Genre's of music

Ballad- generic term for usually slow, romantic, despairing and catastrophic songs A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many ballads were written and sold as single sheet broadsides. The form was often used by poets and composers from the 18th century onwards to produce lyrical ballads. In the later 19th century it took on the meaning of a slow form of popular love song and the term is now often used as synonymous with any love song, particularly the pop or rock power ballad.



The Beatles -The Ballad of John and Yoko, Became the seventeenth and final UK number one single for The Beatles. The song is a ballad in the traditional sense of a narrative poem in a song.


Video Analysis
The Wicked Game music video by Chris Isaak is typical of the satirical way ballad music videos are portrayed. The focus the relation between a male and female is constant to the form and conventions of this genre of music videos.
These aspects are emphasized by the romantic, erotic ways the pair are presented in the video by wearing revealing clothing and showing symbols typical of romantic scenes such as the moving clouds. The close ups on the pair and blowing of the females hair in the wind emphasizes the romantic aspect of the video.

Acoustic Music- A music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means.

Blues- African-American music from the Mississippi Delta area. Originated in African-American communities of primarily the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll, is characterized by specific chord progressions, of which the twelve-bar blues chord progression is the most common. The blue notes that, for expressive purposes are sung or played flattened or gradually bent (minor 3rd to major 3rd) in relation to the pitch of the major scale, are also an important part of the sound.

The blues genre is based on the blues form but possesses other characteristics such as specific lyrics, bass lines and instruments. Blues can be subdivided into several subgenres ranging from country to urban blues that were more or less popular during different periods of the 20th century. Best known are the Delta, Piedmont, Jump and Chicago blues styles. World War II marked the transition from acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called blues-rock evolved.



"St. Louis Blues" is an American popular song composed by W. C. Handy in the blues style. It remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians' repertoire. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song. It has been performed by numerous musicians of all styles from Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith to Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, and the Boston Pops Orchestra

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd, respectively in character as lead vocalist "Joliet" Jake Blues and harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues, fronted the band, which was composed of well-known and respected musicians. The band made its debut as the musical guest on the April 22, 1978, episode of Saturday Night Live.

Blues-rock- a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles.



The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their number one signature song "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", the band balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm and blues-oriented album material.

Rock and Alternative Rock- Rock music came around in the 1960’s, it evolved as a subset of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, classical and folk music, these have been around since the 1940’s. Primary focus in rock music is on the electric guitar and the many solos that can be created with it. Also the bass guitar and drums are highly in focus. The popularity of Rock music had led to combination of rock with various other genres.

Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock,comprising Simon Neil (guitar, lead vocals), James Johnston (bass, vocals) and Ben Johnston (drums, vocals). After their first three albums, the band expanded their following significantly with the release of their fourth, Puzzle in 2007. The album went gold in the UK, selling over 100,000 units.



Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen's earliest works were heavily influenced by progressive rock; in the mid-1970s, the band ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works, bringing them greater commercial success. It also became something of a trademark to incorporate more diverse and innovative styles in their music, exploring the likes of vaudeville, gospel music, electronic music and funk.

Video Analysis
Instead of focussing directly on the two videos which I am analyzing [Queen – We Will Rock You and Foo Fighters – The Pretender], I have researched the forms and conventions of rock videos in general in order to ascertain a clearer understanding of what factors remain constants in the majority of rock videos. I believe this gave me a greater understanding of how the genre is visually represented, in other words discovering the ‘norm’ of rock videos. From this research I found the majority of rock videos, unlike many other musical genres, took a largely simplistic form and convention. The majority of rock videos I researched showed the band playing the song in an unusual setting, this theory is reflected by the two rock videos I have analyzed with the band playing in some kind of warehouse in The Foo Fighters video and the band playing in a snowy forest setting in The Beatles video. There are many similarities in the form and convention between the two videos I have analyzed and other rock videos, one of the most obvious examples of this is the changing of camera angles to compliment the beat and rhythm of the song. The Beatles video has relatively slow camera angle changes which are determined by the clearly defined beat of the song, in contrast The Foo Fighters video has quicker switches in camera angle in order to visually reflect the more energetic nature of the song. Furthermore the two videos reflect the changes in rock videos over time, particularly focussing on the beat or ‘drop’ of the song. The Beatles video simply focuses on the rhythmic stamping feet or clapping hands of the various band members in order to visually emphasize the beat. In comparison, the Foo Fighters video shows a more modern and elaborate approach, using special effects to emphasize the ‘drop’ in the song by the window smashing and red spray bursting out in timing to the sudden climax of the song, this is very common in more modern rock music videos.




