R&B

The full name of R&B is "Rhythm & Blues", which is generally translated as rhythm song. In a broad sense, R&B can be regarded as "black pop music". It originated from black Blues music and is the basis of today's pop and rock. Billboard magazine once defined R&B as all black music, except for Jazz and Blues. R&B, you can see how broad the scope of R&B is. Hip Hop and Rap, which are very popular in the black music circle, both originate from R&B and retain many R&B elements.

HOUSE

HOUSE 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 to create House. Generally translated as house dance music, it is the most basic form of electronic dance music, with a 4/4 rhythm, one drum beat per beat, and a simple melody, often with high-pitched female voices singing. After DISCO became popular, some DJs changed it , deliberately making DISCO less commercial, with the ASS and drums becoming deeper, and often turning into pure 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 Underground, becoming the darling of the pop charts in Chicago, New York and London.

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. Believe sung by Cher 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.

Britpop

Although Britpop has the word "Pop", it is actually a type of Rock. It originated from England in the 1990s. It can be translated as "British Rock" in Chinese. This is The British music scene is a response to the American Grunge trend, mainly in the form of bands. However, the Britpop style is actually very broad. For example, Oasis is a guitar rock band, Blur has a lot of pop, and Pulp is close to glam rook and dance styles, but they are all similar. Listed as Britpop

Trip-Hop

Trip-Hop is a type of British/European dance music. Its name comes from "Trip+Hip Hop=Trip-Hop, Because it originated in Bristol, England, it was first called Bristol Hip-Hop. Because of the Hip-Hop (in fact, a lot of music is based on Hip-Hop... If you don’t know what Hip-Hop is, go and see the hip-hop dancers. Most of them use Hip-Hop music to dance.) The tempo is slowed down (sometimes very slow), and some psychedelic flavor is added, such as a very gloomy, fat Bass, slight but psychedelic synthetic sound effects, or samples from some records. Sometimes even the noise of the record may be deliberately Take a sample. The so-called "trip" refers to the psychedelic and dense drug "journey". Therefore, trip-hop is a kind of slow psychedelic, jazz-like, hazy breakbeat music with a bit of Hip Hop rhythm. Although it belongs to the dance music category, its psychedelic and confusing characteristics have made it far away from the clear rhythm characteristics of ordinary dance music.

Gangsta Rap

Gangsta Rap is a type of Rap. The content of Rap is mostly related to urban crime and is full of violence and lustful feelings. This is a music trend that reflects reality. Gangsta Rap emerged in the United States in the late 1980s. The tough and sharp style of rap music was very popular in the United States, and its record sales were very high.

Many Gangsta Rap musicians themselves actually "participated" in various real-life crimes, and some were imprisoned or even died as a result. It can be said that it is a genre of music that truly reflects reality and is shocking.

Synth Pop

The Synth in Synth Pop is Synthesizer. As the name suggests, Synth Pop is "pop music produced by Sythesizers". Of course, in addition to Synthesizers, other electronics are also used. Musical instruments such as computers and drum machines, etc. Synth Pop became popular in the early 1980s, but fell silent in the mid-1980s. It also caused a wave of craze in Hong Kong that year. Synth Pop is characterized by a strong sense of technology, which can sometimes be quite cold. Most of its songs are "3-minutes Pop", and Synth Pop musicians often dress up in fashionable styles.

ORCHESTRA

ORCHESTRA is an orchestra, which is divided into four parts:

1. Strings, including violin, cello, etc.

2. Brass

3. Woodwind and

4. Percussion.

There are multiple people playing each instrument in the string section (except harp). The four groups of players are coordinated and led by one person, who is the conductor of the orchestra. ORCHESTRA emerged in the 17th century and was clearly modeled by the 18th century with the works of Haydn and Mozart. In the 19th century, new instruments were added and the number of orchestras increased. ORCHESTRA is the authentic version of Western classical/orthodox music. Western pop/rock music often uses some or all members of ORCHESTRA to assist in performances.

CHAMBER POP

CHAMBER POP refers to a kind of elegant, noble and refined pop music, which has a certain feeling of classical music. The word CHAMBER MUSIC comes from classical music, which is called chamber music in Chinese. It is a group string performance style with an elegant atmosphere. CHAMBER POP emerged in the 1990s as a reaction to LO-FI and GRUNGE at that time. It emphasized beautiful melodies, exquisite soundtracks, and clean recordings, often using strings and wind instruments to create the musical feel of the Baroque era. Representative foreign bands include THE DIVINE COMEDY, RIALTO, ERIC MATTHEWS and BALLE & SEBASTIAN, etc., while Hong Kong bands include Wong Yiu Ming, part of Peng Ling, part of MULTIPLEX, etc.

