Simple music genres. List of musical genres, trends and styles

The human voice is a musical instrument that each of us has from birth. This quivering mechanism, which requires special care and constant tuning, is capable of tickling all the nerve endings in the body and pushing them to the limit.

Before you find out what musical genres of vocal music exist, you should understand what vocals are in general.

Main

Vocal music has no date of origin; it is the oldest form of art. Vocals arose with the appearance of a man and quietly dozed, waiting in the wings.

The voice does not need outside support; it is capable of creating compositions on its own. But, despite the fact that everyone has a vocal apparatus, not everyone can create an “instrument” out of it. The vocalist must have certain characteristics in order to be able to take control of his voice:

• ear for music;
• sense of rhythm.

Voice abilities should be added to the list, but everyone is born with different vocal capabilities, and practice confirms that the singer is not the one who naturally received everything, but the one who, from nothing, was able to develop an amazing gift that captivates people’s hearts.

And indeed it is. People remember simple melodies, listen to those songs that they perform, first of all, with soul. Ordinary technical voice exercises will not touch the human insides, and they will not be sung centuries later.

Genres of vocal music

Over the entire existence of people, millions and millions of compositions have been performed. Whether it's a simple song or an aria from an opera. Vocal music shimmers with its versatility, and it can be divided into two directions:

• chamber;
• concert

Chamber genre

Chamber vocal genre (from Latin camera - “room”) is music performed by a small group of performers, intended for a small audience:

• song;
• romance;
• ballad;
• barcarolle;
• serenade;
• elegy and other miniature works.

Let's look at the genres of vocal music in more detail.

Song

Song is the simplest and most common form, the basis of all foundations. It is divided into folk and author's.

The first type is classified as folklore (oral folk art); everyone could make an individual contribution to its creation. The song flowed from mouth to mouth like a stream, and was composed in its own way. A sufficient number of folk masterpieces that are immortal hits have survived to this day. One of the most popular Russian folk songs is the well-known “Kalinka”.

The name “author's song” speaks for itself. A specific composer and poet puts effort into creating it. It emerged as a genre in the middle of the 20th century. Distinctive feature: the author of the text, music and performer are one person. Priority is given to the text rather than the musical guitar accompaniment.

It is worth noting that the song belongs not only to the chamber genre, but also to the concert genre. If earlier it meant simplicity and miniature, now it is one of the main numbers of large-scale scenes.

Romance

Romance is a genre of chamber vocal music. In the Middle Ages, the term meant a poem in the "Roman" language (Spanish), which was composed to be set to music. It was a simple composition. In a romance, in addition to the text, accompaniment plays a big role. Most often, vocals are accompanied by the shimmer of guitar strings or the support of a piano. Composers A. L. Gurilev, A. A. Alyabyev, A. E. Varalmov made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian romance as a genre of vocal and instrumental art.

In the 19th century, during the era of romanticism, romance became the leading genre of vocal music, because it was he who was able to convey in all details the inner experiences of a person, which was so characteristic of that artistic movement.

Ballad

Ballad is a musical genre that implies a narrative, a story in a poetic form. Originally it was a one-voice song with dance elements. As a lyrical genre, it has become popular since the 18th century. Worthy samples:

• “The Forest King” or “The King of the Elves” by J. W. Goethe, accompanied by music written by F. Schubert (1815), or version by Karl Leve
• R. Schumann (romances and ballads, opus 49);
• F. Liszt;
• F. Brahms;
• F. Mendelssohn (for choir "The First Walpurgis Night").

Our compatriots did not stand aside either:

• M. P. Mussorgsky ("Forgotten");
• A. G. Rubinstein ("Ballad");
• P. I. Tchaikovsky ("Kings");
• A. P. Borodin ("Sea");
• A. N. Verstovsky;
• A. E. Varlamov is a titan of the vocal genre.

Barcarolle

Originally a “song on the water”, it was performed by gondoliers in Venice. It is distinguished by a melancholic character, a minor mood and a rhythmic pattern that looks like swaying waves.

You can listen to Schubert's ballad performed by Oleg Pogudin.

Since the 18th century, the ballad has grown into a professional genre. Later it even began to be used in Italian and French opera numbers. Some composers:

• F. P. Schubert ("The Fisherman's Luck of Love");
• M. I. Glinka (“The blue ones fell asleep”);
• F. Brahms (from opus 44 for female choir).

