Musical Styles

A specific style of music is defined by the elements - common or unique - that are used to create it. They can be influenced by a number of things:

Timbre - The types of instruments used or a specific sound produced from these instruments. A variety of timbres integrated throughout a song can make it more interesting and appealing to listen to.

Rhythm - A genre of music can often feature an original rhythmic style that separates it from other genres. House, for instance, repeats a kick drum sound on every beat of a 4/4 bar. This basic rhythm is easy to dance to and therefore ideal for club scenes. This contrasts to some tunes in the style of breakbeat. Although a lot of house and breakbeat music share a similar tempo of around 120-130 bpm, the distinct pulsing of house is easily distinguishable from the typical breakbeat drum pattern. This is because different beats are emphasised in both genres.

Jack Beats - Elevator Music (released 2009)

This piece was recorded 100% digitally. It includes modern techniques such as MIDI synth input and manipulation, digital vocal sampling and cutting, quantized beats and time-stretching. All of these things are typical in post-2000 dance records. 

Melody - Some genres of music are often characterised by specific scales. For example, rock and blues often revolve around the minor pentatonic scale. This scale includes the root note, a minor third, a perfect fourth, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh. Blues even has its own version of the pentatonic scale, commonly called the "blues pentatonic." This scale includes the same notes as the minor pentatonic except with an added diminished fifth/augmented fourth.

Indian classical music uses musical modes called "ragas," which are used amongst cultures in various occasions. This can range from different times of the day to different seasons amongst other events. The way they are played and the notes they use can portray very specific emotions amongst the listener. 

Harmony - Similar to melody, genres sometimes repeat distinct harmonies that may separate them from other styles. 

Rock artists usually incorporate power chords into their material. A power chord is a chord that consists of the root note and the perfect fifth interval. These are useful for many artists as they are neither major or minor and allow riffs to be created easily. Although this combination of notes is ubiquitous amongst music, it is applied in rock music in a recognisable way.

Culture - Many aspects of modern life are heavily influenced by different genres of music. Appearance, speech and live events are among these.

Hip Hop
The phrase "hip hop" refers not only to the style of music, but to the whole culture surrounding it. This includes graffiti art, breakdancing, beatboxing, and clothes amongst other things. Baggy t-shirts, snapback hats, gold chains and jewellery have become popularised within the culture as a noticeable hip hop appearance. (However, not exclusively.)

Hip hop originated in the Bronx in New York during the 1970s. Its defining rhythmic features include a 4/4 breakbeat drum pattern with kick drums typically accenting the first and third beats of a bar and snare drum beats accenting the second and fourth.

The musical style is more rhythmically orientated, allowing the melody and harmonies to be provided by the backing "beat." Hip hop beats frequently sample songs, speech and other sources for rhythmic and melodic effect. These are often looped. However, the focal point of hip hop music is usually the vocalist's rapping. 

Hip hop tunes are often mixed by DJs using turntables for live performances. This allows beats to be played back to back whilst an MC raps over the top.

Timbre - Electronic samples of any instruments and an electronic drum kit. Drum kit, guitars synthesizers and other instruments may also be used for live performances or recordings.

The Pharcyde - Drop (released 1995)

This record includes typical features associated with the hip hop era. These include using turntables to produce scratching effects, drum machines and loops, synth basslines used to emulate bass guitars, vocal samples and rapping. 

Related genres:
Rap rock/rap metal - Combination of elements of rock music and hip hop. Full rock band line up of drummer, bassist, guitarist and vocalist. However the vocalist predominantly raps. A band within this genre is Rage Against The Machine.

Trip hop - More atmospheric than typical hip hop with extensive use of delay and reverb. 

Grime - Deep basslines often similar to dubstep. Typically faster pace than ordinary hip hop.

Drum and Bass
Drum and bass is a genre of dance music. It is usually between 160 and 180 bpm. The fast tempo is essential for this genre to create a lively, energetic atmosphere.

Similar to hip hop, drum and bass music is mixed together by a DJ using vinyl records or computer software. The small range of tempos within the genre means that virtually any tune can be combined with another by a skilled DJ. This is done by editing the tempo of a cued track to match the one playing. This technique is used so that music can continue without pausing for longer periods of time to keep the audience moving.  

Drum and bass culture emerged with raves in the UK in the mid 90s. It has become notorious for its relationship with drugs. Drugs are often used in raves to allow people to keep dancing for longer. Raves often continue through the night and sometimes don't end until the early hours of the morning.

Timbre - Electronic samples of instruments and synthesizers. Electronic sounds used to replicate drums.

