Explanation of music style - -

ACAPPELLAACAPPELLA refers to songs without instrumental accompaniment. Any song sung purely with human voice is ACAPPELLA. However, when we say ACAPPELLA today, it usually refers to how heavy it is. It's a singing style where even the instrumental accompaniment is sung by the human voice. The opposite of ACAPPELLA is INSTRUMENTAL, which is pure music. Any type of song can be sung in the form of ACAPPELLA. The ACAPPELLA song that Hong Kong people are most familiar with is "SO MUCH IN LOVE", and the Hong Kong ACAPPELLA band includes Ji Shengmas and others.

AMBIENT sounds gentle, but in fact it is constantly making changes, such as long-term sound effects, or progressive music arrangements, etc., which often create a layered sense of space, so it is called It is "situational music" and often samples the sounds around us, such as human voices, car sounds, and even the melodies of other music... etc. It was created by Brian Eno in the 1970s and is a very " "Advanced" electronic music. Later, Ambient also had branches, such as Ambient House, Ambient Techno... and so on. I believe everyone can understand it literally. In fact, there are shadows of Ambient in many kinds of music, even in some classical music. It also has the flavor of Ambient.

Ambient is a music theory proposed by Brian Eno in the 1970s. Before Mr. Eno proposed this music theory, he was the keyboard player of a rock band. One day in 1975, he had a car accident and his leg was broken. He was lying in the hospital. Not far from his hospital bed was an old record player. The record player was in bad condition, and it was raining that day, so the music that reached my ears became indistinct, and it was difficult to distinguish one note from another. Listening in a daze, Eno found that the music that merged with the sound of rain became particularly special. The music seems to be surrounding you, and you can feel its "atmosphere". The music seems not to change much, but in fact it is constantly changing, just very subtle, and it takes a long time to hear it. The hazy music performance has a sense of space. Ambient's meaning of "environment" (or situation) is the representative of these characteristics. After Eno was discharged from the hospital, he started making music based on these concepts, which also produced Ambient's prototype representative album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports.

Ambient music can exist in a way that people cannot feel, a bit like "background music". Sometimes when the music is playing, you will be surprised and say, "Why has it finished playing?" Long-term subtle changes are the most obvious feature of Ambient. The deep sense of space and layering are created by Ambient. It is not surprising that sometimes an Ambient song can last more than ten minutes. Since it is ambient music, samples of various sounds around you often appear in Ambient. Sampling human voices and other music is no longer unusual. Ambient is more likely to include the sound of airplanes, telephones, water, music mixed with noise from the radio... you name it.

But was Brian Eno the first to think of the concept of Ambient? This is not it anymore. Musician John Cage, who was active in the 1950s and 1960s and had a great influence on modern and experimental music, had already had this concept, but he didn't call it ambient. John Cage's famous work: 4'33" expresses this concept. John Cage asked his long-term pianist David Tudor to "perform" this "piece". He asked David Tudor to bring a clock to the stage and then sit Staring at the clock in front of the piano, but not playing anything, and waiting until four minutes and thirty-three seconds passed before leaving the stage, naturally caused an uneasy atmosphere in the audience, and the audience began to make a lot of noise, including whispering. , fidgeting, waiting for the rustling sound.

John Cage wants everyone to feel this "immersive" feeling and the various sounds in the environment. This move can be called a pioneering work in the music industry.

Ambient PopAmbient Pop combines two different music styles: tranquility and upbeat. Ambient pop has a style derived from ordinary traditional pop music. It is an electronic music structure and background atmosphere that reflects the silence of the outside world and a meditative atmosphere. Ambient pop is a typical representative music without harsh notes. The intoxicating rhythms of German rock are greatly influenced by ambient pop, and even have a hypnotic effect. Essentially, it's an extension of dream pop's awakening in the shoegazer movement. Although most still use original instruments, they interpret the music by absorbing electronic music, including sample works.