Folk songs (FOLK)

Folk songs (FOLK) originally refer to the traditional songs of each nation. The ancestors of each nation have their own songs that have existed since ancient times. Most of these songs do not know who the author is, but they are spread orally, from one person to another, from one generation to the next, and they have been passed down from generation to generation to this day. However, the folk songs (FOLK) we talk about today mostly refer to the folk songs (FOLK) of the pop music era. They refer to the kind of songs that mainly use acoustic guitar as the accompaniment instrument, sing in a natural and frank way, and sing people's simple life feelings. song. The records of American folk singer WOODY GUTHRIE in the 1950s can be said to be the earliest folk song recordings, so they are generally regarded as the ancestors of modern folk songs (FOLK). Afterwards, PETESEEGER and THE WEAVERS continued to promote this type of music. During the Vietnam War in the 1960s, anti-war folk singers such as BOBDYLAN, JOAN BAEZ, PETER, PAULAND MARY, etc. became the voice of the times. Later, folk songs developed towards POP, ROCK and urbanization. BOBDYLAN invented FOLKROCK, and SIMON&GARFUNKEL developed urban FOLK POP with middle-class taste, which became popular for a while. In the 1980s, SUZANNEVEGA, TRACYCHAPMAN, etc. + developed a more urban-feeling URBANFOLK (city)/CONTEMPORARY (contemporary) FOLK route. Folk songs (FOLK) have also developed different looks in music circles such as the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. The latest development of folk songs (FOLK) is the combination with NEWAGE (such as ENYA) and TRIPHOP (such as BETHORTON).

BOSSA NOVA

BOSSA NOVA is a kind of Brazilian music with a jazz flavor. In the 1950s, the composer ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM mixed the Brazilian music rhythm with the American West Coast COOL JAZZ. It is soft and comfortable. , relaxed, lazy and romantic are the characteristics. The 1st, 4th, 7th, 11th, and 14th beats of every two BARs are repeated beats. 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 BOSSANOVA musicians include CHARLIEBYRD, STANGETZ and ASTRUD GILBERTO. The most famous song is THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA. BOSSA NOVA was most popular in the 1960s, and has continued to have fans in other decades.

CLASSICAL POP

CLASSICAL POP refers to pop songs with a classical symphony flavor. Songs that mostly use string accompaniment can be included in this category, such as ELEANORRIGBY by THE BEATLES. Some works by the Australian band CROWDEDHOUSE can also be included in this category. If we say CLASSIC POP, it refers to classic pop songs.

ACAPPELLA

ACAPPELLA 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 songs with multiple choruses. This singing method, 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 SOMUCHINLOVE, and the Hong Kong ACAPPELLA band includes Ji Shengmas and others.

WORLD MUSIC

WORLD MUSIC is a term from a Western perspective, meaning non-British, American and Western folk/pop music, usually referring to the traditions of developing or backward areas. Music, such as music from Africa and South Asia, and music from some regions such as Latin America, is so popular that it forms its own genre. What everyone talks about today as WORLD MUSIC usually refers to improved traditional regional music that is mixed with Western music. Africa's KINGSUNNYADE, Eastern Europe's DONBYRON, China's Zhu Zheqin, Pakistan's NUSRATFATEHALIKAHN, etc. are WORLD MUSIC musicians that are more familiar to Western music fans.

DREAM-POP

DREAM-POP is a kind of "dream" pop song. It has a blurred atmosphere, which is mostly created by SYNTHESIZERS (electronic synthesizers), with the addition of ECHO. The electric guitar is also an important component. The singing parts are often very 'BREATHY', that is, heavy breathing, and the lyrics are often dreamlike and poetic. Representative bands include COCTEAUWINS, LISAGERMANO, ST.ETIENNE, THISMORTALCOIL, MYBLOODYVALENTINE, MAZZYSTAR and DEADCANDANCE, etc. Chinese singers are headed by Faye Wong, whose representative works include Lost, DI-DA, etc.

NEWAGE

NEWAGE is a kind of quiet, comfortable and leisure music. Pure music works account for a larger proportion, while singing works account for a smaller proportion. NEWAGE can be purely ACOUSTIC (that is, played with traditional self-sounding instruments), or it can be very electronic. The focus is to create a calm atmosphere of nature or a sense of the vastness of the universe, cleansing the listener's mind and making people feel calm. NEWAGE is often related to music therapy. A lot of NEWAGE music is said to be able to cure diseases, and a lot of it is related to meditation. This has a lot to do with NEWAGE's ideological trend and philosophy.

NEWAGE music is usually regarded as quite middle-class music. WIND HAMHILL is the most representative NEWAGE record company. NEWAGE representative musicians include ENYA, GEORGE WINSTON, WILLIAM ACKERMAN, YANNI, KITARO, etc.

Electrophonic Music

What is Electrophonic Music? With the evolution of the times, musicians have more ways to make music. The so-called electronic music is to make music with electronic sounds generated by electronic synthesizers, music software, computers, etc. Electronic music has a wide range and can often be found around our lives. Hear it, it is used in movie soundtracks, advertising soundtracks, and even some Mandarin pop songs, but electronic dance music is the most popular. Many people think that electronic music is a cold, emotionless music. In fact, electronic music can also be integrated into rock , Jazz and even Blues and other elements and full of emotion.

