How to Tell What Music Genre The Song Is
Music is amazing because it comes in so many different styles. There are hundreds of genres to fit literally anyone’s taste. And as times goes on new sub-genres appear, so we will have even more in future. With such a huge variety it becomes hard to determine which genre a particular song belongs to. There are couple ways to solve this though.
One way is a more complex approach as it involves analyzing the structural and musical elements of the song. The other way is easier and relies mainly on your own experience with music.
There’s also a third option – you can simply check a resource like Wikipedia and see what it says about that album or artist. But with a little bit of practice you can identify the genres yourself and even check if Wikipedia figured out it wrong.
Analyzing the Song
Let’s start with a more reliable way to determine what music genre the song is from. To do that you need to listen to the track and analyze what instruments and how they are used in it. Also pay attention to the vocals and lyrics. Why? Because different genres feature specific instruments, music tempos and rhythms. Same goes for vocal style and techniques.
After doing this it’s always a good idea to compare the song to well known artists in various genres to find similarities. It makes it easier to clearly figure out the sub-genres. Here are the exact steps you can follow to accurately identify the genre of a song:
- Listen to the Instruments – Identify the instruments used in a track. Different genres feature specific instruments. For example electric guitar is a staple instrument in rock.
- Analyze the Tempo and Rhythm – Check the song’s speed and rhythm patterns. This will help you distinguish between main genres like rock, pop, and electronic music.
- Vocal Style and Techniques – Pay attention to the vocal style, pitch, and singing techniques. Certain genres feature very distinctive vocals. For example you are unlikely to hear harsh growling in hip-hop. But it is quite common in metal music.
- Lyrical Themes – Read the song’s lyrics. Different genres often focus on specific topics like love, social issues, drugs etc. The way the lyrics are written is a good tell what style of music it is for.
- Compare with Similar Artists – When you went through previous steps and have an idea of a genre – compare the song to known artists within various genres to find similarities. This will either confirm your guess or give you a more precise answer.
Using Your Own Experience
If you are not completely new to music and been enjoying it for a while, you won’t need to go through that analysis. You will be able to tell a music style based on your own experience. I can figure out a song’s genre by simply trusting my ear and what I already know. And if I can do it, so can you.
Think about the songs and artists you’ve listened to before and compare them to a new song. If it sounds similar to a pop song you know – it’s probably pop. If it reminds you of a metal band you like or heard in the past – it’s likely metal. Your past music experiences can be a superb guide in identifying new songs.
The key thing is to have enough knowledge about a specific genre to begin with. For example if you are a metal music fan, then you probably know other metal sub genres as well. So it will be even easier to place a song in it’s category.
Checking Music Websites
Another easy way to figure out a song’s genre is to check a resource like Wikipedia. Just look up the album or the artist and it will usually tell you what genre they belong to.
If you are unsure yourself, or you have never heard this music style before, this is a perfect way to get familiar with new genres. It’s a super simple way to identify the genre without any effort.
And there’s an additional benefit of using Wiki pages – while you’re checking the genres you might learn interesting facts about the music and the artist you are reading about.
There’s a downside though. If a band you are checking is not very popular you won’t find them on Wiki. Or the information there will be way too scarce.
Music Genre Snobism
One thing I’d like to point out is that there’s a lot of snobbery in music. Yes music snobism is real. It spread to music genre definitions too.
Some fans argue passionately about which genre a band or song belongs to. They come up with smallest of details in genre definitions. They provide examples of little known songs and obscure bands. They quote their idols. They would try to prove their point like if their life depended on it.
In reality it’s not that important. Music is there for us to enjoy, not to frame it in rigid cages. Especially when artists mix genres ALL THE TIME. You hear a song and it will have elements of 5 different music styles easily. It happens so often. So if you listen to a song and you like it, and you think it’s a rock track, maybe that’s because it does have some elements of rock.
Speaking of Rock, I have a great playlist of the Best Rock Songs ever. Check it out:
Conclusion
As you can see it’s not that hard to figure out the genre of a song. You just need to pay attention to the sound you hear, compare it with other music you are already familiar with. And if you have any doubts, you simply read about that song or band on one of the music websites.