Serenade

Anyone asked what a serenade is will answer that it’s just a song under the window. Initially, a serenade was recognized as a song that men performed for their beloved, as a rule, under her window and in the evening or at night. The genre became widespread in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The origins of the serenade are considered to be the song of the troubadours. Later, it began to be understood as any musical composition performed in someone’s honor. Gradually, the serenade became part of the opera, for example, Mozart's Don Giovanni, and the chamber genre. The brightest work is “Evening Serenade” by Schubert.

Among the Russian composers, serenades were written by M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky.

Elegy

Elegy translated from Greek is “funeral singing.” Originally it was a poetic and musical genre in Ancient Greece. Gained wide popularity in the era of sentimentalism and romanticism. Philosophical thoughts about disappointment, dissatisfaction and suffering in life were reflected in this work.

G. Purcell is one of the early representatives of this genre. In Russian culture there are still the same masters: Varlamov, Glinka, Alyabyev, Yakovlev, Dargomyzhsky, etc. For Russian elegy, performance in the form of a monologue with the accompaniment characteristic of romances (guitar or piano sounds) is specific.

One of the striking examples is “Do not tempt me with the misfortunes of need” by Glinka. The elegy was performed by Oleg Pogudin, a currently famous chamber singer.

What other genres belong to vocal music?

Concert genre

This genre includes music intended, as a rule, for one or more solo musical instruments with an orchestra. It originated in Italy in the 16th-17th centuries as a polyphonic vocal work for church choirs. This genre includes:

• vocalization;
• cantata;
• opera;
• oratorio;
• rhapsody;
• aria;
• hymn.

Vocalise

Vocalization is singing using one or more vowel sounds. Most often performed as a way to practice vocal technique.

R. M. Gliere managed to create a full-fledged work from a technical exercise, writing a concerto for voice and orchestra. In the video it is performed by opera singer Anna Netrebko.

In addition to him, the vocalise in concert performance was written:

• S. V. Rachmaninov;
• J. M. Ravel (in habanera form);
• N.K. Medtner - “Sonata-Vocalise” and “Suite-Vocalise”.

Cantata

A cantata is a large-scale work, performed by not only a soloist, but also a choir and orchestra. Initially (in the first half of the 17th century) it was placed in opposition to the sonata, an instrumental genre. It is divided into two types: spiritual (church) cantatas and secular ones.

The first Russian cantatas appeared in the 18th century thanks to P. A. Skokov. Later his work was continued by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Taneyev and others. One of the most famous cantatas is “Alexander Nevsky” by S. S. Prokofiev.

Opera

Opera is the foundation of vocal music. It is synthesized with choral, instrumental, dance and theatrical numbers and combines all aspects together.

It is believed that the distant predecessor of opera is the tragedy of Ancient Greece. It alternated between dialogues and singing (solo and choral).

In 1597, the first opera "Daphne" was written by the Italian composer Jacopo Peri.

In the 17th century, despite the fact that Italy wanted to make this genre exclusively its own, opera became popular in Russia. M. I. Glinka is considered the “father of Russian opera.” The essay “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was a breakthrough.

In the 19th century, A. Dargomyzhsky (“The Mermaid”, “The Stone Guest”), M. Mussorgsky (“Khovanshchina”, “Boris Godunov”), P. I. Tchaikovsky (“The Queen of Spades” and “Eugene Onegin”) became famous for their compositions. , N. Rimsky-Korsakov (“Sadko”, “Snow Maiden”).

The traditions of Russian opera in the 20th century were developed by many composers, including S. Rachmaninov, I. Stravinsky, D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofiev.

Oratorio

An oratorio is a fairly large composition intended for a vocalist, choir and symphony orchestra. It occupies an intermediate place between the two genres described above.

In Russia, oratorio was not used so often. One of the few works is “Minin and Pozharsky” by S. Dyagterev.

Rhapsody

Rhapsody is an unusual genre of vocal music because it is written in a free style. May consist of different parts. The genre was revived in the 19th century under the influence of romanticism, which was characterized by an interest in folklore. It was originally written for piano and resembled a fantasy on the theme of folk music. For example, the famous nineteen Rhapsodies of the Hungarian composer F. Liszt). Later she approached poems (J. Brahms), solo works for piano and orchestra (S. Rachmaninov, S. Lyapunov, D. Gershavin) and cantatas.

