Aretha Franklin is 'The Queen of Soul', and rightly so. The soul and gospel music she sang in the 60's and early 70's are some of the most moving and powerful ever recorded. Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige are all in her debt.
Classic music is "High brow" music played on instruments of the orchestra as opposed to popular, dance or traditional folk. Usually instrumental or opera. Academically speaking it's the "art music" from the period 1750 - 1825. The classical period saw the emergence and rapid flowering of the sonata form and the first maturity of the symphony, the solo concerto, the solo piano sonata, the string quartet, and other forms of chamber music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the child prodigy who became the greatest composer of the Classical age. The apparent simplicity and clarity of his music belies its enormous difficulties, and he is especially famous for his piano concertos, operas, string quartets and wild sense of humour.
Dance music is music composed, played, or both, specifically to accompany social dancing. It can be either the whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement.
Groove Armada are based round the instrumental and production skills of Tom Findlay and Andy Cato, Groove Armada have proved one of the most consistent British dance of acts of recent years. Refreshingly eclectic, they're happy to make music for both the dance floor and the sofa.
Experimental music is any music that challenges the commonly accepted notions of what music is. There is an overlap with avant-garde music. John Cage was a pioneer in experimental music and defined and gave credibility to the form.
Bjork was a future-pop princess with a unique vocal talent. After years of service in Iceland's indie-corps Bjork went solo in 1992, embracing a variety of styles from dance to big band in her search for expression. Proof that musical adventurism and commercial success can walk hand in hand.
Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. Folk music arose, and best survives, in societies not yet affected by mass communication and the commercialization of culture. It normally was shared and performed by the entire community (not by a special class of expert performers), and was transmitted by word of mouth.
Protest-singer, prophet and people's poet, Bob Dylan is undoubtedly the most influential artist of the last forty years of popular music. In both quantity and quality, his musical output remains virtually unrivalled, and no other songwriter has ever used image and narrative to such great effect. Simply crucial.
Country music, once known as country and western music, is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States; usually played on stringed instruments, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues.
Johnny Cash the Man in Black was a true American icon. He spanned the gulf between early rock 'n' roll and country and gave us a gritty and uncompromising view of the life of the working man.
Jazz is a musical art form characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. It has been called the first original art form to develop in the United States of America.
Like a nice sit down in your favourite slippers, Norah Jones provides a lite jazz-pop-country-bluesy comfort zone in today's chaotic world. Famously winning eight Grammy's for her 2003 debut Come Away With Me; Norah's smokey, autumnal voice may alienate some, but undoubtedly enchants millions.
Pop music is 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.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor famous daughter of ex-Blue Peter favourite Janet Ellis, Sophie was catapulted into the limelight in 2000 when she co-wrote and sang the catchy vocal for Spiller's "Groovejet". She's since gone on to establish herself as a solo artist, releasing two albums and various singles.
Rock and roll, also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. As a cultural phenomenon, rock's social impact on the world is likely unparalleled by any other kind of music.
Franz Ferdinand cool swaggering Scottish quartet who tip the wink to art rock of the 80s. Happily unpretentious - they just wanted to make music that girls want to dance to. Showing their Southern cousins how to truly take the biscuit, they name check Terry Wogan along the way.
The hip hop music keystone is the break beat. The term break beat refers to the instrumental in the middle of soul and funk records where the drummer and bass player got a chance to show off. Noticing that this was the part of the record that invited the crowd to do likewise, one night in 1974 DJ Kool Herc struck upon the idea of cutting these sections from different records together to create a prolonged break beat, the now fundamental principle of hip hop.
Brooklyn born rapper Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, is undeniably one of the biggest names in recent rap history. After a street-hardened childhood, he went on to start Roc-A-Fella Records with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. He has rolled out hit album after hit album ever since, collaborating with anyone who's anyone along the way.
R&B stands for Rhythm and Blues although in the context of contemporary urban music it refers to fusion of soul and hip hop styles. R&B tends to be very smooth and polished, but while its romantic ballads fit well in to radio formats it also has room for up-tempo, funky dance tracks, which usually boast the same high-tech, chart friendly production and controlled yet soulful vocals.
Ms Dynamite One of the most talented artists to emerge from the burgeoning UK garage scene. Tipped for greatness since her debut single 'Booo!' Dynamite (aka Niomi McLean-Daley) is set for worldwide super stardom.
UK Garage was first referred to as 'speed garage' in the mid 1990s, UK garage as it is now known can be best described as a hybrid of US house and jungle. That said, it is widely acknowledged that whilst the tempo comes from house music there is a fusion of many black music styles incorporated in to the sound. The MC represents the reggae influence whilst there is a certain amount of Nigerian and West African hi life influence in certain drum patterns. US R&B is also important to the sound as it has a smoothness running through it.
World music is also sometimes referred to as global or indeed international music. Ever since the world began people have played and sung to celebrate, to cry, to fall in love, and just to communicate, and we all do it in different ways. That's why world music is so exciting; it's the key to understanding different languages, religions, cultures, history, traditions...each other in fact. So much of the world's music wasn't designed for cds or for concert halls but simply for religious festivals or other rituals.
Youssou N'Dour In his native Senegal this drummer, singer and bandleader is a living legend. He's the leading exponent of 'mblax', a style of music which combines traditional rhythms with modern electric instruments. Probably the best known African musician in the world today.
I have chosen to further research music from the pop genre and the urban genre including; hip-hop, R&B, rap etc.
