# Musical Genres and Tastes among musicians



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

I've got an interesting theory.
Someone at work today remarked that I have a very eclectic taste, and then added that it might be because I am a (term loosely used) musician.

So, I'd like to know which genre's you listen to and enjoy. You don't have to be a fanatic, for instance, I enjoy some classical, but I couldn't listen to it all day.

I'd like to prove that musicians are generally fairly open to different styles of music, and although a forum consisting of mostly guitarist's isn't exactly a microcosm, this is a pretty good group to test.

I can't fit every genre, and there are some very specific ones, so for example, let's say grunge, alternative, progressive rock, etc all fall under rock, and black metal, speed metal under metal. 


1. Rock
2. Blues
3. Classical
4. Metal
5. Country
6. Pop music
7. Rap/Hip Hop
8. Jazz
9. Electronic
10. Spoken word, Poetry, etc.


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I do not enjoy rap or hip hop, but otherwise I listen to other stuff on the poll. Pipe organ music is a big interest, as is acoustic jazz guitar, folk, trad, choral, classical, liturgical...In rotation lately are Bela Fleck, Led Zeppelin, SRV, Joscho Stephan, Don Ross, Oliver Schroer, Yes, Mike Janzen, Oscar Peterson, and online radio pipe organ. I used to listen to more classic rock but since I started teaching it, it's got pretty stale.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

kqoct I was about to NOT click the rap/hiphop when I realised:


[youtube]C7PlMoVzd3k[/youtube]


Other genera's that I do/don't like would be:

Faith/Gospel: I do not go near Gospel other than a song from a friend of mine in Sweden sent me once. Though I do love the Baroque period, and musicians such as Anonymous 4, even if 90% is secular music (hmm, may be a wrong word, I mean 'faith associated without being specifically Biblical but certainly Christian in focus'), I don't really liken that to modern Gospel singing. I do have some Buddhist musics, and some Moslem musics, and I do like Klesmer as well. 

Folk: I LOVE FOLK MUSIC and folk music from around the world. There are SO many divisions, nations, directions, periods of Folk that it would be a topic all to it's own self.

Historic: I do like music that came about from groups of goat herders sitting and jamming too. Stuff that isn't faith or folk but somewhere in between.

Experimental: I do really like Experimental music too. From Gourd bands to Cigar Box Guitars to people that use nothing but children's department toy instruments.

Hmm... I know there are other descriptions out there. I think in the end, I just like music for the most part. Yes, some things anoy my, some I just don't like. But on balance those are few and far between.


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

I would add Jam, Fusion, and Progressive Rock in addition to blues and rock.


----------



## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

rock and blues for me...with a pinch of folk...and a dab of psychodelia...:smile:


----------



## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

No "folk" category?


I selected Rock and Classical but I also listen to a lot of folk.

(and no, I wouldn't group folk together with country)


----------



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

Milkman said:


> No "folk" category?
> 
> 
> I selected Rock and Classical but I also listen to a lot of folk.
> ...


Folk was one That I really wished I could fit, but none of the other categories could really go together, and It doesn't exactly fit with the other choices.



nkjanssen said:


> You'd get a vastly different response if you posted on a keyboard forum or on a trumpet or cello forum. I don't think a guitar forum is a very good sample group at all if you're trying to generalize to all musicians.


I stated above that this can't generalize everyone, but it's neat to see peoples tastes regardless.


Personally, I'm not a huge fan of are spoken word poetry, pop, country, and rap/hiphop, or jazz. But as I was voting myself, I realised that I really like old-school country, as long as it's not the modern cowboy hat pop, nor do I enjoy pop music, but there are quite a few exceptions. For rap/hip hop there are some artists that make good music, not just the popular gangster rap bs.


----------



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i agree that most of us, (no matter how much we may like all types of music)
are going to be more comfortable with stuff that is guitar or string oriented. natch.

i like lots of stuff also, i have LSO and twelve girl band, i have judas priest, memphis slim, parliament, getto boyz, pam tillis, henry rollins, george benson.
yo yo ma, nazareth, etc. 

as for pop, there is pop stuff i can appreciate for brief periods, but it's not my thing. i tried to like electronica, but so far, i have failed. 

how could a musician not appreciate a wide-ish spectrum of his chosen art?
that's like only eating chocolate ice cream and no other flavor. sure it's really good, but it's not _all there is_, and certainly not _all that is good _

:wave:


----------



## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

cheezyridr said:


> i agree that most of us, (no matter how much we may like all types of music)
> are going to be more comfortable with stuff that is guitar or string oriented. natch.
> 
> i like lots of stuff also, i have LSO and twelve girl band, i have judas priest, memphis slim, parliament, getto boyz, pam tillis, henry rollins, george benson.
> ...