Spectrasoul - Away With Me (Calibre remix) (released 2012)

Similar to the Jack Beats tune, this tune is mostly digital. The only possible exception being the recorded vocals. However, this is an a cappella that has been manipulated so might be considered digital.
 
Related genres:
Jump up - Energetic, "screeching" or "robotic" sounds. Intended to encourage audience movement and energy.

Ragga jungle - Influenced by Jamaican music.  Samples Jamaican MC's. Sometimes reggae influenced with a "wobbly" bassline.

Liquid - Samples various genres including funk and jazz. More ambient, relaxed style of drum and bass.

Drumstep - Combines the tempo of drum and bass with the "half-time" beat of dubstep. Can be used in live performances to add variety to a drum and bass set.

Heavy Metal
Heavy metal has a number of features that disconnect it from other styles.
One of its main unique features is the style of vocals. Many heavy metal vocalists have a "growling" style of vocals as if the singer is shouting their lyrics with as much force and volume as possible. This works well to convey the lyrical content. Metal lyrics often include the negative aspects of life. For example, these include war, aggression and death.

Similar to rock, a metal band usually consists of predominantly male members. A drummer, one or two electric guitarists, a vocalist, a bass guitarist and sometimes a synthesizer, depending on the style of metal. The guitar tones usually have heavy distortion to thicken the texture with as much volume as possible.

A common structure amongst metal songs includes various riffs leading to a guitar solo. Some bands, such as Machine Head, incorporate dual guitar solos where both the rhythm and lead guitarists will play separate solos or harmonise sections.

Heavy metal fans can sometimes be identified by their appearance. Many metal fans across the world wear band t-shirts, piercings, metal chains and long hair.

Lamb Of God - Walk With Me In Hell (released 2006)

This recording includes features typical to metal. These include duplicated guitars panned left and right, fast double bass drums. The sound of metal has developed ever since guitar distortion was embraced in rock recordings in the early 60s. Initially, bands such as Led Zeppelin might've been considered "metal" but today metal refers to songs with a heavier distortion and more aggressive content. 

Related genres:
Thrash metal - Faster tempo for more energetic songs. 

Doom metal - Slower tempos, guitars tuned lower with slow riffs.

Glam metal - Focuses on catchy hooklines and appearance. This includes make up, hair and flashy outfits.

Reggae
Reggae originated in Jamaica. Its most noticeable feature is the rhythm of the instruments. Guitar or piano staccato chords typically occur on the offbeat. In many reggae songs, the kick drum occurs on the second and fourth beats of each bar. (Or the third beat, depending on how the listener perceives it.) These may be combined with hi-hat rhythms and side sticks on the snare drum.

The recognisable offbeat rhythm of reggae has become prolific amongst various styles of music. Mainstream popular music composers often use it to appeal to their audiences. For example it can be clearly heard throughout "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars. Although this song has no notable relation to Jamaican culture, the song may still be defined as reggae by some.

The culture associated with reggae commonly relates to the Rastafari movement amongst Jamaica. They worship Haile Selassie - the former emperor of Ethiopia, who is often mentioned within the lyrics of reggae music.

Peace and love are also amongst the messages commonly portrayed in reggae - a vast difference to heavy metal, where these themes are rarely found. However elements of reggae music and heavy metal can be combined. Skindred fuse aspects of both reggae and metal with their music. The band layout is typically metal and a lot of the vocals are the "growls" frequently found in metal. However, the lead vocalist also sings in a Jamaican accent with elements of Jamaican Patois found within lyrics. They have even written a reggae song "Guntalk," which mentions crime within communities - also a common theme amongst reggae songs.

Timbre - Electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, brass instruments e.g trumpet, trombone.

Desmond Dekker & The Aces - Israelites (released 1968)

This song was recorded on tape. It includes effects such as reverb on the vocals and distortion on the guitars. It also ends with a fade out.

Related genres:
Ska - Some may say that reggae is a more laid back, slower version of ska music. Contains some of the same qualities as reggae, such as brass instrumentation and backing vocals. Ska tends to have a faster syncopated rhythm with an offbeat between each beat of the bar played by guitar, piano etc.

Dub - Atmospheric subgenre of reggae. Delay and reverb contribute to a dub song's sound. Long instrumental sections. Strong focus on bassline. Often samples speech.

Some would say that there are too many styles existing at once. I don't think there can ever be too many styles as there is so much variety amongst music and small changes can have a large impact on the listener's perspective of a song. On the other hand, the names of some genres can also become confusing because details distinguishing one genre from another can be seemingly insignificant. 

