24 August marks the observance of International Strange Music Day. This observance was started by New York City musician, Patrick Grant, with the aim of encouraging individuals to explore and listen to music they have never heard before.
Your guide to music genres
Most of us only think of mainstream genres or the ones we are used to listening to when picking out songs or artists, but were you aware of all the genres out there?
Take a look at this extensive list of genres and sub-genres:
- Alternative
- Art Punk
- Alternative Rock
- College Rock
- Crossover Thrash
- Crust Punk
- Experimental Rock
- Folk Punk
- Goth/Gothic Rock
- Grunge
- Hardcore Punk
- Hard Rock
- Indie Rock
- Lo-fi
- New Wave
- Progressive Rock
- Punk
- Shoegaze
- Steampunk
- Anime
- Blues
- Acoustic Blues
- Chicago Blues
- Classic Blues
- Contemporary Blues
- Country Blues
- Delta Blues
- Electric Blues
- Ragtime Blues
- Children’s Music
- Lullabies
- Sing-Along
- Classical
- Avant-Garde
- Baroque
- Chamber Music
- Chant
- Choral
- Classical Crossover
- Contemporary Classical
- Early Music
- Expressionist
- High Classical
- Impressionist
- Medieval
- Minimalism
- Modern Composition
- Opera
- Orchestral
- Renaissance
- Romantic (early period)
- Romantic (later period)
- Wedding Music
- Comedy
- Novelty
- Vaudeville
- Commercial
- Jingles
- TV Themes
- Country
- Alternative Country
- Americana
- Bluegrass
- Contemporary Bluegrass
- Contemporary Country
- Country Gospel
- Country Pop
- Honky Tonk
- Outlaw Country
- Traditional Bluegrass
- Traditional Country
- Urban Cowboy
- Dance
- Club/Club Dance
- Breakcore
- Breakbeat/Breakstep
- Brostep
- Chillstep
- Deep House
- Dubstep
- Electro House
- Electroswing
- Exercise
- Future Garage
- Garage
- Glitch Hop
- Glitch Pop
- Grime
- Hardcore
- Hard Dance
- Hi-NRG/Eurodance
- Horrorcore
- House
- Jackin House
- Jungle/Drum’n’bass
- Liquid Dub
- Regstep
- Speedcore
- Techno
- Trance
- Trap
- Disney
- Easy Listening
- Bop
- Lounge
- Swing
- Electronic
- 2-Step
- 8bit/8-bit/Bitpop
- Ambient
- Bassline
- Chillwave
- Chiptune
- Crunk
- Downtempo
- Drum & Bass
- Electro
- Electro-swing
- Electronica
- Electronic Rock
- Hardstyle
- IDM/Experimental
- Industrial
- Trip Hop
- Enka
- Folk
- Alternative Folk
- Contemporary Folk
- Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
- Indie Folk (with thanks to Andrew Barrett)
- Folk-Rock
- Love Song (Chanson– merci Marcel Borchert)
- New Acoustic
- Traditional Folk
- French Pop
- German Folk
- German Pop
- Fitness & Workout
- Hip-Hop/Rap
- Alternative Rap
- Bounce
- Dirty South
- East Coast Rap
- Gangsta Rap
- Hardcore Rap
- Hip-Hop
- Latin Rap
- Old School Rap
- Rap
- Turntablism
- Underground Rap
- West Coast Rap
- Holiday
- Chanukah
- Christmas
- Christmas: Children’s
- Christmas: Classic
- Christmas: Classical
- Christmas: Comedy
- Christmas: Jazz
- Christmas: Modern
- Christmas: Pop
- Christmas: R&B
- Christmas: Religious
- Christmas: Rock
- Easter
- Halloween
- Holiday: Other
- Thanksgiving
- Indie Pop
- Industrial
- Inspirational & Religious
- CCM
- Christian Metal
- Christian Pop
- Christian Rap
- Christian Rock
- Classic Christian
- Contemporary Gospel
- Gospel
- Christian & Gospel
- Praise & Worship
- Qawwali
- Southern Gospel
- Traditional Gospel
- Hymns
- World Religions
- Instrumental
- March (Marching Band)
- J-Pop
- J-Rock
- J-Synth
- J-Ska
- J-Punk
- Jazz
- Acid Jazz
- Avant-Garde Jazz
- Bebop
- Big Band
- Blue Note
- Contemporary Jazz
- Cool
- Crossover Jazz
- Dixieland
- Ethno-jazz
- Fusion
- Gypsy Jazz
- Hard Bop
- Latin Jazz
- Mainstream Jazz
- Ragtime
- Smooth Jazz
- Trad Jazz
- K-Pop
- Karaoke
- Kayokyoku
- Latin
- Alternativo & Rock Latino
- Argentine tango
- Baladas y Boleros
- Bossa Nova
- Brazilian
- Contemporary Latin
- Cumbia
- Flamenco/Spanish Flamenco
- Latin Jazz
- Nuevo Flamenco
- Pop Latino
- Portuguese fado
- Raíces
- Reggaeton y Hip-Hop
- Regional Mexicano
- Salsa y Tropical
- New Age
- Environmental
- Healing
- Meditation
- Nature
- Relaxation
- Travel
- Opera
- Pop
- Adult Contemporary
- Britpop
- Bubblegum Pop
- Chamber Pop
- Dance Pop
- Dream Pop
- Electro Pop
- Orchestral Pop
- Pop/Rock
- Pop Punk
- Power Pop
- Soft Rock
- Synthpop
