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What is pop music? (definition)

The accurate concept of popular music should be commercial music, that is, music created with the main purpose of making profit.

Its marketability is primary and artistic quality is secondary. The concept of "commercial music" is more scientific, reasonable and accurate than any other concept. Literally speaking, "popular" means easy to understand and understand, and "popular" means widely circulated. It seems that songs such as "March of the Volunteers", "Singing the Motherland", "The East Is Red" and "Nanniwan" can also be used. Called pop songs or pop songs.

Although these songs are easy to understand and widely circulated. However, these songs can never be called commercial songs because they are never created with the main purpose of making profit. From this point we can also see that the concept of "commercial music" is scientific, reasonable and accurate.

Extended information:

Pop music has the following characteristics:

1. Popularity

This is the basic attribute of pop music. Compared with elegant music, the lyrics of pop music are quite easy to understand and there are no obstacles to understanding. This is a necessary condition for pop music to become popular. On the contrary, if the meaning of the lyrics is obscure and censorious, then it will be difficult for the music to be widely circulated among the masses with relatively low cultural level.

From the perspective of professional singing, pop music has a narrow range and is most suitable for ordinary audiences without specialized vocal training, which in turn contributes to the popularity of "pop music". The reason why pop music is popular largely lies in the fact that it has truly entered people's hearts. The easy-to-understand music content and closeness to people's lives are another important reason for the popularity of pop music.

Many works of pop music express one’s true feelings. What people feel in music is like the atmosphere around them, and what they hear is like their own inner voice, thus arousing a wide range of emotions** *Ming. Pop music expresses real life and living conditions. In a sense, pop music turns art into life and at the same time makes life into art.

2. Popularity

It can be said that "popularity" is one of the most critical inherent characteristics of pop music, and it is also the social foundation of pop music.

At present, China's economy is developing rapidly, and the social form is making great strides from an agricultural society to an industrial society and an information society. The construction of spiritual civilization is also placed in an important position. People spend more time after dinner and leisure and entertainment. He often hangs out in karaoke studios, dance halls, coffee shops, bars and other entertainment venues. The most popular music he interacts with is pop music.

Because the popularity of some of its music styles allows people to participate in this cultural form, the self-entertainment of pop music has become a good medicine for people to relax their body and mind, providing music lovers with A stage for self-expression. Therefore, it has become an indispensable part of most people's cultural life.

3. Fashionability

Since pop music can adapt to the pace of development of the times and is closely connected with the most fashionable and popular materials, then "fashionability" can also be said to be popular. Music has a unique aesthetic feature.

As we all know, the bands formed during the classical music period have basically remained unchanged for hundreds of years, from their instruments to their arrangements. The performance format and environment formed during this period have still remained intact. Pop music, on the other hand, constantly embellishes itself with the pursuit of fashion and the latest technological audio and video effects.

For example: electroacoustic instruments (electric guitar, electric bass, etc.), effectors, synthesizers, and MIDI production equipment, etc.

The infusion of these "new elements" has led to unprecedented improvements in the creation, production, performance and other concepts of pop music. In addition, "fashionability" is more reflected in the creative concept of pop music. Many musicians are making articles around "fashionability", the purpose of which is to reflect the development of the social era and the progress of human thought.

4. Novelty

Novelty is a prominent feature of all popular things, and curiosity is a characteristic of human psychology. As a kind of commercial entertainment music mainly aimed at satisfying consumption, pop music must be "based on a basis that conforms to a certain representative social psychology and can be generally accepted by the public.

"Popular music is based on this foundation, so it will inevitably "cause this behavior of singing, playing, listening to a certain piece of music or using a certain style and its objects to expand within a certain social scope Spread and form varying degrees of social popularity and social group craze. "Novelty is the basis of popular music.

5. Entertainment

Popular music plays an increasingly important role in popular culture, especially the rise of song and dance halls, karaoke OKs, and "karaoke studios". Pop music has increasingly become a form of entertainment for the masses.

The content of popular music in popular music is easy to understand, and the themes are mostly taken from daily life. Most of them express love themes. Most of the subjects who accept and consume them are ordinary people or subculture groups. Mainly, it emphasizes its own entertainment and recreation. Its popularity determines that it has a mass base.

People can actively participate in the performance, which increases the space for movement and fun, and allows people to relax and enjoy it.

Therefore, popular music pays more attention to and emphasizes its own entertainment and entertainment. "Entertainment" is an important feature and function of popular music.

6. Commerciality

The communication carrier of popular music is mainly various types of audio tape records as mass cultural consumer goods. In the market economy, due to the challenges faced by producers It is a huge commodity market, and they will inevitably take making profits as their ultimate goal.

With the help of modern technology, fashionable packaging, convenient media and other means, pop music has achieved industrialized mass production and established a complete set of commercial operation mechanisms to achieve its economic benefits.

7. Rapid replacement

Since pop music is commercial, like other commodities, it is one of the main forms of mass cultural consumption commodities, so there must be a large number of The characteristics of batch production and the rapid introduction of new products are to meet the constantly updated needs of consumers for cultural consumption.

A few decades ago, the music of the post-60s and post-70s generations was called pop music. However, with the continuous changes in popular cultural needs, the change cycle of pop music has become shorter and shorter. It has been replaced by more fashionable and novel 21st century (post-80s music, and even post-90s) forms.

8. Participatory

Some styles of pop music are popular music, with melodies that are easy to remember and sing. When singing, you can satisfy your own emotional catharsis and create a sense of self-intoxication, thus Gain a sense of creative satisfaction. This greatly enhances the participation of popular music.

9. Improvisation

Improvisation means that during the performance of pop music, some creative things are often improvised according to the situation on the spot, whether it is language, Movement, variations in melody, etc.

Improvisation is a one-time point in time that cannot be reproduced. It is the most anticipated and creative thing in pop music. Improvisation is often a spark based on the performer's excellent musical sense and good musical skills.

10. Communication technology

Popular music uses mass media (mechanical media and electronic media) as a means and operates according to the laws of the commodity market. It can be said that it is a social city A product of globalization, it takes ordinary urban citizens as its main audience or producers.

The advancement of science and technology has caused great changes in the means of disseminating popular music, from tapes, records, CDs, and radio without images at first to TV, karaoke, VCD, DVD, and MTV with images, and then to portable mp3, mp4, smart phones, tablets and other high-tech inventions. The emergence of these technological products has greatly satisfied the widespread "popularity" of pop music.

The emergence of MIDI, multi-track recording technology and electronic sound synthesis technology has greatly improved the effects of pop music production and the richness of sound performance. Therefore, the expansion of the popularity of pop music is inseparable from these modern technological communication methods.

Music has gradually developed from a folk self-entertainment activity to a salon art for princes and nobles, and has gradually developed into a mass commodity cultural communication industry. The most critical factor is also the development of communication technology.

Baidu Encyclopedia—Popular Music