Understanding Modern Electronic Music Classifications/Genres. Kind Of.
Posted 06-02-2014 at 06:42 PM by Free-R
If you follow my postings in the music forum, you will be able to see that I am into a lot of modern electronic music. And, if you were like I was when I first started exploring this genre, there is a good chance that you are consistently saying to yourself, “I kind of like this [song]. What genre is this?” You might even be familiar with some of the mainstream songs that receive airplay on your local radio dial, such as Zedd, Avicii, Ellie Goulding, or electronic-influenced material from Lady Gaga, Beyonce, or Korn. Or, you are the type of music aficionado who has had little to no exposure to the genre whatsoever, with thoughts such as, “Nah. I don’t like electronic music. It’s not music to me. Anyone with a computer can make that stuff.”
The discussion of whether a genre of music “is music” is a blog post for a different day. This blog post is what I consider to be a poor man’s guide to modern electronic music. It is just based off my observations and experience, and nothing else.
There are a ton of genres and sub-genres for electronic music:
Chill out
Chillstep
Electronica
Trance
Psy-Trance
House
Techno
Techno House
Electro House
Progressive House
Dubstep
Melodic Dubstep
Nightcore (sounds like chipmunks)
Drumstep
Drum & Bass
Glitch Hop
Indie Dance/ Nu Disco
Hardstyle
Hard dance
Breakbeat
Pop/Rock
^^ And that's not all of them either.
Electronic music is difficult to try to compartmentalize and you have to spend a lot of time listening to it to differentiate between the genres. There are further sub-genres within some of the above genres as well. Sound confusing? That's because it can be. What is helpful to me is that you can find the genre by looking it up on the service from which you buy your music. Keep in mind that some services aren't that specific. I use a site that has the most accurate information, as it's a dedicated electronic-music-only download service. I listen to the songs, look up the genres, find new songs, look up the genres, and over time, this helps to train my ear in hearing the differences. But even then, I can get some genres crossed up.
I'm into certain styles (not specifically genres), such as this one:
I originally thought that "Lightspeed" was dubstep. It is not, it is drum & bass. A lot of the genre classifications have to do with BPM, or beats per minute. "Lightspeed" is 175 BPM, dubstep runs at 140 BPM. Once you start to recognize the genres, you can then look up random mixes on YouTube to find new stuff, such as typing in "Progressive House Mix." I have found a lot of new artists that way.
Here is a good read about the genre beakdowns (links to some explicit language in the user comments): ELI5: electronic music sub-genres : explainlikeimfive
One other thing to consider is that with electronic music, you have to think in terms of producers and DJs, not bands. There are other considerations in the breakdowns of electronic music, such as how the song is structured (4 on the floor, as an example), types of instruments involved, and so forth. For that end of the discussion, I will leave it to the the producers and music technicians to duke it out.
The discussion of whether a genre of music “is music” is a blog post for a different day. This blog post is what I consider to be a poor man’s guide to modern electronic music. It is just based off my observations and experience, and nothing else.
There are a ton of genres and sub-genres for electronic music:
Chill out
Chillstep
Electronica
Trance
Psy-Trance
House
Techno
Techno House
Electro House
Progressive House
Dubstep
Melodic Dubstep
Nightcore (sounds like chipmunks)
Drumstep
Drum & Bass
Glitch Hop
Indie Dance/ Nu Disco
Hardstyle
Hard dance
Breakbeat
Pop/Rock
^^ And that's not all of them either.
Electronic music is difficult to try to compartmentalize and you have to spend a lot of time listening to it to differentiate between the genres. There are further sub-genres within some of the above genres as well. Sound confusing? That's because it can be. What is helpful to me is that you can find the genre by looking it up on the service from which you buy your music. Keep in mind that some services aren't that specific. I use a site that has the most accurate information, as it's a dedicated electronic-music-only download service. I listen to the songs, look up the genres, find new songs, look up the genres, and over time, this helps to train my ear in hearing the differences. But even then, I can get some genres crossed up.
I'm into certain styles (not specifically genres), such as this one:
I originally thought that "Lightspeed" was dubstep. It is not, it is drum & bass. A lot of the genre classifications have to do with BPM, or beats per minute. "Lightspeed" is 175 BPM, dubstep runs at 140 BPM. Once you start to recognize the genres, you can then look up random mixes on YouTube to find new stuff, such as typing in "Progressive House Mix." I have found a lot of new artists that way.
Here is a good read about the genre beakdowns (links to some explicit language in the user comments): ELI5: electronic music sub-genres : explainlikeimfive
One other thing to consider is that with electronic music, you have to think in terms of producers and DJs, not bands. There are other considerations in the breakdowns of electronic music, such as how the song is structured (4 on the floor, as an example), types of instruments involved, and so forth. For that end of the discussion, I will leave it to the the producers and music technicians to duke it out.
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