The Codes and Conventions of Music Genres

By Joe Lever

Pop Music'Pop' (short for 'popular') music is is genre of music that is accessible to and enjoyed by a great variety of different audiences, from middle-aged men to young girls the pop genre as it's name suggests it the most popular genre of music in Britain; one reason for this is because of it's radio exposure - pop music generally avoids expletives (or a clean, radio version of the song is also released) and is not aggressive, hence it's suitability for such a wide demographic. One convention of the pop genre is the repetition of a clear and catchy chorus - this is vital as it allows an audience to absorb the lyrics and sing along to the song. The chorus is usually the most important part of a pop song and is often how the song gains great exposure and spreads to more listeners. Michael Jackson was known as the 'King of Pop' and other influential pop artists include Madonna, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Below is a video of Britney Spears' 'Hit Me Baby One More Time', this music video was very effective in promoting the hit single and is one of the most successful and significant pop singles and music videos of all-time.

Rock MusicRock music is a genre that originated from America in the '1950's as "rock 'n' roll". It is a genre that is particularly popular in the U.S and the U.K. Since the 1950's, rock is a genre that has gained great success and developed into a vast amount of sub-genres such as Grunge Rock, Indie Rock, Punk Rock and Heavy Metal. Rock music heavily relies on instrumentation such as electric guitars, bass guitars and drums. The majority of successful rock artists and frontmen are white males such as Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath, Gene Simmons of Kiss and Axl Rose of Guns 'n' Roses - many people believe that the themes explored in the music have been shaped by the dominance of white males in the genre; many themes explored in rock such as love, violence and socio-political opposition. The success of the Rock genre has also led to the spawning of sub-cultures such as the Mods and the Rockers in the U.K. My favourite music video of the Rock genre is that of System of a Down's 'Chop Suey'. The video conforms to the characteristics and conventions of the Rock genre in that it consists of a great amount of performance and displays footage of the crowd at the performance which shows whom their target audience is and what this target audience looks like; moreover, the music video includes interesting camerawork and editing techniques and contains many shots of the band members themselves - this will appeal to the band's core demographic who will want to see close-ups of the band members performing. The video promotes the song and band well and would entice any fan to go and see the band live due to the atmosphere presented in the music video of the performance itself. The crowd are seen to be head-banging and moshing; this is what would be expected at any Rock gig and will appeal to Rock fans.

Hip-Hop/Rap MusicHip-hop or Rap music is a genre of music that primarily consists of a rhythmic backing instrumental accompanied by a vocalist; vocals are the main focus of rap songs are these vocals are predominantly rapping. Hip-hop is also a sub-culture; it is linked with MCing, break dancing and graffiti amongst other things; additionally, hip-hop is associated with urban environments and the 'streets' - hip-hop culture is prominent in particular areas, primarily in America and usually in areas of low income with high crime rates such as; the Bronx, Brooklyn, Compton, Detroit and Harlem. Hip-hop originated around the 1970's and became increasingly popular amongst African-American males. The first hip-hop song to be accredited with wide stream popularity and success is The Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight". Due to the success of hip-hop in the 1990's, by the mid-2000's hip-hop had found it's way into the mainstream media and was collaborating with pop music - in today's society many pop songs contain rapping within them. Artists such as Kanye West, Eminem and OutKast were integral in paving the way for hip-hop/rap's transition to the mainstream media. Common themes within rap music include gang violence, the acquiring of wealth, political opposition and the telling of life-stories. Notable artists of this genre include the Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Nas. Below is the video 'Christ Conscious' by 'Joey Bada$$' - this music video is my personal favorite amongst the hip-hop/rap genre as I am intrigued by the combination of actual footage and animation, and believe that the mise-en-scene, camerawork and editing complement each other very well in order to establish a strong urban theme throughout the video. It conforms to the genre to an extent as it includes the artist performing the song and exploring the streets of his neighborhood, however the supernatural element to the video does not conform - this is effective as it captivates the viewer and will result in them wanting to watch the video again.

R&B MusicR&B (Rhythm and Blues) has developed and shifted its meaning since its foundation. R&B is a genre that was associated with and comprised primarily of African-American artists; the R&B genre today still holds this association with notable African-American artists such as R-Kelly, Usher, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Stevie Wonder. When R&B began in the 1950's, the term was originally used by record companies at a time when jazz based music was becoming more popular, to describe recordings which would be marketed to African Americans. As the 1950's progressed, R&B contributed to the development of rock music as a genre. By the 70's, R&B was associated with soul and funk and by the 80's 'Contemporary R&B' began. 'Contemporary R&B' is a combination of rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop and pop music. Songs within this genre frequently consist of the themes of love, sex and relationships.

Dance MusicDance music is music composed to accompany dancing; the two major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music. The earliest Western dance music are said to be the surviving medieval dances. In the Baroque period (roughly between 1600-1750) the major dance styles were noble court dances. The classical era saw the rise of the waltz. During the early 20th century, ballroom dancing gained popularity among the working class who attended public dance halls. Dance music became popular during the 1920’s. In the 1930’s – the ‘Swing Era’, swing music was the popular dance music. This changed when the 1950’s saw rock and roll become the popular dance music. The1960’s saw the rise of soul and R&B music and the 1970’s saw the rise of disco which led to dance music becoming popular with the public. The late 1970’s saw the development of a new form of dance music - this music, made using electronics, is a style of popular music commonly played in dance music nightclubs and raves today.