip hop

Further information: Hip hop music

Jazz

Further information: Jazz

Latin

Further information: Latin music and Music of Brazil

Pop

Further information: Pop music

R&B and soul

Further information: Rhythm and blues and Soul music

Rock

Further information: Rock music

Heavy metal

Further information: Heavy metal music

Punk rock

Further information: Punk rock

See also

  • Danger music – an experimental form of avant-garde music based on the concept that some pieces of music can or will harm either the listener or the performer

References

Bibliography

  • Borthwick, Stuart, & Moy, Ron (2004) Popular Music Genres: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Fabbri, Franco (1982) A Theory of Popular Music Genres: Two Applications. In Popular Music Perspectives, edited by David Horn and Philip Tagg, 52-81. Göteborg and Exeter: A. Wheaton & Co., Ltd.
  • Frith, Simon (1996) Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
  • Holt, Fabian (2007) Genre in Popular Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Negus, Keith (1999) Music Genres and Corporate Cultures. London and New York: Routledge.
  1. ^ a b Popular Music. (2015). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
  2. ^ Middleton, Richard; Manuel, Peter (2001). "Popular Music". Grove Music Online. Oxford Index. ISBN 9781561592630.
  3. ^ "Definition of "popular music" | Collins English Dictionary". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  4. ^ Arnold, Denis (1983). The New Oxford Companion Music, Volume 1: A-J. Oxford University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-19-311316-9.
  5. ^ Arnold, Denis (1983). The New Oxford Companion to Music, Volume 2: K-Z. Oxford University Press. p. 1467. ISBN 978-0-19-311316-9.
  6. ^ Philip Tagg (1982). "Analysing popular music: theory, method and practice" (PDF). Popular Music. 2: 37–67. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.628.7469. doi:10.1017/S0261143000001227.
  7. ^ Samson, Jim. "Grove Music Online: Genre". Oxford Music Online. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Music Genres at AllMusic
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