Music is part of our lives almost since we are born, and for many it is considered the food of the soul . There are different types of music, and each person can vary in their tastes. Research results show that music is a powerful form of social expression that can reinforce stereotypes and encourages the expression of one’s identity.

But beyond the musical tastes, it is clear that the feeling of listening to music of our taste is unique and even indescribable. Music makes us feel incredible sensations and makes us feel different emotions: joy, ecstasy, happiness, sadness, love…

The different types of music and musical genres

There is a great variety of musical genres, as music has evolved over time and each culture has developed its own musical styles. But… what types of music are there? What are the most important ones?

Below you can find a list of the most relevant and popular types of music in our society.

1. Classical music

Classical music is a current that begins in about 1750 and ends in about 1820 , in Europe. Today this type of music is associated with serious people, as it is a cultured style, typical of a very formal, refined and elitist environment.

When someone imagines this type of music, the image of large orchestras, with many instruments, led by the figure of a conductor quickly comes to mind. The dress is formal, with an image of respect and seriousness. Classical music is expressed in concerts (a soloist accompanying the orchestra) and symphonies (a chorus of voices and instruments).

  • Some of its main authors are Wagner, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, etc.

2. Blues

The blues is one of the most important and influential musical genres of recent times . It originated in the late nineteenth century when African slaves were transported to the United States. Its lyrics have a melancholic air in which one can appreciate personal anguish or social problems. It is the combination of African and Western music that led to the genre we know as “blues.

Several styles of blues have been developed over the years, some in small towns in the southern United States and others in cities like Chicago and New Orleans. This style has influenced almost every genre of popular music that was to come at that time: jazz, soul, hip hop, etc.

  • B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Duke Ellington or Stevie Ray Vaughn are some of its main exponents.

3. Jazz

In the late 19th century, most African-American musicians played only the blues, but some also played classical music and learned European harmony. Some even mixed European harmony with the rhythms and scales of the blues, and it was thanks to this mixture that “jazz” appeared.

Jazz is characterized by a series of elements: improvisation, the treatment of rhythm (swing), the use of notes against the beat and syncopations , its voices (for example, scat), its orchestras (Big Bang), etc. One of the greatest musicians in jazz was trumpeter Louis Armstrong, but artists like Frank Sinatra are also known worldwide. There are different types of jazz: Latin jazz, bebop, swing… but all of them keep the essence of this style.

  • Louis Armstrong, Les Paul, Ray Charles or Tito Puente are world famous jazzmen.

4. Rhythm and Blues (R&B)

While jazz was becoming increasingly popular in the 1930s and 1940s, another new genre was beginning to develop. Many African Americans were professional blues musicians, but making a career in music and earning money was not easy. So many formed small bands and looked for work in bars and “pubs”.

If they wanted to work, the musicians had to manage to attract the audience, and many young people of the time, who frequented these places, thought that the blues was out of fashion . The bands were forced to create a new style, which would be called “rhythm and blues” or “R&B “. In the beginning, R&B bands were loud and lively and based their strength on drums, double bass, and electric guitar. The singers were men or women with great voices, and the audience loved it. Today, R&B is still alive, but with a great influence of another style that we will see later on, soul.

  • The most outstanding artists of today are Usher, Beyoncé, Chris Brown or R. Kelly.

5. Rock and Roll

In the early fifties, another musician called “rock and roll” was in fashion . This style was created by musicians who could play both R & B and Western Swing, a popular style of dance country music. It used the same instruments as R&B at that time (electric guitar, double bass and drums), and had a touch of blues and R&B, but the melodies were more similar to those of country music.

  • Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry are the representatives of the most classic Rock and Roll.
  • Elvis Presley is considered the king of this genre. You can see an example of this style in this video:

7. Gospel

Gospel music is a musical genre that was born in the African American churches in the middle of the 20th century , thanks to the fusion of the spiritual songs of the black slaves who embraced the Christian faith, and the traditional hymns of the white music. Gospel music is a type of music for congregational use, with a simple music but with marked rhythms.

It has a great harmonic richness with a simple melody. It is a music characterized by massive choirs, with a touch of clapping, and a peculiar singing in which the choir returns the phrases sung by the soloist.

  • Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Andraé Crouch are some widely recognized gospel musicians.

8. Soul

Soul music is a genre of popular African-American music that influenced many later genres . For example: funk music, dance, hip-hop and contemporary R&B.

It was developed in the U.S. in the late 1950s from gospel music and other styles. While gospel was a happier kind of music, with a choir moving around playing palms, soul was slower, deeper music. “Soul” means soul in English.

  • James Brown, Sam Cooke, Mavin Gaye and Amy Whinehouse were worthy representatives of this musical genre.

