How to Learn About Music Genres

There is a music genre for everyone.

There are hundreds of genres of music, and setting out to learn about them can be an intimidating task. But thanks to modern technology and the Internet, teaching yourself about different styles of music is easier than ever. The key to learning about as many music genres as possible is open-mindedness. If you approach a genre with a prejudice or a stereotypical opinion of it, you will not be able to learn about it. Start here: all music has value. If you can accept that, you can begin learning about music genres.

Things You'll Need

• Internet

Instructions

Learning About Genres

1. Recognize the basic music genres. For example, do not get caught up with "pop punk," "indie folk" and "jazz fusion" at the outset. Maybe down the road you can unpack some of those subgenres, but the first step is learning the basics. The main music genres may be found categorized at your local record store. Generally, these basic genres are "rock," "pop," "classical," "jazz," "folk," "world (international/latin/reggae)," "hip-hop (rap and R&B)," "country," "electronic" and "experimental/avant garde."

2. Listen to the most popular artists from each genre. The clearest way to hear the differences in style is by listening yourself. So for "classical," listen to Beethoven, Mozart and Stravinsky. For rock, listen to The Beatles, The Who and The White Stripes. For hip-hop, listen to Tupac, Kanye West and Jay Z. And so on like this. The easiest way to do this is by going to an online music store to listen to all of this music. Expect to put hours of study time into learning about genres.

3. Take note of what you hear. Disassociate yourself from your tastes and simply hear the music that is being played. Notice that folk singers often play acoustic instruments and that jazz music may seem random. Once you're able to put a song on at random and easily recognize its genre, you're ready to dive into subgenres. But because there are countless subgenres, this is a feat you must perform at your own risk. Music fusions are endless, and if you attempt to follow them it will become a never-ending task. But as long as you keep your mind open and allow yourself to think critically about the music you're hearing, you will be able to learn much about the wealth of genres that are available today.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your friends about music. Find out what other people listen to, and why. You'll get a more rounded view of a genre this way. And if you can, talk to musicians from all genre backgrounds. Getting a personal opinion of what a genre means to a performer is a great way to learn about it.

• Do not listen without a historical understanding of the music. That means realizing that a song by the Ramones from the 1980s is very different from a Green Day or Blink 182 song. Even though they're all punk, the two latter bands were heavily influence by the Ramones. A historical perspective will help you associate certain bands as more important to genre development.

References

• Billboard
• All Music: Genres