Nothing is more captivating than playing music together with your siblings or parents, whether it’s singing across a bonfire, grooving on the dance floor, or in a jamming session.
There was a time when only classical, jazz and a few others were the only distinct genres in music. But with time, music kept evolving, and artists kept pushing the boundaries to discover new styles. Music was first divided into genres in the early 1920s when the first radio stations figured that they could earn more from the advertisers if the music reached a specific audience. That’s how the idea of categorizing music as jazz, blues, folk and so on came about.
Today’s music domain has countless music genres with names like forest-psy, retro-nuevo, skronk etc. and new ones are still evolving everyday.
Amid all these genre choices, music students often land in dilemma. Having a myriad of music genres, they are perplexed between choices to pick and play. They often ask, ‘What’s the point in discussing about music genres? Is one genre greater than another?’.
But, when it comes to master or compose, one should select a genre that reflects their soul best. If you are struggling to choose the one to focus on, let’s learn about the music genres and how you can choose the best ones for you.
Get to know all the genres
The whole idea of choosing a genre can be quite frustrating. From folk to pop to rock, every music genre has a distinct approach to the melody & arrangements. If you happen to veer between two genres within the same song without proper transitions, it might end up in a terrible mess! Therefore, it’s better to get familiar with many genres and be acquainted with the fine nuances, intricacies & styles of each musical form.
Identify the difference between the most common music genres:
Now that you’ve reached here, the next step is to select the genre you’re interested in.
Get to know your genre
When you have a specific genre in mind, you’d probably want to write & compose for that specific audience. This gives you an edge to market your music in the appropriate segment, and be a respected artist in that genre. But how do you choose?
When listening to music, discern the rhythms or lyrics you like the most and spend some time to analyze them carefully. Gather some knowledge & info about some great compositions in the same genre. However, try to stick to the bandwagon the listeners are following to stay on the top.
Try a couple of genres
It’s not uncommon to take time to master a single genre before you give a shot at another. However, if you’re struggling with one, then you may go ahead and delve with a few other genres to find out which one suits you more.
Take one song from a single genre and use it as a template to produce a mix of music. You can also use the same template to write a karaoke track. This will help you to get an understanding of the different genres that you can consider, in case you couldn’t succeed in one. Do not strive for perfection at this moment, rather focus on learning instead.
After playing around, take a step back and consider which song sounded more natural, or which one you really enjoyed playing? Which one allowed your creative juices to flow, or intrigued you to explore it further? If you have a pick, then you have the answer!
Understand your audience
The idea of using music to reach a specific audience is still alive today. And that’s good news for all the music learners!
Whether it’s your hobby or passion to pursue music, you always want someone to listen to it, relish it, and appreciate your craft. So, that requires you to figure out who is going to be your audience. Which genre would your typical audience like to listen to? Or, for which age group would you be rolling out your music? Once you know it, you are just a few steps away from creating a masterpiece.
Take away
Learning music is an art that comes with a set of benefits which will ensure that every skill you acquire in a particular genre will help you learn another and get the hang of it swiftly.
Take professional help from The Young Musician Music Institute to upgrade your music skills and find out which genre fits you well. Remember that it’s only a matter of choosing when and where to begin!
