Re: Properties of a music genre
To quote Mac Davis from "I Believe in Music," circa 1972: "Music is the universal language and love is the key."
Wish it was that simple, Markadiddle...
Music can be broken down into its components, which are supposedly melody, harmony and rhythm...but truth be told, while each component may start with a basic 4/4 with accents on 2 and 4, someone will find a way to alter that basic component to fit the culture...
Consider that gospel music, rhythm and blues and country music share many of the same components (witness the three first cousins Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley who grew up more-or-less together and took the same components in distinctly different directions)...
And different regional influences are added as ethnic groups move from one part of the world to another. Ever wonder why they call it "Afro-Cuban" jazz, for example? Africans took tribal rhythms (yeah, including those beloved bongo and conga beats) and melded it with the Spanish music brought by immigrants to Cuba. Faster than you can say "Babalu," it took off in the 1930's and it's still part of the music scene now...
Conceivably, man, you could list thousands of music "genres" and not even scratch the surface...and that's the awesome part of it!
I try not to overanalyze it...I just enjoy it!
keep the beat goin' ... Don't keep it to yourself!
Charlie
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau, "Walden," 1854
"There's a lot to be said for Time Honored tradition and value." --In memory of Frank "fiacovaz" Iacovazzi
"Maybe your drums can be beat, but you can't."--Jack Keck
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