How do you describe types of music?
 

I can identify different types of music, when I hear them. I can tell when I hear disco vs reggae, classical vs blue grass. But how do you tell someone "I can tell it's reggae because..."? I don't read music, play an instrument, or know music theory (obviously). Any insights?

I can tell it's reggae because there is a lazy and usually slow beat on 2 and 4, the guitar is played as a percussion instrument along with 2 or more actual percussion instruments, and the singer is a Marley or has a legitimate Jamaican accent.

If the singer does not have a Jamaican accent, it's modern ska.

If the beat is 2-4 but not lazy, enforced at 120 beats per minute plus or minus 5, and incredibly rigid and heavily reinforced, it's disco.

Pick a band that describes the general universe of the movement and try to fit the unlabeled band into that sound.

Add: I keep thinking what Flint will say. In reggae, the snare drum is thin and metallic sounding... probably because it's thin and made of metal. It sounds more like a percussion instrument than a thick, wooden sounding rock snare drum, which sounds more meaty and resonant, like firing big guns.

I also think that in reggae, the meat of the song is produced by cheap keyboards and women backup singers.

as a guitarist, reggae highlights the upstroke across the strings instead of the down. if you listen to The Police, you can hear this.

My wife is predisposed against country music. A song will come on and she'll say, See this is what I don't like about country music. And I'll say, That's not country music, that's the Allman Brothers (or CCR, Lynyrd Skynyrd, etc.).

Country music uses more Major scales and chords. the notes sound 'brighter'

blues is primarily Minor, so the sound a bit down or mournful.

I think that traditionally genres were identified by both the instruments and method and style of playing the instruements that defines the genre. We are also including vocals in the instrument category.
Ok now lets talk about experimental reggae. Ok let's not.

The closest I've come to describing reggae is that the drum rythm is on beats 1 & 3, and the guitar rythm is on beats 2 & 4. Or something. Is that what I'm hearing you describe as the "upstroke"?

When I discuss music with musicians, this always runs through my mind

How do you describe "rock".

Which type of rock?

igneous

I like sedimentary rock myself.

igneous work for me

I like Indigenous but aren't they more blues? ;)

I describe types of music sometimes by reference other types of music, and then saying why type of music X is or is not like type of music Y.

It can get quite involved, and sometimes involves broad hand gestures.

I generally describe music badly.

WWFS?
 

Flint would say "Reggae is backwards" ...
My "Reggae" imitation is to play the bass drum where I think the snare should go. And to NOT accent "one" ... (the one drop) ...

And yes, the snare is more like a timbale. I'm not going to crank my heads (more than usual), but everything becomes a RIMshot.

I think all music should be compared in terms to Black Sabbath.

Classical: This is similar to Black Sabbath in that it can be operatic and intense, but doesn't involve loud distorted guitar.

Jazz: Black Sabbath's drummer drums in a jazz style, but jazz isn't as gloomy or apocalyptic as Sabbath.

Etc.

Ouch.

I'm wearing a Skynyrd shirt today. On the back, it says "support southern rock".

Some chinese girl asked me today what southern rock was. I was at a loss. I tried to explain in terms of allman brothers, skynyrd, etc - drew a blank. described blues influence, musicianship, lots of guitars... drew a blank.

How would you describe southern rock?

Yeah, me too!!

I ought to be able to give a better answer considering that I got a BA in music history and went to grad school for a couple years in music history.

But the bottom line is, music is made up of patterns--different kinds of patterns depending on the kind of music, but still patterns. People who write music put the patterns together in particular ways. If they're hacks, then they're generally copying what other people have done. If they're good, they'll take existing patterns and add something new and different of their own or, in some cases, create completely new patterns.

So if you listen to enough music by a particular person, you get used to those patterns. And even though you may not be able to sit down and diagram it, you think, "Oh, that sounds like the Beatles" or "that sounds like Mozart." It all fits together--what's different depends on what you're comparing. If you're comparing Louis Armstrong and Mozart, it's enough to hear the different instruments. If you're comparing Mozart and Haydn, or Armstrong and Duke Ellington, that's different--they may be using exactly the same instruments and you have to consider other factors like the use of harmony, rhythm, etc.

It's extremely difficult to answer in general, without reference to specific pieces of music.

Equal parts rock, country, blues, alcohol and pot. :)

Don't forget a healthy dose of "the needle and the spoon and a trip to moon."

I don't. I just listen to what I like.

Could the same be said about ska? Perhaps it is the "incredibly rigid and heavily reinforced" part that negates ska from that distinction. I always think of ska as a fast version of reggae (even though, technically, I believe it came before reggae in Jamaica.)

Ya, disco starts with a bass beat, right ON the beat. (See f's discussion of syncopation.) And it's funny, you know, before sequencers were used to put things firmly on the beat with unnatural precision, disco attempted to do that through careful recording. The result was that people felt it was too simple.

Can anyone tell me who the artist or artists are in a video clip?
 

Hello all! I have been trying to find out who the band is that plays the background music in a video clip from a leadership video series I once attended. I tried the company fiirst, but they had no records and the trail went cold. I am not even sure how to describe the style or Genre of music it is. But it is great music and I would very much like to find out who they are. I can email the clip to anyone who is interested in helping me out here.
Thanks in advance!
Ben Smith:D

99.9% of the time that sort of music is purchased as part of a set of royalty-free music clips. A "leadership video series" will almost never have the money to license unique songs (and if they had, you can bet they'd keep a record of that kind of investment.) You can find hours and hours of generic feel-good background music, just do a search for "royalty free music."

I'm with Drax. I don't think it matters how you describe or label music, as long as you enjoy it. Like people.

"Come back to my place and I'll play some examples for you "

Duhhhhhh!

:welcome:
Welcome Ben Smith!
I wouldn't have a clue, but good luck.

When I'm now asked what music I like (less so recently, no-one has tried to chat me up) I say Middle of the Road. I'm tired of my paramours making fun of the music I like so I might as well get it out of the way at the beginning. It's music-snobbery in my opinion. I'd never chat someone up and then start belittling their taste in literature!

I can't describe music - I find it very hard to put it into categories. As to what sort of music I like - I've just downloaded onto my new mp3 player some Beethoven early piano sonatas, gypsy music from Spain to India, a fabulous acapella vocal group, some Lithuanian songs and dances, Handel's water and fireworks music, some Soviet film music and Yoyo ma's The Silk Road ...

I don't. Here's my simple musical philosophy: If I sounds good to me, I'll listen to it, whether it's the easiest listening classical opus :angel:, or the most brutal death metal. :devil:

I always am intimidated and confused by the arbitrary categories music stores display. How am I supposed to know whether a particular piece of music is in Rock, Alternative, or Metal?

But I'm not a "music person." I never know names of songs, performers, albums, lyrics--anything like that.

And that's,,, ok. :)

ask me about history, or literature or something and I rock. Just don't ask me the name of a particular song or group.

Let's say you play some death metal for a friend. The friend says that he really likes it, and asks what kind of music it is. You tell him that it's death metal. Your friend asks you how he can tell whether something is death metal, because he wants to buy some for himself. How do you respond?

If he asks me what the band's name is, I'll tell him to look for that. It's really not easy for me to tell the difference between some genres of music, so I usually don't bother.