12 Girl Band is pretty awesome! I have since I was a teen loved Kitaro too!


>_> The first real musicians I absolutely adored or listened to from before I was 10:

Tchaikovsky (my mom played nothing but Tchaikovsky while pregnant and during my first year or two of life, I used to fall asleep to Wintertime Dreams)
Rodger Whittaker (YES he did do children's albums at one time)
Disney Soundtrack ( >_> there was a good collection of movie songs on that)
John Denver
Johnny Cash
a lot of 1950's random albums, my dad had dozens of 45's and we used to just play them one after the other.
Simon and Garfunkel
Gordon Lightfoot
I had a tape of the Greatest Western Themes, I wore that out long before it was stolen
James Last (don't shoot me *fear*)
Charlie Pride (again, please don't shoot me *fear*)
And of course the recorder wielding - The Friendly Giant

Then when I was 8 a new friend introduced me to KISS :rockon2: that was in 1977.

In 1979 my younger brother bough RUSH Moving Pictures. He didn't like it, I loved it and by a year later it had defaulted to being my album...


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I don't like country (I was subjected to too much of it growing up.)
I don't like rap/hiphop, but I can take it in small doses, especially if it has a sense of humour.

I like a lot of different stuff, but there is a lot of stuff in the genres I picked that I don't like either.

But I do also have respect for many musicians who play a genre I don't like, as I can still appreciate their talent (People like Roy Clark & Chet Atkins for example--fantastic musicians--they just don't play music I like.)


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Patty da Reggaeman has no where to click.. tings ain't Ire...


----------



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> Patty da Reggaeman has no where to click.. tings ain't Ire...


Sorry, dis tread was created in da babylon


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Luke98 said:


> Sorry, dis tread was created in da babylon


Ah... you be the Downpressor man...


----------



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

keeperofthegood said:


> Charlie Pride (again, please don't shoot me *fear*)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I will gladly listen to anything in any mentioned genre, provided I find something to like about the song. I used to never listen to country, i dont own any, but i hear it a lot at work and it's fine with me now (used to be against it on principle LOL).

Granted, after recent events some of the songs have a little more weight behind them.


----------



## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

cheezyridr said:


> although it's not mentioned on his wiki page, marley lived in my hometown (wilmington delaware) for a while, and so did his mom. i don't know if she lives there still, i doubt it.


I think that there is a large proponent in Miami. The offices are there.


----------



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...all that, and more. 

pity the artist who closes himself off from any genre.

-dh


----------



## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

I'd have chosen Bluegrass if you'd listed it. I don't consider it to be Country, at least the way Country is headed these days. <rolls eyes> Cool idea, tho.


----------



## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

david henman said:


> ...all that, and more.
> 
> pity the artist who closes himself off from any genre.
> 
> -dh


check out these lists of genres...endless...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Music_genres

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_styles

yup...i just can't get enough "freak folk"..."gregorian chants"..."katajjaq" aka "inuit throat singing"...or "Nerdcore hiphop" in my diet...


----------



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

Big_Daddy said:


> I'd have chosen Bluegrass if you'd listed it. I don't consider it to be Country, at least the way Country is headed these days. <rolls eyes> Cool idea, tho.


That's the thing, when I think of country I think of traditional country. Modern country i think of more as cowboy hat pop music


----------



## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

Luke98 said:


> That's the thing, when I think of country I think of traditional country. Modern country i think of more as cowboy hat pop music


I'm with ya 100%. Classic country, including bluegrass, has much more appeal in my books, and is a helluva lot more sincere than the formula/pop crap coming out today.


----------



## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Modern country is horrible...its so generic...sucks.

i like older country music...even country from the 80's and early 90's was more traditional in sound.

Ricky Scaggs is one of my favorite country bluesgrass players.

I prefer to listen to Rock music however as far as country goes I love Ricky Scaggs guitar playing.


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...all that, and more.
> 
> pity the artist who closes himself off from any genre.
> 
> -dh


There are genres that do nothing for me as a listener, so I tend to tune them out.

But that doesn't mean I can't learn things from them--so as a guitarist I try different styles, and have learned from them.

I used to buy Guitar Player from cover to cover and read about all sorts of styles and I'd try all the lessons in them at least once.

These days I don't have that sort of time, nor the space to store them all--but I do read most of Premier Guitar online each month--and they cover a wider variety than most guitar magazines.

So as a listener--I do tune out stuff, but as a guitarist I pay attention.
If that makes sense to anybody.


----------



## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Big_Daddy said:


> I'm with ya 100%. Classic country, including bluegrass, has much more appeal in my books, and is a helluva lot more sincere than the formula/pop crap coming out today.


Yup.


I'll take Johhny Cash, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard ANYday over the rock wannabees who call themselves country these days.