Alternative DanceAlternative Dance (Alternative Dance) is an alternative, independent rock style that combines underground melodic music structures with electronic music structures, synthesizer samples and post-DISCO dance music. Over the years, as many popular alternative artists experimented with dance music or electronic music, alternative dance music has developed greatly and become an indispensable musical component of bar culture. Although alternative dance music seems unable to replace club dance music, it has become an important form on the periphery of this culture due to its popular accessibility and easy integration with other music. This characteristic allows more people to participate in alternative dance music to resist the standard fixed style of dance music. As a result, the performer becomes closer to other music that has a specific pattern structure and special musical elements. Many alternative dance music artists came from the UK and became very prominent in the underground music culture of British pubs and raves, creating an atmosphere conducive to more musical and artistic experimentation. New Order was the first alternative dance music group. In their 1982-83 recordings, this style of combining cold and gloomy post-punk with Kraftwerk's electronic pop appeared. Relative to alternative music, alternative dance music is the genre most influenced by electronic pop, acid house music and trip-hop. These forms have produced corresponding alternative dance music artists and had an impact in Manchester, England in the late 1980s. , an artist with roots in indie and trip-hop until the 90s.

Adult Alternative adult alternative music has a large audience, and those who are willing to accept that it is different from mainstream music, but the gap is not too far away, are often its followers. It’s hard to tell whether it’s the radio model of the new adult era that created adult alternative, or whether adult alternative itself exists just for the airwaves. The style of adult alternative is: whether it is acoustic, electronic, or a synthesis of electronic and acoustic, it is deeply influenced by the mixed components of pop, rock and jazz. (Although the main expression of adult alternative is instrumental, many albums use some soft sounds to express it). When it comes to making their music easily accessible to listeners, top artists always have a special talent for the way they perceive melody, the way they use instruments, and the persistence of rhythm. It has its flaws, though. Adult alternative sometimes sounds like outdated pop music without lyrics. Related artists: Yanni, Enya, etc.

BOSSA NOVA BOSSA NOVA is a Brazilian music with a JAZZ flavor. In the 1950s, the composer ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM mixed the rhythm of Brazilian music with COOL JAZZ from the West Coast of the United States. It is soft, comfortable, relaxed, lazy, and romantic. feature. The 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th, and 14th beats of every two BARs are retakes.

The pure singing voice of singer JOAO GILBERTO is an excellent partner of JOBIM music. It became very popular after being introduced to the United States in the mid-1950s. Other famous BOSSA NOVA musicians include CHARLIE BYRD, STAN GETZ and ASTRUD GILBERTO. The most famous song is " THE GIRLFROM IPANEMA". OSSA NOVA was most popular in the 1960s, and has continued to have fans in the rest of the years.

Break beat is not as regular as House's Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom beat, but is presented in broken beats, such as syncopated beats. For example, adding small broken drums in two beats, etc. , Breakbeat is just a general term, there are many kinds of music that belong to Breakbeat, such as the following Brit-Hop, Big-Beat, and black Hip-Hop.

Brit-Hop refers to black Hip-Hop The tempo of Hop is accelerated, the drums are aggravated, and with some electric guitar and bass, it has the flavor of rock music, such as the style of The Chemical Brothers.

Big-Beat "big beat" turns Brit-Hop into It's faster, the rhythm is heavier, and it has more of a rock flavor. It can be said to be an improved version of Brit-Hop, making it a more mature style. You can imagine what a heavy, broken, and a bit fast beat looks like. For example, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, and Fat Boy Slim are the "big corners" of Big Beat.

Big Beat is a music form that has emerged since around 1997. Its basic concept is to combine rock and electronic music. When combined, the performance-oriented rock music is produced in the form of electronic music and turned into a form of dance music. (However, there are also dance parties based on rock music outside.)

