What is Pop? - Musical Dictionary

Pop is music specifically designed for mass appeal and commercial success. It can have almost any kind of instrumentation and musical characteristics. WhatisPop? Popismusicspecificallydesignedformassappealandcommercialsuccess.Itcanhavealmostanykindofinstrumentationandmusicalcharacteristics.Themainthingisthatitbecatchy,upbeat,and–well–popular.Becauseit’sexplicitlydesignedforcommercialsuccessratherthanartisticinventiveness,popmusiciscontroversialintheworldofprofessionalmusicians.Somemusicianslookdownatpopmusic,viewingitastriteandnon-serious.Othershavenoproblemwithpop–forthem,thewholepointofmusicisentertainment,sowhat’swrongwithentertainingpopsongs?Tobefairtopopmusic,manyofitspractitionersareextremelytalentedmusicianswhosimplychoosetoplaypopularsongsratherthanimpresstheirfellowmusicians.And,inmanycases,theirmusicianshipcomestoberecognizedastheircareersprogress.MaybethebestexampleistheBeatles,apopbandthatisnowrecognizedasoneofthemostinventivemusicalactsofthemid-20thcentury. MusicalFeaturesofPop There’soneruleforpopmusic:makeitstick.Musically,thatusuallymeansalittlesyncopationintherhythm,slickvocalharmonies,andnottoomuchdissonance.Inshort,popneedstobeapproachableandeasytolistento,anditideallyitshouldgetstuckinpeople’sheadssothattheyhavetogobackandlistentoyourrecordingagainandagain.Oneofthedefiningfeaturesofpopmusicisitsstructure.Nearlyeverypopsonghasastructurewithverses,choruses,andpossiblyabridge.Thechorusisthemostimportantpartofthesong:thecatchy,melodicpartthatgetsstuckinpeople’sheads.Thechorusisusuallyrepeatedafewtimesoverthecourseofthesong,maybewithminorvariationsonacentraltheme.Theverseisalittlelesscatchyandusuallymoresubduedintone.Thereareusually3or4versesinapopsong,eachwithdifferentlyricssungoverthesamemelody.Finally,thebridgeisanoptionalsongelementthatbreaksthepattern,sometimesintroducingadifferentsetofmusicalideasfromeithertheverseorthechorus.Inothercases,thebridgemightbeaninstrumentalchorusorguitarsolobasedonthestructureofthechorus.Andsomepopsongshavenobridgeatall.Thisstructurehasbecomesosuccessfulthatmanyothergenreshaveborrowedit–modernrockmusictypicallyalsohasaverse-chorus-bridgestructure,andmainstreamhip-hopusesitaswell(theytypicallyrefertothechorusasa“hook,”butitplaysprettymuchthesamerole.) SubgenresandExamples Dance-Pop LadyGaga–BadRomance LadyGaga-BadRomance(OfficialMusicVideo) Someofthemostrecognizablepopsongscomefromdance-pop.Thesearesongsthataredesignedtoworkintwosettings:indanceclubsandontheradio.Theytypicallyuseheavyelectronicinstrumentation,bothbecauseit’stheexpectedsoundofmoderndanceclubsandbecauseit’scheapertoproduce.Butunlike“pure”electronicgenresliketechnoandhousemusic,dance-popalsoincorporateswell-polishedmelodiesandstarvocalists.Themoderneraofpophasbeendominatedbydance-popeversincethe1980s,whensingerslikeMichaelJackson,Cher,andMadonnastartedbringingpopandelectronicdancemusictogether.Today,someofthemostrecognizablenamesinmusicaredance-popstars.Dance-popartistsoftengettheworstbruntofanti-popsentiment.Somepeopleconsiderthemtoopolishedandcontrivedtobemusicallycompelling.Butevenifyoudon’tenjoylisteningtotheirmusic,someoftheseartistshaveplayedamajorroleinshapingthehistoryofpopularmusic.Some,likeLadyGaga,spentyearsworkingbehindthescenesbeforetheyemergedasstarsintheirownright;others,likeJustinTimberlake,beganastalentedperformersandovertimematuredintoinventiveartists.ImportantArtists JustinTimberlake Beyonce MichaelJackson LadyGaga ArianaGrande Pop-JazzandSmoothJazz FrankSinatra–FlyMetotheMoon