Same goes for bluegrass. Great stuff.


----------



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

Luke98 said:


> That's the thing, when I think of country I think of traditional country. Modern country i think of more as cowboy hat pop music


...as with too many genres, when i think of modern country, i think "autotune".

-dh


----------



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

jimihendrix said:


> check out these lists of genres...endless...
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Music_genres
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_music_styles
> yup...i just can't get enough "freak folk"..."gregorian chants"..."katajjaq" aka "inuit throat singing"...or "Nerdcore hiphop" in my diet...


...i've spent a lot of time listening to gregorian chants. there are things to be learned from every genre, but it requires an open mind. 

-dh


----------



## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Milkman said:


> Yup.
> 
> 
> I'll take Johhny Cash, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard ANYday over the rock wannabees who call themselves country these days.
> ...


+1! "New Country"???? WTF is that? Just call it POP Music.


----------



## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be" - peter de vries 
"there is nothing new under the sun" - (Ecclesiastes 1:9-14 NIV)
"innovate...don't emulate" - fender musical instruments
"it's deja vu all over again" - yogi berra
"those who don't know history are destined to repeat it" - Edmund Burke 

i'm far too busy creating new genres of music to explore all the old ones...who has the time...???...new genres are born and die every day...the old ones should remain a quaint history lesson...something to be recalled...reviewed...then retired...9kkhhd


----------



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...as with too many genres, when i think of modern country, i think "autotune".
> 
> -dh


Autotune I believe will ultimately stifle creativity. If everyone can sing great (and I use great very loosely) but it all sounds the same, they're making the same music.

So people who would've made for amazing blues singers will make pop, country singers who had a chance of reviving the true genre are making pop country, and people who would've made for amazing gregorian chanters...

You get the idea.


----------



## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

jimihendrix said:


> i'm far too busy creating new genres of music to explore all the old ones...who has the time...???...new genres are born and die every day...the old ones should remain a quaint history lesson...something to be recalled...reviewed...then retired...9kkhhd


I get what you're saying, and for myself I'm SO,SO,SO sick of classic Rock, I've discovered some really, really great bluegrass , and folk, things I never thought to appreciate prior to picking up a guitar. If you don't appreciate where you're coming from, how can you know where you're going? SO much to learn and do little time.


----------



## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

Luke98 said:


> Autotune I believe will ultimately stifle creativity. If everyone can sing great (and I use great very loosely) but it all sounds the same, they're making the same music.
> 
> So people who would've made for amazing blues singers will make pop, country singers who had a chance of reviving the true genre are making pop country, and people who would've made for amazing gregorian chanters...
> 
> You get the idea.


I've been referring to it as the "acid-washed jeans of sound" for a few years now. It's just so damn cheesy, you'd think it would've eaten itself up already. It's like the difference between Peter Frampton using the "talk box" and Sly Stone and Jeff Beck uising it. Autotune is fine in rap/hip-hop, but brutal when Cher and Kid Rock use it, for example. The digital Pandora's Box just keeps getting better. 


Shawn :food-smiley-004:


----------



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

what's auto tune? is that some sort of pitch correction?
if so, you can lump in ozzie's last several records among them.


----------



## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

auto tune is completely over used...it doesnt even sound that great...it sounds to robotic.

Just search you tube for autotune and see what it is...its nothing special and its sounding kind of cliche already...its over used.


----------



## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

oh _THAT_

yeah, i found that annoying long before i knew what it is


----------



## OldSoulBluesMan (Jul 9, 2009)

I chose rock, blues, jazz, and rap/hip hop strictly on the basis that it's what I grew up listening to. And thus, is what my ears pay more attention to. But I am always on the hunt for new music and genres that I am yet to explore.

Since there seems to be some rockabilly fans here, would you guys care to shoot out some names of your favourites?


----------



## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

For country and bluegrass Ricky Scaggs is awesome...Im basically a rock guy in general however Ricky can pretty much play anything.

My favorite song of his is here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dS4AaXLtos

Another live version...he plays guitar in this one.

All the musicians are extreamly talented in both versions of the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ve5Hr_M6E


----------



## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

OldSoulBluesMan said:


> I chose rock, blues, jazz, and rap/hip hop strictly on the basis that it's what I grew up listening to. And thus, is what my ears pay more attention to. But I am always on the hunt for new music and genres that I am yet to explore.
> 
> Since there seems to be some rockabilly fans here, would you guys care to shoot out some names of your favourites?



Danny Gatton: for sure, just the best. A great all-arounder.
James Burton: Elvis' guitarist and the man behind the "Bakersfield" sound.
Brian Setzer
Scotty Anderson
Roy Buchanan: kind of hard to peg. blues/jazz/country/rockabilly all in one.
Carl Perkins

This is just a small sampling, but there music is easy to find and enjoy.
There's plenty on YouTube for each of these guys, but the records sound much, much better.

