BTEC Music Component 1: Exploring Music Products and Styles Learning aim A: Develop appreciation of styles and genres of music

A Guide to Music Genres

A1 (Genres): Baroque Music (1600-1750) A1 (Genres): The Blues (1800’s -2000’s)Melancholic music of black A style of music that prevailed during the period from about 1600 American folk origin, typically in a twelve-bar sequence. It developed to about 1750, known for its grandiose, dramatic, and energetic in the rural southern US towards from slavery in the 19th century. spirit but also for its stylistic diversity. A2 (Development of music/icons) A2 (Development of music/icons) BB King: 1925 – 2015. Riley B. King, known professionally as B.B. Johann Pachelbel: 1653 – 1706. A German Composer famous for King, was an American blues singer, electric guitarist, songwriter, and Pachelbel’s Canon. record producer.

Johann Bach: 1685 – 1750. A German composer who composed Robert Johnson: 1911 – 1938. Robert Leroy Johnson was an The Fugue and was regarded as a musical genius. American blues singer, songwriter and musician. Famously though to have sold his soul to the devil to get good at guitar. A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) Ground Bass – A repeating bass pattern which is used a harmony A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) as melodies develop over the top. 12 Bar Blues – A 12 bar pattern using chords 1, 4 and 5. Generally 4 beats in a bar which uses a swung rhythm.

Canon – Starting the same piece of music on a new instrument a number a beats after it has already started. Creates harmony by combining melodies.

Improvisation – The art of making up music on the spot. Usually done to a specific scale or set of notes.

A1 (Genres): Horror Movie Music (1980’s) A1 (Genres): Indian Raga (1900’s) Horror movie soundtracks – or any soundtrack for that matter – Indian musicians learn to play raga (patterns of notes) by imitating can make or break a film. With creepy synths, gothic rock, bone- and memorising. Most Indian classical music is based on a chilling piano motifs, dramatic swathes of synths and tense combination of rag (melodic form), tal (rhythmic form) and drone ostinatos, the 80’s was prime for horror soundtracks. (sustained note).

A2 (Development of music/icons) A2 (Development of music/icons) John Carpenter: John Howard Carpenter is an American Ravi Shankar: 1920-2012 Ravi Shankar, his name often preceded by filmmaker, screenwriter and composer who has worked with the title Pandit and "Sitar maestro", was a Bengali Indian musician various movie genres and is associated most commonly with and a composer of Hindustani classical music. horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) Raga – Ragas are patterns of notes but are different to a Western Ostinato– A repeated pattern of notes which creates fear and scale or melody. Each raga has a particular ascending and tension. Can be developed by adding multiple ostinatos together. descending pattern is associated with a different time of the day, season, mood or special occasion.

Long slow notes– Long slow notes are used to create fear and rising tensions as they slowly build and indicate that something Drone – A long held note or sequence of notes usually played by a bad is about to happen. Tambura which creates a special type of harmony used in raga.

Tal – A rhythmical pattern, usually irregular, played on a table and quite often improvised.

A1 (Genres): R & B, Soul and Motown (2000’s) A1 (Genres): Singer/Songwriter (2010’s) R&B is a genre of popular music that originated in African Singer/songwriters are musicians who write, compose, and perform American communities in the 1940s. Starting in the mid-1950s, their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. after this style of music contributed to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" became used to refer to music styles that A2 (Development of music/icons) incorporated blues, soul and Motown. Ed Sheeran: Edward Christopher Sheeran, MBE is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actor. He attended the A2 (Development of music/icons) Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. 1942 - 2018: Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. She : Adele Laurie Blue Adkins MBE is an English singer-songwriter. sang very famous Motown songs such as “RESPECT” and “Say a After graduating from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a Little Prayer”. recording contract with XL Recordings.

Gnarls Barkley: is an American soul duo, A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Hook: A hook is a repeated section of catchy lyrical music which Danger Mouse. draws the listener in. Eg. Crazy in Love – Beyonce. Riff: A riff is a repeated pattern of music. It can be played on A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) numerous different instruments including guitar, bass and piano. Soulful lyrics and melodies: Rhythm and Blues, emotional lyrics, a soulful rhythmic melody usually paired with a silky soulful voice. Melisma: A singing style where the singer sings lots of notes for just one lyric.

A1 (Genres): Minimalism (1970’s) A1 (Genres): Reggae (1960’s) Minimal music is a form of art music that employs limited or Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late minimal musical materials. It utilises techniques such as layering 1960s. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the and phase shifting to make simple “cells” into complicated bass and drum downbeat, and the offbeat rhythm section. sounding pieces of music. A2 (Development of music/icons) A2 (Development of music/icons) Bob Marley: 1945 – 1981. Robert Nesta Marley, OM was a Jamaican Steve Reich: Is an American composer who, pioneered minimal singer and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's style of composition musical career was marked by blending elements of reggae, ska, and influenced many composers and groups. rocksteady, as well as forging a smooth and distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Terry Riley: Influenced by both jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for its innovative use of repetition, tape A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) music techniques, and delay systems. The Skank: The skank or bang, is a guitar strumming technique that is used mostly in the performance of ska, rocksteady, and reggae A3 (Stylistic features and characteristics) music. "Reggae is most easily recognized by...the skank. The skank Phase Shifting: The art of playing the same piece of music on 2 serve as a rhythmic base to a song, and may be doubled by the drums. different instruments (or more) but adding a rest to one so the This style of playing has a dance associated with it, the skank. In music goes out of sync and then comes back again. reggae, the guitar usually plays a short, percussive, "scratchy chop sound [chord]," on beats 2 and 4 (1 2 3 4), often supported by staccato piano (late 1960s to the early 1980s) or synthesizer.

Motifs: Small “cells” of diatonic (sounds good to the ear) music which can be played in any order (in C) to create complex harmonies on many instruments.

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