Transcript Country
Country
Instrumental
Country Rap
Country Blues
Old-time Music
Techno Country
Outlaw Country
Traditional Country Music
Rockabilly
Americana
Honky Tonk
Texas Country
Bluegrass
Neotraditional
Nu-Grass
Cowboy/Western
Country Rock/Southern Rock
Western Swing
Pop Country
Red Dirt
Cowpunk
Country Soul
Instrumental
Instrumental Country is exactly what it says it is --
any form of country, from traditional honky tonk to
country-rock, played strictly instrumentally and
without any vocals.
Country Rap
Country rap is a subgenre of popular music blending
country music with hip hop music-style rapping, also
known as hick-hop. The genre has been identified as
a genre for about twenty years.
Country Blues
a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly
guitar-driven forms of the blues
It often incorporated elements of rural gospel,
ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz
Old-Time Music
a genre of North American folk music, with roots in
the folk music of many countries, including England,
Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa
It developed along with various North American folk
dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and
clogging.
The genre also encompasses ballads and other types
of folk songs.
It is played on acoustic instruments, generally
centering on a combination of fiddle and plucked
string instruments (most often the guitar and banjo).
Techno Country
A mix of country and techno
OR-country songs that are remixed for dance clubs
Genre is mostly a novelty and is not very popular
Outlaw Country
a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late
1960s and the 1970s (and even into the 1980s in some cases)
sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply
outlaw music
The focus of the movement has been on "outlaws", such as
Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings (for reference, Waylon
Jennings despised the term "Outlaw"), Merle Haggard, David
Allan Coe and his Eli Radish Band, Willie Nelson, Kris
Kristofferson, Leon Russell, Hank Williams Jr., and Billy Joe
Shaver.
The reason for the movement has been attributed to a reaction
to the Nashville sound, developed by record producers like
Chet Atkins who softened the raw honky tonk sound
Traditional Country
Traditional Country is a nebulous term -- it can refer
to anything from Roy Acuff's simple songs to the
electrified honky tonk of Johnny Paycheck -- but the
name does evoke a specific sound, namely the longstanding tradition of simple country songs delivered
with simple instrumentation and a distinct twang.
The era of traditional country didn't begin until the
late '20s, when Jimmie Rodgers became the first
national country music star. (Allmusic.com)
Rockabilly
This sub-genre can fit with Rock as well
It is a mix of rock and “hillbilly” music (the name for
country music in the ‘40s and ‘50s)
Other important influences on rockabilly include
western swing, boogie woogie, and rhythm and
blues.
While there are notable exceptions, its origins lie
primarily in the Southern United States.
Americana
is the result of roots musics formed by the confluence
of the shared and varied traditions that make up the
American musical ethos; specifically those sounds
that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm
and blues, rock and roll and other external
influential styles such as bluegrass.
Americana is popularly referred to, especially in
print, as alternative country or alt-country.
Honky Tonk
The first music genre to be commonly known as
honky tonk music was a style of piano playing related
to ragtime, but emphasizing rhythm more than
melody or harmony
the style evolved in response to an environment
where the pianos were often poorly cared for,
tending to be out of tune and having some
nonfunctioning keys.
Texas Country
Texas country is known for fusing traditionalist root sounds (similar
to neotraditional country) with the outspoken, care-free views of
outlaw country.
Texas country blends these sub-genres by featuring straightforward,
truthful lyrics, a "take it or leave it" approach, a "common working
man" theme, comical, witty undertones, intense live performances,
and loyal fan-bases.
These often combine with stripped down music, increasing the
intimate connection between a singer and audience.
The acoustic guitar is essential in Texas country music. While the
acoustic guitar is the most often used, electric guitars are not
uncommon, and the use of steel guitars or Pedal steel guitars is also
prevalent. Bass and percussion usually round out the essentials for a
bar-touring band, but a piano, baritone guitar, banjo, fiddle or
harmonica on studio recordings (or in larger shows) are the norm
for the genre.
Bluegrass
is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music
It has mixed roots in Scottish, Irish and English traditional music.
Bluegrass was inspired by the music of Appalachia, and was
influenced by the music of African-Americans through
incorporation of jazz elements.
one or more instruments each takes its turn playing the melody and
improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment;
Breakdowns are often characterized by rapid tempos and unusual
instrumental dexterity and sometimes by complex chord changes.
Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass is traditionally played
on acoustic stringed instruments. The fiddle, five-string banjo,
guitar, mandolin, and upright bass (string bass) are often joined by
the resonator guitar (also referred to as a Dobro) and (occasionally)
harmonica.
Neotraditional
also known as "new traditional" country, is a country
music style that emphasizes the instrumental
background and a 'traditional' country vocal style.
Neotraditional country artists often dress in the
fashions of the country music scene of the 1940s,
1950s and early 1960s.
Some neotraditional artists are sometimes associated
with the alternative country movement.
Nu-grass
Recent developments in the Punk scene have lead
some musicians to incorporate the traditional
sounds of folk and bluegrass with punk rock
attitudes and messages
Country/Western
Originated as a form of American folk music. It was
originally composed by and about the people who
settled and worked throughout the Western United
States and Western Canada.
Directly related musically to old English, Scottish,
and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the
life of the cowboy on the open ranges and prairies of
Western North America.
The Mexican music of the American Southwest also
influenced the development of this genre.
Country Rock/Southern Rock
This style is actually a subgenre or ROCK
Fuses rock and country
Western Swing
It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which
attracted huge crowds to dance halls and clubs in Texas,
Oklahoma and California during the 1930s and 40s until
a federal war-time nightclub tax in 1944 led to its decline.
The movement was an outgrowth of jazz, and similarities
with Gypsy jazz are often seen. The music is a result of
rural, cowboy, polka, folk, Dixieland jazz and blues
blended with swing
played by a hot string band often augmented with drums,
saxophones, pianos and, notably, the steel guitar. The
electrically amplified stringed instruments, especially the
steel guitar, give the music a distinctive sound.
Country Pop
Country pop, with roots in both the countrypolitan sound
and in soft rock, is a subgenre of country music that first
emerged in the 1970s (soft rock mixed with country
sounds)
Although the term first referred to country music songs
and artists that crossed over to Top 40 radio, country pop
acts are now more likely to cross over to adult
contemporary.
flirtation with the mainstream marked the beginnings of
country-pop, which grew out of the realization that
country-influenced music (as opposed to straight-ahead
honky tonk) could be hybridized and smoothed out for
mass consumption
Red Dirt
Critics say that Red Dirt can best be likened to the indie
genre of rock 'n' roll as there is no definitive sound that
can be attributed to all the bands in the movement. Most
Red Dirt artists would be classified by the music industry
as Americana, folk, or alt-country, though the range of
sounds in the Red Dirt spectrum goes beyond these
genres. It has been described as a mix of folk, rock,
country, bluegrass, blues, Western swing, and honky
tonk, with even a few Mexican influences.
Some define Red Dirt music as "country music with an
attitude". Others say it's a state of mind as much as it is a
sound - a sound that successfully closes the gap between
rock and country.
Cowpunk
subgenre of punk rock and New Wave that began in
the UK and California in the late 1970s and early
1980s (if you have this it goes in ROCK)
It combines punk rock or New Wave with country
music, folk music, and blues in sound, subject
matter, attitude, and style.
Many of the musicians in this scene have now
become associated with alternative country or roots
rock
Country Soul
Country-Soul is a canny fusion of country and soul.
Often, it results in the soulful, gospel-inflected
interpretations of country songs. Ray Charles was
the pioneer of this fusion, and ever since his
groundbreaking recordings, the lines between
country and soul were forever blurred.