The most obvious feature of Big Beat should be its rhythm. The beat of Big Beat is in the direction of Hip-Hop, but it is emphasized and sped up a lot. The heavy and broken beats are sometimes more explosive than the powerful mechanical dance music of 4/4 beat like Techno. Therefore, Big Beat is not only popular among dance music fans, but also popular among rock fans.

In fact, as early as 1990 when The Prodigy band was established, they had the concept of combining rock and electronic music. But at that time, their music still had a heavy electronic component, and their use of rhythm and timbre might be closer to Techno. It wasn't until The Chemical Brothers' album Exit Planet Dust was released in 1995 that the rock part became clear. At that time, music critics called their music Brit-Hop. Obviously this word comes from Hip-Hop, and because The Chemical Brothers are a British group, they use the word "Brit". (Simplified British means "British".)

After The Prodigy's album The Fat Of The Land was released in 1997, everyone saw the power of the combination of rock and electronic music. Compared with the looseness of Exit Planet Dust, The Fat Of The Land's production is more mature, the rhythm becomes fatter, and the sound is close to industrial rock and more explosive. This album also performed very well on the pop music charts in the United Kingdom and the United States, indicating that most people recognized this kind of music. At this time, the word Big Beat officially emerged. However, this may mean that Big Beat is the "least electronic type" of electronic music. Although The Prodigy seems to be more powerful than The Chemical Brothers, it is definitely not an exaggeration to say that they are both representatives of electronic rock. The combination of electronics and rock also took six or seven years to mature.

And because Big Beat is actually rock music based on electronic music, some people call it "Techno-Punk".

Chill Out is just a general term. Next to the dance floor, there is often an area or a small room where some softer and calmer music is played to allow dancers to relax after dancing. , take a break and mainly play ambient music, so it is called "Chill Out" for this reason. The Orb can be said to be the master of Chill Out music.

There is often a small area in the dance hall. Play some relaxing music to calm down the dancers after the carnival, often playing ambient music. But Chill Out is just a general term, because it may also play other light music. Chill Out means "cooling down"

Drum'n'Bass For some people, Drum'n'Bass music may be annoying, because Drum'n'Bass pays great attention to rhythm. Playing tricks, and Bass performance, such as fast, complex breakbeats, and the use of various electronic drums or sampled drum sounds. Therefore, Drum'n'Bass is also a type of breakbeat. .4Hero is a well-known band of Drum'n'Bass.

Drum'n'Bass, which appeared around 1995, combined the Jazz style and was much softer. As the name suggests, Drum'n'Bass focuses on the performance of drums and bass. Drum sounds may be entirely electronically synthesized, or they may be sampled from real drum sounds. And its Bass sound is extremely loud, and sometimes the sound spreads. But Drum'n'Bass music may also use all drum sounds, and then use an effector to "flatten" the bass drum sound into a bass sound. This type of bass is quite oppressive and has a bit of impact, which is easy to hear with the ears. But there are also bands that sometimes use a real double bass to play the bass part, such as the British band 4 Hero.

Although Drum'n'Bass is an improvement on Jungle, the boundary between them is not very clear. If you hear that the beat of the song is fast and complex, or it is difficult to grasp its rhythm, it may be Jungle/Drum'n'Bass.

DubDub can be said to be Reggae (Reggae, also known as reggae, a South American black music with a very rhythmic and special singing style) that separates the singing and leaves only the music. Dub. When used in electronic music, part of the singing voice is extracted, the bass and drums are emphasized, and a large number of Echo (echo) and other effects are added. This technique is often used to remix songs during live performances. Presentation. For example, Massive Attack's album Protection was mixed by Mad Professor from Trip-Hop music into a Dub version.

Dub existed in the 1970s, and the word Dub has "dong dong beat" meaning. The music style closest to Dub should be Reggae. The most obvious characteristics of Raggae are its extremely rhythmic beats, accentuated bass, and occasional Jacobean rap.

