Acknowledging Several Of The Terrific Genres Of Music That Have Formed Musical History Over The Last Century

[Shofner Sadie]

The following is a brief run-through on a few of the major music categories that have actually been so influential throughout the history of music.

There's something exceptionally distinct about the blues; if there ever was a seemingly effortless kind of musical catharsis, than maybe this is it. This is music that appears to delight in the face of misery-- times might be hard, hearts might be broken, but for now, enjoy this electric guitar solo. The redemptive element of the music is possibly what lies in its appeal, for at root, the blues comes from an emotionally desolate and sad place, where isolation and despair reside. The first delta blues tunes were played on simply one acoustic guitar, where famous blues guitar players would utilize the necks of beer bottles for a slide. From the 50s onwards, the blues went in an electric direction, and subsequently, rhythm ended up being increasingly more popular in its aesthetic. Without question, the blues has affected a lot of the contemporary forms of music prevalent today, from hip hop to heavy metal. Vincent Bollore is a music executive who deals with artists influenced by the blues, as does Clive Davis.

Folk music could be stated to be the blueprint of modern-day music, or at least an essential contributor to it. Going back centuries, folk music has its origins in troubadours and poetic ballads, before music was even being recorded. During the twentieth century, American folk music started to have a great influence on the development on numerous other genres. Folk singers would in some ways tell stories over music, frequently melodic butrelatively minimalist (in many cases, the music being just an acoustic guitar); themes would consist of love, hardship, crime, and the politics of the time. These more mature themes would work their way into the music of the 60s, where famous songwriters would incorporate folk aspects into their songs. Folk music itself has evolved into numerous sub-genres and influenced different styles across the musical landscape. Frank Briegmann is an excellent example of a music exec working with artists inspired by folk.

Jazz is not simply a musical genre, but in some aspects, a method to music itself. To 'jazz things up' or make a tune more 'jazzy' basically implies to implement a sense of improvisation and freedom implicit with jazz music. Difficult to concisely define due to the sheer degree of its evolution over the last one century or so, jazz music integrates swing and blues aspects to its aesthetic, but at its core is a letting go of rigorous conventions to time and musical signatures. It goes without saying, that jazz music itself does have structure, the very structure being a free virtuosity that comes about from countless of hours of practice and careful study. Bebop jazz is famous for its synthesis of control and chaos, with saxophones, drummers and pianists in some cases taking turns to personally explore a tune's structure and melody. Famous jazz legends from the fifties developed iconoclastic music that appeared to rip up the rulebook from the previous years, bringing in additional innovations to the form.