Aria

Aria is a vocal song that is part of major genres (opera, cantata, oratorio). The most famous can be considered Carmen's aria (Habanera). Almost everyone recognizes it from the first sounds.

Aria should be divided into 2 subspecies:

• arietta - smaller in volume and simplest in structure;
• arioso - a composition located between an aria and a recitative, more reminiscent of a conversational tune.

Hymn

The anthem is a solemn composition designed for mass perception. It plays a great role in public and state life. The melody is simple and catchy by ear. The history of hymns dates back to ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.

The anthem of the Russian Empire was “God Save the Tsar.”

Genres of instrumental music

Chamber instrumental genres:

• variations;
• sonatas;
• suites;
• foreplay;
• musical moment;
• nocturne.

Large form:

• symphony;
• concert;
• overture;

We are surrounded by millions of sounds - the chirping of birds, the sound of water, the howling of the wind. Merging into a single tandem, they form a unique melody, irresistible and bewitching. That is why man, evolving and becoming more intelligent, began to imitate sounds - improvising and creating something unique and new. In this article, we have collected into a single list styles of music, both those that have existed since the formation of society, and those that have emerged from oblivion in recent decades.

1. Folk simplicity and wisdom

There are more than 1,000 different nationalities all over the world, each with its own culture, mentality and traditions. And if you consider each tribe or group of people separately, you will notice how they are all radically different in musical instruments, songs and dances.

Folk music primarily reflects the very essence and character of people. She talks about what cared about them, made them happy, and made them sad. Some people sing about the wind, a girl, the steppe and galloping horses, while others, on the contrary, talk about forests, swallows and hot bread. This is precisely why folklore opens the list of music styles. The description of this branch proves that it is an integral part of our society. Folk music influenced the formation of new styles that are so popular these days.

2. Uplifting classic

Another style of music on the list is classical. The first compositions began to appear hundreds of years ago, but they are still loved. Unlike folk music, classical music presents thoughtful, spiritual and uplifting melodies.

There is no place for jokes and simple-minded melodies. The classics are much more important and valuable than the simple folklore of each tribe. This kind of music is truly masterpiece and unique.

Scientists have proven that classical music can calm the mind, tune in to work, and activate the areas of the brain responsible for learning and creativity. You don't have to be a professional musician to recognize Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata or Bizet's Carmen. Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Chopin, Schubert - these are just a small part of the names that gave us magnificent works that are considered the cultural heritage of the world.

3. Spirituality

We included spiritual melody in the list of music styles because it has developed since ancient times and continues to exist to this day. For example, in Christianity this trend is accompanied by choral singing, and sometimes by the inclusion of wind and string instruments. The same can be found among Catholics who enjoy temple music created on the organ.

In the East, percussion and mouth instruments are used to create spiritual melody. As a rule, each nation has its own music. The list of styles can therefore be continued endlessly, but we will move on to the penetrating and soulful blues.

4. Deep blues

Essentially, blues is an offshoot that arose due to the popularity of jazz.

In our list of music styles with examples, we called the blues deep because they are more lyrical, melodic, touching and soulful compositions. With this kind of music you want to sit back, relax, dim the lights in the room and just think about the meaning of life.

As a rule, blues is an ideal tandem, formed as a result of the unity of such musical instruments as piano (piano, grand piano), guitar, drums, cello and saxophone.

5. Jazz energy

If we take a closer look at the modern list of music styles, we will find jazz in the general list.

Jazz really gives energy, because it often reflects a person’s state of mind. If you listen closely, you will notice that any melody contains an uneven, free rhythm. Sometimes jazz was created literally on the fly, and for this style of music we can thank African-American folklore, which also gave the world thoughtful blues.

Examples of jazz musicians: Frank Sinatra, Guy Buddy, James Brown and others.

6. Pop culture

Pop culture is famous for producing popular music. In other words, these are the compositions that everyone around them adore. They often have a simple motive and far from deep text.

A distinctive feature of pop music is the presence of several verses and the same chorus. This style does not have to be sad and lyrical. Often the resulting music is clubby, danceable, relaxing and energetic.

Pop music can be heard everywhere, from music TV channels to radio and ringtones for mobile phones.