As for the most original Dub, it is reggae music that removes the vocals, adds heavier beats and bass, and sometimes adds some echo effects. However, many Dubs now do not have reggae music. Tasty. Dub places great emphasis on the low frequency part, not only the bass sound, but also the drum sound will become heavier. When some DJs play music, even if they are not playing reggae music, they will use dub techniques to process the music to make the music more oppressive. Since Dub has some percussion implications, if used properly, it can create a strong exotic flavor.

DREAM-POPDREAM-POP is a kind of "dream" pop song. It has a blurred atmosphere, which is mainly caused by SYNTHESIZERS (electronic synthesizers). The electric guitar with ECHO effect is also important. The composition, the singing part is often very 'BREATHY', that is, the sound of breathing is heavy, and the lyrics are often dream-like and poetic. Representative bands include COCTEAU WINS, LISA GERMANO, ST.ETIENNE, THIS MORTAL COIL, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, MAZZY STAR and DEAD CAN DANCE, etc.

EuroDanceEuroDance is European dance music, which is considered mainstream dance music by most Europeans. On the basis of DISCO, many new elements have been injected, such as HOUSE, RAP and smoother melodies. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, most dance music experts followed in his footsteps, and a large number of popular songs appeared. The speed of EURODANCE is generally between 120 and 130BPM. European dance music is considered mainstream dance music by most Europeans. On the basis of DISCO, many new elements have been injected, such as HOUSE, RAP and smoother melodies. From the 1980s to the early 1990s, most dance music experts followed in his footsteps, and a large number of popular songs appeared. The speed of EURODANCE is generally between 120 and 130BPM.

HOUSEHOUSE is a dance music developed from DISCO in the 1980s. This is music played by DJs in Chicago. They mixed a record by the German electronic band Kraftwerk with the regular rhythm of electronic drums (Drum Machine) and black blues singing, and House was born ~ generally translated as "house" "Dance music is the most basic form of electronic dance music, with a 4/4 rhythm, one drum per beat, and a simple melody, often with high-pitched female voices singing. After DISCO became popular, some DJs changed it and deliberately made DISCO It has become less commercial, the bass and drums have become deeper, and many times have become purely musical works. Even if there are singing parts, they are mostly short sentences sung by dancing female singers, often without clear lyrics. Gradually, some people added elements such as LATIN (Latin), REGGAE (Reggae in the West Indies), RAP (rap) or JAZZ (jazz). By the late 1980s, HOUSE broke out of the underground and became a popular music venue in Chicago and New York. and London pop chart darlings.

Why is it called "House"? It means that as long as you have simple recording equipment, you can make this kind of music at home~House is also the most easily accepted among electronic music. Cher sang Believe is a good example. M-People can be said to be the representative group of House. After House dance music became popular in 1986, it can be said to have replaced Disco music.

HOUSE classification:

Acid House

House music that combines the acid sound of TB-303

Deep House

It has a very strong soul singing style, also called Garage , quite popular. Like Real Mecoy, M-People, and La Bouche are all garage groups.

Epic House

It is the "epic" House. Epic House has a beautiful and smooth music The melody and majestic momentum rarely include vocals in it (almost none!). BT's music is great Epic House, and he is also known as the "Epic House Emperor". In fact, even Rock also has "Epic Rock" "

Hard House

To put it simply, it is a house with a heavier rhythm.

Progressive House

This type of house There is no soulful singing style, but more emphasis on melody and music arrangement. It is a bit like "performance" house music. For example, SASH!'s album It's My Life is a good Progressive House album.

Trible House

Imagine: What does a house with primitive African style or Indian drumming look like? This is Trible House~ In addition to the stable rhythm of a general house, this kind of house also has a different sound on each beat. In between, some fragmentary drum beats with original style will be added. It's quite interesting~

However, the scope of House is too broad, so you don't have to classify a song. These are just to tell you. , there are many kinds of houses."