types:
African-American music,
black music
music created by African-American musicians; early forms were songs that had a melodic line and a strong rhythmic beat with repeated choruses
chamber music
serious music performed by a small group of musicians
opera
a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes
Mass
a musical setting for a Mass
cantata,
oratorio
a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text
concerto
a composition for orchestra and a soloist
fugue
a musical form consisting of a theme repeated a fifth above or a fourth below its first statement
rondeau,
rondo
a musical form that is often the last movement of a sonata
sonata
a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms
blues
a type of folksong that originated among Black Americans at the beginning of the 20th century; has a melancholy sound from repeated use of blue notes
disco,
disco music
popular dance music (especially in the late 1970s); melodic with a regular bass beat; intended mainly for dancing at discotheques
macumba
popular dance music of Brazil; derived from the practices of the macumba religious cult
pop,
pop music
music of general appeal to teenagers; a bland watered-down version of rock'n'roll with more rhythm and harmony and an emphasis on romantic love
ethnic music,
folk,
folk music
the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community
soul
a secular form of gospel that was a major Black musical genre in the 1960s and 1970s
jazz
a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
hip-hop,
rap,
rap music
genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment; several forms of rap have emerged
R and B,
rhythm and blues
a combination of blues and jazz that was developed in the United States by Black musicians; an important precursor of rock 'n' roll
rockabilly
a fusion of black music and country music that was popular in the 1950s; sometimes described as blues with a country beat
reggae
popular music originating in the West Indies; repetitive bass riffs and regular chords played on the off beat by a guitar
skiffle
a style of popular music in the 1950s; based on American folk music and played on guitars and improvised percussion instruments