7. Loud and extravagant rock

Let's take a look at the list of rock music styles. Today, several people who are called “rockers” may prefer completely different and dissimilar compositions:

• Rock'n'roll. Many people won’t believe it, but people most often dance to this music. Moreover, the style itself will soon turn 70 years old! You are probably familiar with Elvis Presley or The Beatles.
• Metal. This is heavier rock performed with electric guitars. In such compositions one can often find obscene words, harsh slogans and shouts, and a daring and defiant motif. Such music is born or was born by such groups as Metallica, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and others.
• Rap rock. This style speaks for itself, since musicians most often simply read the lyrics to the song. This style is the most popular, as it unites fans of two directions at once. For example, songs in the rap-rock style can be found by Linkin Park. Hollywood Undead, Limp Bizkit.

8. Fearless hip-hop

Hip-hop can be a dance, a lifestyle, and a genre of music. As a rule, this branch originates in each culture and proceeds differently. While some enjoy the light funk, singing together about love and a wonderful world, others, on the contrary, rebel and call to stand up against the world system.

Wherever you go, you will be surrounded by hip-hop. If you look into the ghetto, or areas located on the periphery of the city, you will become familiar with gangsta rap. If you want to hear combined rock with hip-hop, then you will have to go to a concert where musicians like Insane Clown Posse sing gothic, mystical and terrifying horrorcore.

9. Robot Life

We present to your attention a list of electronic music styles that appeared almost half a century ago. But first, some facts:

Electronic music itself began to gain popularity closer to 2010. Now all the compositions are the most loved by fans from all over the world, they can be heard at concerts, parties, in cars and headphones.

The most popular styles of electronic music are dubstep, techno, trance, house and, as written above, drum and bass. Branches also began to appear - minimal, psychedelic, harddance, ambient. All styles have one thing in common - the process of creating a melody using the famous drum machine.

But each branch differs in beat speed, volume and dynamics, the use or absence of any words and phrases, the addition of instrumentals and the presence of structure, rhythm, tempo.

What styles of music are there? Musical style is a capacious and multifaceted concept. It can be defined as a figurative unity, a set of means of expressing artistic and ideological content using the language of music.

The concept of music style is so broad that its specification suggests itself: this term applies both to different eras, genres, movements and schools, as well as to individual composers and even performers. Let's try to figure out what types of music there are.

Style of the era

The concept of era style focuses on the historical aspect. There are many classifications, some of which highlight the largest historical eras in the development of music (Renaissance, Baroque, classicism, modernity, etc.), while others, on the contrary, split the history of music into relatively small periods previously identified by other art historical disciplines (romanticism , impressionism, modernism, etc.).

A classic example of the style of the era is Baroque music, the characteristic features of which are interest in the inner world of the individual, drama, contrasting depiction of the forces of nature, the development of opera and instrumental music (C. Monteverdi, A. Vivaldi, G. F. Handel).

Genre style

Style reflects the specifics of the content, musical techniques and characteristics of certain musical genres, which, in turn, can be classified on different grounds.

Therefore, the concept of style is most appropriate for those in which the most common features are clearly expressed. This includes genres based on folk music (various ritual songs, folk dances), church chants, and romances.

If we take major works (opera, oratorio, symphony, etc.), then here too the style of the genre is always clearly readable, despite the fact that the styles of the era, movements and author’s style are superimposed on it.

But if a composer comes up with some new genre, then in this case the features of the genre style are difficult to immediately establish - for this, time must pass, during which other works in the same genre will appear. This was the case, for example, with Mendelssohn’s “songs without words.” Agree, it’s a strange song without words, but after his 48 samples of plays in this genre, other composers began to boldly call their plays by the same name.

Musical style

The style of a musical movement has many similarities with the style of the era: after all, some movements are considered by musicologists as entire eras in music.

But there are also areas for which it is possible to highlight stylistic nuances that are unique to them. These include the Viennese classical school (L. van Beethoven, J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart). The classical direction is characterized by simplicity, expressiveness, rich harmonic language, and detailed development of the theme.

When talking about what types of music there are, one cannot ignore national characteristics.

National style

The basis of the national musical style is folklore. Many great composers were inspired by folk melodies, weaving them into their creations. Some works even have corresponding names (for example, the Hungarian rhapsodies of F. Liszt, “Hungarian Dances” by J. Brahms, “Norwegian Folk Songs and Dances for Piano” by E. Grieg, “Aragonese Jota” by M.I. Glinka). In others, folk motifs become leading themes (for example, “There was a birch tree in the field” in the finale of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony).