Hip Hop Music and Rap Music- The primary focus here is on beatboxing and DJ scratching. Rap music is another subset of this genre, and it revolves around the artist rapping to a fixed beat. Though this genre evolved in the ghettos of the United States, today it has spread to mainstream culture all around the world, and has become a multi million dollar industry. This genre of hip hop songs started involving more and more people during the 1970s

Kanye West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer.His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music. In total, three separate music videos were made for "Jesus Walks," with the second and third financed by West himself out-of-pocket. All three were premiered on June 21, 2004 at Tribeca Cinemas, where West explained, "That song evokes so much emotion, and four minutes of imagery limits the ideas that you're supposed to give for the songs, so I had to do three."Kanye had originally wanted Hype Williams to direct the first version of "Jesus Walks" but decided not to because he had heard that Jay-Z was thinking about enlisting Williams for "99 Problems." Instead, West went with Michael Haussman for the music video, which was filmed in California and budgeted at $650,000. In the video, West is portrayed as a preacher rapping before a congregation from a pulpit while angels guide a prostitute, an alcoholic, and a drug dealer to his Baptist church.

Pop Music- Pop is the largest selling genre today. It signifies any music that is commercially produced, with the sole intention of selling more records and reaching as many people as it can. It is also widely assumed that pop music is targeted at teenagers and the youth in particular. Though many people associate pop music with the genre of rock, this is an inaccurate assessment. The use of various electronic devices is also widespread in this genre, but this is a very different genre, vis-a-vis trance, which also heavily utilizes electronic sounds.



"Firework" is a song by American recording artist Katy Perry. The song was written by Katy Perry, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Sandy Wilhelm, Ester Dean, and produced by Stargate and Sandy Vee for Perry's second studio album, Teenage Dream (2010). The song is a self-empowerment anthem with inspirational lyrics, and was considered by Perry as the most important song for her on Teenage Dream. The video is part of a huge cross-promotional deal with European telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom. Deutsche Telekom hosted a series of activities and competitions from which fans around Europe will be recruited to be in the video. MTV reported that Perry started filming the video on September 28, 2010. The video was directed by Dave Meyers and shot in Budapest. The official teaser trailer of the music video was released on October 15, 2010. An open casting call for the music video drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants.] The video was released on TwitVid, DirectLyrics and Youku on October 28, 2010. It premiered on October 28, 2010 on Vevo YouTube, with a current view-count of more than 150 million.



Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. also known by his stage name B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer and record producer. He is currently signed under the labels of Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records. His debut single "Nothin' on You" reached number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. "Airplanes," B.o.B's second single, emulated this success, peaking at number one and number two in the U.K. and the U.S., respectively. His third single, "Magic," became B.o.B's third consecutive top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. A music video has already been shot with Williams.B.o.B shot his scenes for the video in April, but Williams was only able to shoot her parts after the end of Paramore's spring tour, so they were never in the same room during filming.The music video, directed by Hiro Murai, premièred on iTunes on Tuesday June 15, 2010. The video features several frames of B.o.B rapping his verses in a party setting, on stage, and a room filled with lights and occasional song lyrics while Hayley Williams sings the hook in a light filled room and walking through photographs.

Jazz Music- This is a genre that evolved in the early 20th century, and its early artists were all African Americans. It has also led to the birth of many different types of music genres in its time, but jazz music is primarily associated with the use of blues music notes, the saxophone and the massive double bass guitar instrument. The boundaries and the scope of jazz is something that has led to various debates in the music community, and the fact is that no one has yet settled for an accurate description of this genre.

Led to the following genre's;
-Latin music Classical music/ Choir Music
-Instrumental music
-Opera music
-Reggae music

Louis Daniel Armstrong was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics. "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as George Douglas) and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968.