9. Rock

In the 1960s, rock and roll was losing its best artists. Elvis Presley was in the army, Little Richard had quit rock and roll, and Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens had died in a plane crash. But many young people were still listening to their records, and some began to explore the origins of the music.

The young musicians also became interested in R&B, studied its harmony and characteristics, and soon learned to play it. Soon they were combining these older styles with rock and roll to create a new genre called “rock”. If rock and roll was danceable, rock stops being danceable, and focuses on transmitting pure energy and uncontrol.

Over time, more weight is given to the electric guitar and other sub-genres of rock emerge such as hard rock, psychedelic rock, punk rock or folk rock.

  • The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Jim Morrison, Nirvana, Pink Floyd or AC/DC took rock to a higher level.

10. Metal

Metal starts from hard rock during the 70’s and experiences an explosion of bands during the 80’s throughout the western countries. Its main characteristic is the importance given to the electric guitar and drums, to generate strong and energetic sounds.

Although many people use “heavy metal” and “metal” as synonyms, others distinguish between metal as a broad category and heavy metal as the original trajectory of the first bands, from which alternative sub-genres have emerged in recent decades.

On the other hand, the use of the vowels is very varied, ranging from the treble to the use of techniques to make the voice sound deeper and more beastly than normal. In Scandinavian countries in particular, the popularity of metal sub-genres known as black metal and death metal stands out, in which the letters are practically unrecognisable due to the use of the form of shouting used.

  • Iron Maiden, Manowar, Opeth, Metallica, Pantera, Anthrax or System of a Down are well known representatives of the metal.

11. Country

Country music was one of the first genres of modern American popular music . It developed in the southeastern states of the United States as a mixture of folk music from the British Isles, church music, and African-American blues. Its characteristic instrumentation includes acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin or banjo.

  • Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, Patsy Cline or Garth Brooks are country artists.

12. Funk

In the 1960s some soul artists like James Brown developed a more rhythmic style called funk . This genre was the starting point for many new dance music styles such as disco music. Funk is characterized by very powerful bass lines and an energizing rhythm. Funk music has a “groove” and distinctive riffs that invite you to get up and dance.

  • James Brown, George Clinton, Jamiroquai, Prince and Maceo Parker represent this musical style.

13. Disc

In the early 1970s, nightclubs called discos were employing DJs to play songs for the dance floor because it was cheaper than hiring a band. They began by playing more upbeat funk and soul songs, but in the mid-1970s, easier-to-dance songs began to be marketed to this audience.

With a repetitive quaternary rhythm (usually between 110 and 136 bpm), an orchestral sound and its piano and electronic guitar (with clearly “funky” touches), disco music would originate.

  • Michael Jackson, Madonna, Earth Wind & Fire and Cher represent this musical genre.

14. House

In the early 1980s a new style of dance music developed in the “gay clubs” of New York and Chicago. Like disco music, the songs had catchy tunes with lyrics that talked about having fun or making love. house music is characterized by the quaternary rhythms of disco music, but drum machines and synthesizers are often used instead of classical drums and other instruments, although the electronic piano remains the backbone of most house music.

  • Erick Morillo, Tina More, Tim Deluxe and Mac Demetrius are world-renowned house artists.

15. Techno

Another genre of dance music called techno developed in Detroit in the early 1980s when club DJs started making electronic dance tracks. They used drum machines and electronic synthesizers with keyboards to add chords and melodies.

They also started taking short samples of other songs (sampling) to add to their songs. In techno, the groove is darker than in house and even has a delirious touch. A subgenre of techno, developed in the 90s, is trance.

  • Gigi D’Agostino, Chris Korda, Basshunter and Ellen Allien are techno musicians.

16. Pop

Pop music is not really a musical genre . “Pop music” means popular, and as its name indicates, it is music for the masses; in this sense, outside of pop music we would find classical music and other similar artistic forms.

Thus, pop includes different types of music genres and has more to do with the audience the songs are intended for. For example, Michael Jackson, known as king of pop , composed and performed songs from different genres: soul, funk, disco, rock, R&B, etc. His is the best selling album in history, called “Thriller”.

  • Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Elton John and Justin Timberlake are popular artists.
  • Here you can see one of the great Michael Jackson classics: Billie Jean.

17. Ska

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s , and contains elements of mento music, calypso music, jazz and rythm and blues. In the early 1960s it was the dominant music genre in Jamaica and had a great impact in the United Kingdom.

Ska music is highly danceable, upbeat, fast and exciting. Ska influenced other styles that were born in Jamaica such as rocksteady or the well-known reggae, with which it is very similar, although the latter is not an accelerated music genre, unlike ska.

  • Prince Buster, Ska-P, Desmond Dekker and Tommy McCook are highly respected ska artists.

18. Reggae

Reggae music originated in Jamaica, mainly influenced by ska and rocksteady , but also by other styles such as blues or jazz. In general, the lyrics of reggae songs are linked to social criticism, although some songs deal with different themes. The Jamaican artist Bob Marley is its greatest exponent.