If we approach the question of what styles of music there are, from the point of view of composition schools, individual composers and musicians, then we can distinguish several more musical styles.

Composer association style

If a composition school is characterized by a high degree of commonality of artistic techniques, then it is logical to highlight the style inherent in this school.

We can talk about the styles of polyphonic schools of the Renaissance, the styles of various Italian opera schools of the 17th century, or the styles of instrumental schools of the 17th–18th centuries.

In Russian music of the 19th century there also existed a creative association of composers - the famous “Mighty Handful”. The stylistic commonality among the composers included in this group was manifested in a single line of development, choice of subjects, and reliance on Russian musical folklore.

Individual composer's style

Composer's style is a concept that is much easier to specify, because the work of any composer is limited to a relatively short time period and certain trends of the musical era. So, literally by the first bars you can recognize, for example, the music of Mozart or Rossini.

Naturally, a composer, like any person, changes throughout his life, and this leaves an imprint on the style of his work. But some stylistic features still remain unchanged, inherent only to him, and are a kind of “calling card” of the author.

Performing style

Performing art is based on the individual performance style of the musician, who interprets the composer's intention in his own way. The performing style is manifested in the emotional coloring of the performance of the works of a particular author.

Vivid examples here are those composers who were, in addition, virtuoso musicians. This includes Niccolo Paganini, who amazed listeners with his impeccable technique and unusual techniques of playing the violin, and the brilliant pianist Sergei Rachmaninov, a true knight of music, who subordinated the melodic outline to a strict rhythmic pattern.

Here are the styles of music. This list, of course, can be supplemented with classification on other grounds, since the world's musical heritage is large and diverse.

Today's post is dedicated to the topic - the main musical genres. First, let's define what we consider a musical genre. After this, the actual genres will be named, and at the end you will learn not to confuse “genre” with other phenomena in music.

So the word "genre" is of French origin and is usually translated from this language as “species” or genus. Hence, musical genre- this is a type or, if you like, a genus of musical works. No more and no less.

How do musical genres differ from each other?

How does one genre differ from another? Of course, not just the name. Remember the four main parameters that help you identify a particular genre and not confuse it with some other, similar type of composition. This:

1. type of artistic and musical content;
2. stylistic features of this genre;
3. the vital purpose of works of this genre and the role they play in society;
4. conditions in which it is possible to perform and listen (view) a musical work of a particular genre.

What does all of this mean? Well, for example, let’s take as an example such a genre as “waltz”. Waltz is a dance, and that already says a lot. Since this is a dance, it means that waltz music is not played every time, but precisely when you need to dance (this is a question of performance conditions). Why do they dance the waltz? Sometimes for fun, sometimes to simply enjoy the beauty of plasticity, sometimes because dancing the waltz is a holiday tradition (this goes to the thesis about life’s purpose). The waltz as a dance is characterized by whirling, lightness, and therefore in its music there is the same melodic whirling and elegant rhythmic three-beat, in which the first beat is strong like a push, and the two are weak, flying (this has to do with stylistic and substantive moments ).

Main music genres

Everything, with a large degree of convention, can be divided into four categories: theatrical, concert, mass-everyday and religious-ritual genres. Let's look at each of these categories separately and list the main musical genres that are included there.

1. Theater genres (the main ones here are opera and ballet; in addition, operettas, musicals, musical dramas, vaudevilles and musical comedies, melodramas, etc.) are performed on stage.
2. Concert genres (these are symphonies, sonatas, oratorios, cantatas, trios, quartets and quintets, suites, concertos, etc.)
3. Mass genres (here we are mainly talking about songs, dances and marches in all their diversity)
4. Cult-ritual genres (those genres that are associated with religious or holiday rituals - for example: Maslenitsa songs, wedding and funeral laments, spells, bell ringing, etc.)

We have named almost all the main musical genres (opera, ballet, oratorio, cantata, symphony, concert, sonata - these are the largest). They really are the main ones and therefore it is not surprising that each of these genres has several varieties.

And one more thing... We must not forget that the division of genres between these four classes is very arbitrary. It happens that genres migrate from one category to another. For example, this happens when the real thing is recreated by the composer on the opera stage (as in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden”), or in some concert genre - for example, in the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony a very famous folk song is quoted . See for yourself! If you find out what this song is, write its name in the comments!

P.I. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 – finale

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