Techno

Technology means high-tech dance music! Computers and synthesizers are used to synthesize and create some special sound effects. This kind of music is often a combination of many sound effects. The beat of Techno is also 4/4, but the speed is faster than House, and it sounds repetitive, tough, and tough. Mechanization, so some people call Techno industrial noise, but some still focus on melody. Techno originated in Detroit, USA, with three DJs: Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins trying to combine electronic music with black music, resulting in Detroit Techno. Detroit Techno is usually gentler and not as strong as ordinary Techno. It can be said to be the origin of modern Techno.

Ambient

It doesn’t sound very ups and downs, but in fact it is constantly making changes, such as long-term sound effects, or progressive music arrangements, etc., which often creates a layered It has a sense of space, so it is called situational music, and it often samples the sounds around life, such as human voices, car sounds, and even the melodies of other music... etc. It was created by Brian Eno in the 1970s. A very profound electronic music. Later, Ambient also had branches, such as Ambient House, Ambient Techno, etc. I believe everyone can understand it literally. In fact, there are shadows of Ambient in many kinds of music, and even some classical music also has the flavor of Ambient.

Trance

Psychedelic dance music evolved from Techno. Listening to it will make you feel in a trance, but it still retains the rhythm of dance music and pays great attention to the performance of Bass. Some It has a hypnotic effect when you listen to it. The tempo is mainly 4/4, but breakbeat is also used (will be introduced below), such as SvenVath's album Fusion.

Psychedelic Trance

Also known as Goa Trance, it originated from a small island in India. Goa is the name of the island, and the melody often has an Indian flavor. The characteristic of this type of Trance is that it attaches great importance to melody, subtle changes between notes, and often has overlapping melodies, and the high-pitched TB-303 sound appears, which is a bit ambient.

Breakbeat

It is not as regular as House's Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom beat, but is presented in broken beats, like syncopated beats. For example, adding a small snare drum to two beats, etc. Breakbeat is just a general term. There are many kinds of music that belong to Breakbeat. For example, the following Brit-Hop, Big-Beat, and black Hip-Hop are a kind of Brit- Hop speeds up the rhythm of black Hip-Hop and aggravates the drums, and combines it with some electric guitar and bass, giving it a rock and roll flavor, such as the style of The Chemical Brothers.

Big-Beat

The big beat makes Brit-Hop faster, heavier and more rock-like. It can be said that after improving Brit-Hop, it is more It's a mature music style. You can imagine what it sounds like with a heavy, broken, and a bit fast beat. Such as The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, Fat Boy Slim is the corner of Big Beat. What is Drum'n'Bass? For some people, the music of Drum'n'Bass may be annoying, because Drum'n'Bass is very It focuses on playing tricks on rhythm, as well as Bass performance, such as very fast, complex breakbeats, and the use of various electronic drums or sampled drum sounds. Therefore, Drum'n'Bass is also A type of break beat. 4Hero is a well-known band from Drum'n'Bass.

Jungle

Jungle is the predecessor of Drum'n'Bass. Jungle is much faster than Drum'n'Bass, and the rhythm is more complex and powerful, and sometimes it is paired with some Rap, unlike Drum'n'Bass, which incorporates some Jazz, Soul and other elements, sounds softer (of course this is compared to Jungle). Even rock chameleon David Bowie started playing Jungle. What is Electro? As early as the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were no such things as House, Techno... and electronic music was less popular. There were only electronic music like Electro. It's just music. Electro can be said to be music that is purely produced by an electronic synthesizer (Synthesizer, which looks a bit like a keyboard). It is usually quite soft, and Roland's drum machine (DrumMachine) TR-808 is often used to produce drum sounds. The German band Kraftwerk can be considered a representative. The sound of Electro is much brighter and more transparent than before. Later, some DJs used Electro to transform it into a kind of Hip-Hop music, which was called OldSchool. Fatboy Slim also blended some Electro and OldSchool in Music.

Dub

Dub can be said to be Reggae, which separates the singing and leaves only the music (Reggae, also known as reggae, is a very rhythmic and special singing style. South American black music). When Dub is used in electronic music, part of the singing 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. (Remix) Presentation. For example, MassiveAttack’s album Protection was remixed from Trip-Hop music into a Dub version by MadProfessor.

Chill Out

This is just a general term. Next to the dance floor, there is often an area, or a small room, where some gentler and calmer music is played, allowing dancers to relax and take a rest after dancing. It mainly plays ambient music, so it is called ChillOut ( Cooling) is for this reason.TheOrb can be said to be the master of ChillOut music.

Minimalism

This is translated as minimalist music style, which is often heard in Ambient and Techno music. Music with Minimalism has a repetitive melody and a special The rhythm feels like a special frequency that makes you feel hypnotized when listening to it. Jeff Mills' works belong to the category of Minimal Detroit-Techno, with quite a psychedelic color.