InAmerica,theearliestpopmusicwasmadeby“crooners,”singers(mostlywhiteandmale)whosangslower,musicallysimplifiedversionsofjazzstandards.Thismusicstartedtocomeoutinthemid-20thcentury,whenthemiddleclasswasgrowingandthetechnologytoproducerecordswasgettingcheaperandcheaper.Allofasudden,millionsofpeoplecouldaffordtobuyrecordplayersandalbums,anditbecameextremelylucrativetoproducea#1hit.Someofthegreatestsuccessstoriesfromthaterawerethosewhomadegentle,non-threateningjazzmusicwithcatchymelodiesandsimplelyricsthatappealedtoamassaudience.Today,jazzisn’tsopopular,sojazzandpophavedriftedapart.Butthereisstillthegenreofsmoothjazz,whichtakesmusicalideasfrompopandplaysthemusingjazzinstruments.Musically,smoothjazzdoesn’thavemuchtodowithjazz(it’sanoutgrowthofthepopgenre),butitusesinstrumentslikesaxophonesandvibraphonesthathavebecomerareinpopmusic.ImportantArtists FrankSinatra BobbyDarin PerryComo SammyDavis,Jr. Pop-Rock FallOutBoy–Light‘EmUp Light'EmUpFallOutBoyLyrics) AtaroundthesametimethatcroonerslikeFrankSinatraweresellingmillionsofrecordstothenewmiddleclass,thechildrenofthemiddleclasswerebuyingawholedifferentkindofmusic.They,too,werecharmedbytheaccessiblesoundsofpopmusic,buttheywantedsomethingwithalittlemoreenergy.Theyfounditinrock&roll.Tonsofartiststookmusicalideasfromrock,removedsomeoftheedgyharshness,andmadeguitar-drivenmusicwithsmoothvocalsandcatchymelodies.Somepop-rockiconsweredestinedtofadefrommemoryasthepublic’stasteschanged;others,likeElvisPresley,wouldberecognizedastalentedentertainersbutnotespeciallycreativemusicians.Afew,though,wouldgoontogainrecognitionastruemusicalinnovators.TheBeatlesareagreatexample–theywerewildlypopularthroughoutthe1960s,andtodayhavetherespectofmusiciansallovertheworld.Today,poprockremainsahighlysuccessfulgenre,thoughithasmovedofftheradioandintomorefestivalsandlivevenues.Prettymuchanyguitar-basedpopmusiccanbedescribedaspoptoday–somearetraditionalpop-rockrootedsquarelyinthepopularmusicofthe1960sand1970s(TheKillers,theFray),whileotherpop-rockbandshavetakentheirinspirationfromcounter-culturemovementslikepunkandmetal(FallOutBoy,FiveFingerDeathPunch)ImportantArtists TheBeatles TheBeachBoys ElvisPresley TheKillers FallOutBoy CountryPop CarrieUnderwood–BeforeHeCheats CarrieUnderwood-BeforeHeCheats(OfficialVideo) Knownasthe“NashvilleSound,”countrypopistheglitzysideofruralAmericanmusic.Ithashighproductionvalues,aclearverse-chorusstructure,andacatchymelody.Musically,it’salotlikeanyothergenreofpopmusic,butitusesdifferentinstruments(acousticguitars,violins,minimalelectronicsounds)andthevocaliststypicallyhaveanaccent–oratleastpretendto.Thelinebetweencountrypopand“truecountry”canbealittlefuzzy.Mostmoderncountryhasborrowedatleastsomeelementsofpopmusic–andpopmusicitselfborrowedfromAmericanfolkmusic,sothetwotraditionsarecloselyintertwined.Andthereareplentyofindividualmusicianswhositsquarelyonbothsidesoftheline.ChrisStapleton,forexample,makescountrypopinsolotuneslike“TennesseeWhiskey,”butmakesmuchmoretraditionalcountrymusicwithhisbandtheSteeldrivers.ImportantArtists ShaniaTwain CarrieUnderwood TobyKeith TheDixieChicks TaylorSwift Relatedposts:ReadingaSongScore PlaytheVirtualPianoShareyourloveforMusic:) Lessons WhoisAerosmith? WhoisNirvana? WhoareLedZeppelin? transcribe settomusic intone intonate tweedle reprise cantillate notate setdown busk sightread sight-read tripthelightfantastictoe tripthelightfantastic develop sharpen flatten Categories Bands Chords Concept Genres MusicSheet MusicalNotation Rhythm MusicalFeaturesofPopSubgenresandExamplesDance-PopPop-JazzandSmoothJazzPop-RockCountryPopRelatedposts: