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by
Danlee Mitchell and
Jack Logan, Ph.D.
Other than determining the medium or media of a composition, a composer
must also determine the genre before the creative work of making music
begins. Genre is concerned with the basic model (opera, symphony, ballet,
raga, gamelan, et al) of compositional approach that is to be employed
in the composition.
Genre is concerned with basic compositional design when considering the
Eight Basic Elements and the Three Foundational Procedures. Names exist
that have been used over the many centuries to identify all musical genres.
Below is a list of the most common genres of music from the history of
Western music. A short description of the model of compositional approach
accompanies certain genres. Each genre is listed under the general category
of milieu. Some genres were more prevalent than others in certain historical
musical style periods.
Instrumental
Genres
1. Dance
Piece/Dance Suite/Ballet Use of rhythm to evoke dancing,
2. Canzona/Ricercare
Contrapuntal in style,
3. Prelude
Improvisational is style,
4. Toccata
Improvisational in style,
5. Passacaglia/Chaconne
A type of variation,
6. Fugue
Strict contrapuntal design,
7. Theme and
Variations,
8. Concerto
Grosso Multi-movement work,
9. Sonata
Multi-movement work,
10. Symphony
Multi-movement work,
11. Concerto
Multi­movement work,
12 String Quartet
Multi-movement work,
13. Woodwind
Quintet Multi-movement work,
14. Piano Trio
Multi­movement work,
15. Instrumental
Songs or Arrangements Many pop and jazz pieces are this genre, 16.
Character or Mood Piece Mostly written for solo instruments,
17. March
Short single­movement work.
Vocal Genres
Those marked
below with an asterisk are mixed instrumental and vocal genres. Any vocal
composition without instrumental accompaniment is known as a cappella
Ð from the Italian term meaning "chapel" - music written for the choir
of the chapel; thus, music without instrumental accompaniment.
1. Song For
solo singer with or without accompaniment,
2. Madrigal
Chamber vocal group,
3. Mass
Large or chamber vocal group,
4. Motet
Large or chamber vocal group (instruments occasionally accompany,
5. Chorale/Hymn/Spiritual,
Large or chamber vocal group (instruments occasionally accompany),
6. Cantata
Large or chamber vocal group,
7. Opera/Operetta/Broadway
Musical,
8. Oratorio,
9. Vocal jazz
or pop arrangement.
There are single-movement
genres and multi-movement genres. A single-movement composition is complete
in itself while a multi-movement genre is a work conceived as a whole
but is actually made up of more than one separate piece (or movements).
There is usually a short pause in time between movements. Separate movements
of a multi-movement work are sometimes related by having common melodic
material. This is called a cyclic relation in music.
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