Cheers Shawn


----------



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

david henman said:


> ...i've spent a lot of time listening to gregorian chants. there are things to be learned from every genre, but it requires an open mind.
> 
> -dh


For the purposes of this poll Gregorian chant would be under classical.

I have some Gregorian Chant on CD, and I can definitely appreciate it.

It is more complex than a lot of music these days, yet it is less complex than a lot of music that has come between now & then.

It is a stepping stone though in the history of composition and therefore has something to teach us as well. 

Plus, some of it just sounds cool.


----------



## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

There are forms of 'religious' music that are, faith aside, really fun to listen to for reasons not of faith but of the fabric of the woven sound. Be they Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindi or others in origins.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_chant Gregorian Chant, as a method in vocal presentation is very fun to listen to. Like being steeped in butter and cream at the same time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngWJ6NDeeQE 

The band, Gregorian does this method I think very well too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7csvgL-G3E

as the Metallicas cover Noting Else Matters shows.

I think as method in music, it is powerful and can augment songs in a significant fashion no matter the genre of that song. Something I will I hope be able to explore as I expand on my own studies of music over time 

Just still have to sort out how to change tunings on my guitar without it sounding like crud or breaking the strings >.<


----------



## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

zontar said:


> For the purposes of this poll Gregorian chant would be under classical.
> 
> I have some Gregorian Chant on CD, and I can definitely appreciate it.
> 
> ...


It sounds completly awsome on a good system, however I'd really like to hear it in the setting for which it was meant, a really great cathedral. I'm sure it would be nothing less than haunting.


----------



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

keeperofthegood said:


> Just still have to sort out how to change tunings on my guitar without it sounding like crud or breaking the strings >.<


http://www.spidercapo.com/index.html

-dh


----------



## Robert1950 (Jan 21, 2006)

From my POV, it's good to see jazz ahead of country and pop. I recently heard the phrase - intelligent pop. First strikes me as an oxymoron, but I'd be willing to give it listen.

You must remember that these are the opinions of a guy who went to concerts and dances in the 60s an 70s to hear the guitar solos.


----------



## Luke98 (Mar 4, 2007)

Robert1950 said:


> From my POV, it's good to see jazz ahead of country and pop.


I'm horrible. I figured I would vote for country and pop because I enjoy both in certain situations, (ie, old-school country, and pop when clubbing) but neglected to vote for jazz because I couldn't think of any jazz I really listened to...

Then I started listening to Morphine, and think I'm ready for jazz.

Anyone want to recommend some not-too-far-out jazz?


----------



## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Maybe not jazz, but jazz influenced is a lot of Santana (not his commercial stuff). I like Spyro Gyra, light jazz, not too many guitars though. John Maclauglin is awesome. Of course there is the recently departed Les Paul, if you liked the backing tracks on Ren and Stimpy, he does a bunch of cool stuff like that. Chet Atkins, country jazz. Some of Randy Bachman's stuff is heavily jazz influenced (just listen to the solo on Lookin' out for #1, and all of She's Come Undone). Leo Kotke and Adrian Legg, look em up on you tube. Great musicians. That's a few. I am not a jazz nut, but I like some of everything, and can apprieciate it all.


----------



## Big_Daddy (Apr 2, 2009)

Luke98 said:


> I'm horrible. I figured I would vote for country and pop because I enjoy both in certain situations, (ie, old-school country, and pop when clubbing) but neglected to vote for jazz because I couldn't think of any jazz I really listened to...
> 
> Then I started listening to Morphine, and think I'm ready for jazz.
> 
> Anyone want to recommend some not-too-far-out jazz?


Diana Krall and Holly Cole are two that come immediately to mind.


----------



## 4345567 (Jun 26, 2008)

__________


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

+1 on "Kind of Blue"...buy 2 of them. You will likely wear out the first one.

Cheers

Dave


----------



## LarryLimerick (Nov 23, 2009)

I like most any kind of rock, some metal (not really into death metal or black metal), I like blues, and I like some older country but I really don't like the newer stuff. One genre that I like that wasn't on the poll is raggae, I don't listen to a huge amount of it but I do like listening to a little of it here and there.


----------



## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

LarryLimerick said:


> I like most any kind of rock, some metal (not really into death metal or black metal), I like blues, and I like some older country but I really don't like the newer stuff. One genre that I like that wasn't on the poll is raggae, I don't listen to a huge amount of it but I do like listening to a little of it here and there.


I like listening to reggae in Jamaica on the beach right around this time of year - which is exactly what I SHOULD be doing RIGHT NOW!


----------