- Teen Pop
- R&B/Soul
- Contemporary R&B
- Disco
- Doo Wop
- Funk
- Modern Soul
- Motown
- Neo-Soul
- Northern Soul
- Psychedelic Soul
- Quiet Storm
- Soul
- Soul Blues
- Southern Soul
- Reggae
- 2-Tone
- Dancehall
- Dub
- Roots Reggae
- Ska
- Rock & Metal
- Acid Rock
- Adult-Oriented Rock
- Afro Punk
- Adult Alternative
- Alternative Rock
- American Trad Rock
- Anatolian Rock
- Arena Rock
- Art Rock
- Blues-Rock
- British Invasion
- Cock Rock
- Death Metal/Black Metal
- Doom Metal
- Glam Rock
- Gothic Metal
- Grind Core
- Hair Metal
- Hard Rock
- Math Metal
- Math Rock
- Metal
- Metal Core
- Noise Rock
- Jam Bands
- Post Punk
- Prog-Rock/Art Rock
- Progressive Metal
- Psychedelic
- Rock & Roll
- Rockabilly
- Roots Rock
- Southern Rock
- Spazzcore
- Stoner Metal
- Surf
- Technical Death Metal
- Tex-Mex
- Time Lord Rock (Trock)
- Trash Metal
- Soundtrack
- Foreign Cinema
- Movie Soundtrack
- Musicals
- Narrative/Incidental
- Original Score
- Soundtrack
- TV Soundtrack
- Tex-Mex / Tejano
- Chicano
- Classic
- Conjunto
- Conjunto Progressive
- New Mex
- Tex-Mex
- Vocal
- A cappella
- Barbershop
- Doo-wop
- Gregorian Chant
- Standards
- Traditional Pop
- Vocal Jazz
- Vocal Pop
- World
- Africa
- Afro-Beat
- Afro-Pop
- Asia
- Australia
- Cajun
- Calypso
- Caribbean
- Carnatic
- Celtic
- Celtic Folk
- Contemporary Celtic
- Coupé-décalé/Congo
- Dangdut
- Drinking Songs
- Drone
- Europe
- France
- Hawaii
- Hindustani
- Indian Ghazal
- Indian Pop
- Japan
- Japanese Pop
- Klezmer
- Mbalax/Senegalese
- Middle East
- North America
- Ode
- Piphat/Thai
- Polka
- Soca
- South Africa
- South America
- Traditional Celtic
- Worldbeat
- Zydeco
Why it’s so important to listen to indigenous music
In addition to the genres mentioned above, there are even more ethnic and indigenous music genres to consider.
For many indigenous groups, music is, however not simply aesthetic – it’s not merely there to entertain us, but also to pass on cultural and historical knowledge. Language extinction, for instance, is said to eliminate approximately 40% of world languages by the end of the century – a crisis so vast that UNESCO proclaimed a need for safeguarding the world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2003. This cultural heritage which it aims to preserve includes the world’s indigenous music.
The North-Vietnamese genre, ca trù, is one of the indigenous music genres which has been ear-marked for preservation by UNESCO in 2009. Other indigenous music requiring special attention. On local shores we have the music of, among others, the !Kung people which needs to be preserved and celebrated.
In fact, music is such a big part of what we are that NASA sent phonograph records called the Voyager Golden Records into space which contain, among other sounds, music such as Bach, Guan Pinghu, Kesarbai Kerkak and Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode.
Where to find new music
If you’re open to expanding your musical horizons and want to find some new music, then you may want to take a look at some of the resources below. Unfortunately, the age of MySpace has rather tapered off, but in its place a vast array of music sites and social media platforms have become available to us.
Sites where you can find new music:
- YouTube – the most widely known tool for finding videos of all kind
- fm – a site for finding music recommendations based on your taste
- Bandcamp – with this site you can buy music from independent artists
- SoundCloud – a platform where you can listen to music and find new artists
- Mixcloud – this tool allows you to find music and mixes by radio shows and DJs
- org.za – A site for finding South African music
- Fest 300 – a site where you can locate live music acts and festivals from around the world
- Deezer – a space where you can find and listen to music based on your taste
- RadioTuna – an online music streaming platform with radio stations from around the world
- World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network – a space where you can find indigenous music from around the world
Now go out, find some music, share it and celebrate all the amazing auditory gems from your own culture and those around the world!