The main features of pop music as a mass culture are simplicity, vocals and rhythm, with less attention to the instrumental part.
The main and almost the only form of composition in pop music is the song. Pop music includes such subgenres as Europop, Latina, Disco, synthpop, dance music and others.
Specifications
Music critics highlight the following criteria for pop music as a music genre.
The songs are built according to the conservative scheme couplet + chorus. Pop songs require simple, easy listening tunes. The main instrument in pop music is the human voice. Accompaniment is given a secondary role: accompanying pop musicians do not play solos and most often are neither songwriters nor band leaders. An important role in pop music is played by a rhythmic structure: many pop songs are written for dancing and have a clear, constant beat.
The main musical unit in pop music is a single song or single. The average length of a song is usually from 2 to 4 minutes, which corresponds to a radio-friendly format. Long-running compositions with extensive instrumental parts are practically not found, as are conceptual albums.
- Michael Jackson is the most successful singer of pop music. Got the nickname "King of Pop"
- Madonna - the most successful singer in pop music. Got the nickname "Queen of Pop"
- Britney Spears "The Pop Princess of Music"
Lyrics in pop songs are usually devoted to personal experiences, emotions: love, sadness, joy. Of great importance is also the visual presentation of songs: a concert show and video clips. Therefore, many pop performers have an extravagant image. A pop singer group often includes dancers, extras and other people who are not involved in the performance of music, but who play an important role in concerts.
Despite the long and turbulent history, pop conservative. It tends to reflect current musical conditions, rather than progressive directions. This is due to the fact that publishers, as a rule, are not inclined to commercial risk and favor performers in proven genres. In this regard, pop is focused on an abstract average audience, rather than a subculture of fans.
History
For the first time the term "pop song" sounded in English back in 1926, but the roots of pop music go down in history. The immediate predecessor of pop music was folk music, as well as later street romances and ballads.
Modern pop music was formed in parallel with other genres, such as rock music, and was not always separable from them. In the 1950s and 1960s, its most typical form was the so-called. "traditional pop". Traditional pop is performed by the singer-soloist to the background accompaniment. In the US, variety art was closely associated with jazz (Frank Sinatra), in France - with chanson. Much of the pop music scene in the United States is made up of aframerican performers in the genre of soul.
A real breakthrough in pop music was the appearance in the 1970s of the disco style (Eurodisco) and such groups as ABBA, Boney M, Dschinghis Khan, Bee Gees. Pop music is now replacing rock and roll as the main dance music at discos, and since that time dance music has been one of the main trends in pop music.
Due to the emergence of music television (in particular, the MTV channel), in the 1980s the culture of video clips was formed. At this time in the United States appear such stars as Prince and Madonna. Hip-hop, soul and rhythm-and-blues influence pop music during this period. Although soul originated back in the 1950s, until the 1980s it remained music, which was primarily listened to by aframericans. Performers such as Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and, of course, Ray Charles, who has been performing on the R&B and soul scene since the late 1950s, made this style one of the mainstream in contemporary pop music. In the 1990s and 2000s, dance electronic music (rave) is added to this. At this time, the pop music became inherent in the dance of compositions (example: Britney Spears).
Regional varieties
Nowadays, western music is mainly associated with pop music, Europop One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Little Mix. This style prevails in both America and Europe. However, different regions of the world have their own
characteristics associated with combining the rhythms of pop music and national melodies. So, it is worth noting the Latin American pop music (latina) with its many dance genres - samba, salsa, rumba, tango, cha-cha-cha, lambada, macarena. Latina gained popularity in the North thanks to such performers as Kaoma, Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias. Middle Eastern pop music has an unusual melody. Korean and Japanese pop music has its own color and fame.
Awards and charts
Every year hundreds of festivals and competitions are held in the world, revealing the best of the best. The most authoritative competition of world pop music is the Grammy Awards.
In addition to the Grammy Awards, there are many different awards, among which the most prestigious are the American Music Awards, World Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards. Pop music is also presented at the annual Eurovision Song Contest. To measure the popularity of a song, lists are compiled, in the image and likeness of the world's largest national music list, the Billboard Hot 100 (USA). For example, in the UK it is the UK Singles Chart and the UK Albums Chart.
In compiling the Billboard Hot 100, sales of music CDs, popularity of songs on radio stations and sales via the Internet are taken into account.
Cultural and social influence
Pop music has created such a phenomenon as pop stars - individuals whose life attracts the attention of the press outside of their musical activities. In pop music, popularity depends not only on the abilities of the performer and the composer, but also on such non-music related factors as appearance, sex appeal, reputation, press coverage. To attract the attention of the press and the public, many pop singers and their
producers are not averse to provoking scandals and shocking.
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