Timbre

Timbre - The unique characteristics of a sound produced from any instrument.

A minor change in the timbre can ultimately change how people perceive a tune.  Each different timbre is altered by the overtones associated with it. For example, a flute playing at exactly the same pitch and volume as a piano can easily be distinguished due to its unique sound.

Human voices all have unique timbres, despite some being similar. We can listen to someone speaking and recognise instantly who they are because of the timbre of their voice.

Guitar tone
The sound produced by an electric guitar is influenced by a number of things:

Strings - Thicker guitar strings tend to produce higher volume and longer sustain.

Action - The distance between the strings and the fretboard alters the sound produced. A higher action usually produces a louder volume and a fuller tone, despite being more difficult to press down.

Plectrum/finger picking - Plectrums tend to sound more powerful than fingers when plucking strings; finger picking produces a softer tone. Also, the area in which the string is plucked can also make a difference. If the guitarist plucks the middle of the length of an open string, a mellow tone is produced. The further away from the middle, the harsher the tone produced. 

Pickups - The type of pickup installed on an electric guitar influences the tone greatly. Single coil pickups tend to have a brighter, sharper tone whereas humbuckers are known for sounding warmer and louder.

Amplifier - Different guitar amplifiers affect the tone in different ways. For example, some amplifiers produce a more distorted tone than others. 

Effects - Sound effects are often applied to electric guitar to produce unique or recognisable sounds. Tom Morello, for instance, integrates various sound effects in studio recordings and live performances to produce sounds that aren't noticeably electric guitar. Similar to a synthesiser, guitars can be used as tools to produce a variety of uncommon sounds when combined with sound effects.

Room - The area in which any sound is heard affects it greatly. For example, the acoustics in a studio are designed to muffle any excess reverberation, whereas the acoustics in an opera house are designed to carry sounds throughout the whole room. Artificial reverb is built in to some guitar equipment so guitarists can recreate the atmosphere of a much larger room if they need. 

The tone produced by some musicians compensates for their lack of technical ability. For example, David Gilmour might not be considered technically advanced compared to other guitarists but his appropriate choices of guitar tones within different contexts helps to create popular music. This often appeals to audiences more than the technical ability.

Schecter Demon 6 Review

The Schecter Demon 6 is the guitar I would choose to use primarily whilst performing for a number of reasons.

Both Duncan Designed active pickups seem to me to work well with distorted tones. If I was playing my own songs this would be perfect as I write a lot of music in the style of rock and metal. In my opinion, the bridge pickup sounds a bit weak on its own with clean tones but sounds great otherwise. My personal preference for clean playing is either to use the neck pickup or both at once. The neck pickup produces some warm bass tones and is ideal for playing deep atmospheric music.

I am currently using 11 gauge strings which makes a noticeable difference to the 10s I use on my other guitars. Although bending a note requires more effort from my left hand, the thicker strings also make rhythmic picking much easier. The strings catch the pick better and allow me to produce more diverse rhythms. They also produce a thicker sound appropriate for rock and metal songs. 

When I bought the guitar, the action seemed to be near enough in an ideal position. It was low enough to play relatively quickly with minimal buzz on the frets. However since then, a couple of the frets near the higher end of the fretboard mute the top strings whilst a note is bent. 

Rather than buying a Schecter Demon 6FR, which has a Floyd Rose locking tremolo, I chose to buy the one without. This is because I have songs written in standard tuning and songs written in drop D tuning. This is ideal for quickly tuning the bottom string down or up a step in between songs.

There are a few potential problems regarding live performance with my guitar however. If I found myself in a situation where I was regularly gigging across various areas, the weight of the guitar might become a small problem. This is the heaviest guitar I own and along with other equipment I may need to carry, may become difficult. However, this is just a minor inconvenience and probably wouldn't cause too much discomfort. Depending on who is using it, it may also become tiring whilst performing live compared to a lighter bodied guitar.

The jack input tends to come loose quite easily no matter how many times I fix it. This could lead to the sound cutting out mid-performance if I don't check it before a gig. 

The frets right at the high end of the neck are difficult to reach. The body of the guitar blocks my hand if I attempt to play them. I don't usually tend to use those frets and none of my songs include them at the moment, however it seems like an unnecessary limitation if I wanted to use them. 

Overall, I think this guitar suits my needs as a musician playing primarily rock music. It also works well with other styles as long as the right pickup is selected for an appropriate tone. If the guitar is maintained properly then I think it would suit any live performance setting.