  • Bob Marley, Los Cafres, Lee Perry, Jimmy Cliff and Gregory Isaacs are all great reggae musicians.
  • You can listen to this great artist in the following video:

19. Hip Hop

Hip-hop developed in the late 1970s, and was created in the slums of New York City by African-American teenagers. Along with this style, other artistic movements such as breakdancing and graffiti were also born. Many of these young people were unemployed, but some found work as DJs.

At block parties (public and mass parties that brought together many members of the same neighbourhood), they mixed music while other young people rapped on the repetitive rhythms. Today, hip-hop has evolved considerably and, along with R&B, is very important on the world’s pop scene.

  • 2Pac, Notorious BIG, Violadores del Verso, Eminem, 50Cent, Vanilla Ice, Wu-Tang Clan and Snoop Dogg are some rap representatives.

20. Drum and Bass

The literal translation of drum and base is “drum and bass” , because it is characterized by the fast rhythms of the drums (usually between 160 and 180 bpm) and the marked bass lines. Today, this energetic style of music is considered an “underground” musical style, but its influence has been very noticeable in the pop culture of many countries such as the United Kingdom.

  • Pendulum, Noisia, Sub Focus, DJ Fresh and High Contrast are exceptional drum and bass artists.

21. Garage

The Garage, also known as UK Garage, and is a style of electronic music originated in the United Kingdom . It is a very danceable genre and very influenced by drum and bass, in which it is possible to find sung or rapped voices with a different style to hip hop rap. The rappers of this genre are called Garage MC’s.

  • Zed Bias, So Solid Crew, MJ Cole and The Streets are great exponents of UK Garage.
  • Here is an example of a garage:

22. Flamenco

Flamenco is the traditional Spanish music, which was born in the south of Spain and is closely related to the gypsy culture . However, the roots of flamenco are to be found in the cultural crossbreeding that took place in Andalusia at the time of its creation: natives, Muslims, gypsies, Castilians and Jews; they brought about its distinctive sound in which the voice and the guitar play a leading role.

Flamenco is characterized by having talented guitarists (the “virtuosos”) and the cante jondo , a style of singing that enhances the deepest feelings.

  • Paco de Lucía, Tomatito, Enrique Morente, Estrella Morente and Diego el Cigala are great flamenco artists.

23. Sauce

Salsa is a musical style that is intimately linked to the dance of the same name . The word salsa as such has its origin in the New York Bronx, although the influences are purely Latin, with Cuba possibly being the country with the most weight in its creation.

Afro-Cuban rhythms such as mambo, guaracha, son, montuno, Afro-Cuban jazz, among others, spread throughout Latin America and also reached the United States, where the Cuban population is remarkable. Salsa is one of the most popular musical styles among Hispanic cultures.

  • Héctor Lavoe, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Ray Barreto represent this type of music perfectly.

24. Reggaeton

Reggaeton (also known as reggaeton) is a musical genre that originated in Puerto Rico in the late nineties . It is influenced by hip-hop and Latin American and Caribbean music. The voice includes rapping and singing and is a very danceable musical style.

  • Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Archangel, De La Ghetto or Zorman are great representatives of Reggaeton.
  • You can listen to some of this style in the audiovisual content shown below.

Types of music, depending on the instrument used

In addition to the above-mentioned musical genres, music can be classified according to instrumentation.

25. Vocal or “a cappella” music

Vocal music is characterized because it uses only the voice, and is what is known as a cappella . It can be individual or in chorus. It is also possible to perform the instrumentation with the voice, which is known as “beatbox”, which generally includes percussion, although some individuals are able to imitate other instruments such as the guitar or saxophone.

26. Instrumental music

Instrumental music is that in which only the instruments are used, and not the voice . There are two variants: the symphonic, which is played by an orchestra; or the electronic when it is created by electronic instruments. It can be used in movies or karaoke.

On the other hand, there is no clear boundary between instrumental and non-instrumental music. For example, sometimes a person’s voice can be scanned to sound like the note played by an instrument.

Other types of music

In addition to the above, there are other types of music.

27. Pragmatic music

Pragmatic music is used when telling a story or event . It is a type of descriptive and extra-musical music. For example, music used to describe a landscape: what is important is not the music itself, but the effect the music has as an element of the narration.

28. Soundtrack

The soundtrack is, from the musical point of view, that of the vocal and instrumental music used in the films , and aims to enhance the emotions of the viewer. An example of this type of music is “Eye of the Tiger” from the “Rocky” film collection.

However, there are different nuances in the different ways a soundtrack can be used. For example, sometimes it can simply express the emotions that a place arouses, while at other times it expresses the tone of the moment of the narration that is being passed through, almost independently of the place where the action takes place.