Popular music originated between 1800 and 1950 and appeals to mainstream audiences. It includes a wide range of genres from vaudeville to heavy metal. One consistent element is the pop song structure of verse and chorus. Popular music genres discussed include ballads, standards, rock and roll, alternative music, and disco. Ballads have a slow tempo and romantic emotion. Standards originated from Broadway and Hollywood in the 1910s. Rock and roll combines genres like blues and country. Alternative music emerged from punk rock and has influences from various genres. Disco has a prominent bass line and is dance-oriented.

2. Popular music is the music from 1800 to 1950. It is most in line with the
tastes and interests of the urban middle class and is accessible to a wide
audience. This include an extremely wide range of music from vaudeville
and minstrel shows to heavy metal. This musical genre sells the most
copies, draws the largest concert audiences, and is played most often on
the radio.
One of the most consistent elements of popular music is the pop song.
Pop music is not usually written, performed, and recorded as a symphony,
suite, or concerto. The basic form consists of a verse and repeated chorus.
Most often, the songs are between 2 ½ minutes and 5 ½ minutes in
length.

3. Different Forms of Popular Music
A. Ballad
The word “ballad” was derived from the Medieval French
chanson balladée or ballade, which was originally “dancing
Ballad is any light, simple song, having two or more stanzas all
sung to the same melody. It has a slow tempo which is usually
sung or performed with a romantic or sentimental emotion.
The term ”ballad” if often synonymous with any love song like
The Ballad of John and Yoko” or “The Ballad of Billy and the Kid”
by Billy Joel, and Don McLean’s “American Pie”.

4. Billy Joel

5. B. Standard
Standards also known as Pop Standards, American
Standards, or Jazz Standards are traditional compositions that
originated from 1910s. The early standards in Broadway and
Hollywood show tunes. Many of this works have been performed
and recorded in a seemingly infinite number of times.
With the advent of big band swing music in the mid 1930’s,
pop standards took the form of a more soothing performance
style with such legendary crooners as Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby,
and Dean Martin, each backed by standard jazz orchestration.

6. Frank Sinatra

7. C. Rock and Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll or rock ‘n’ roll) is a
genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United
States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It is a combination of
African-American genres such as blues, jump blues, jazz, and gospel
music, and Western swing and country music.
In the earliest rock, either the piano or saxophone was often
lead instrument, but these were generally replaced or supplemented
by guitar and the drums. It went on to spawn various sub-genres
more commonly called simply “rock music” or “rock”. Proponents of
this genre include Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and His Comets, The
and the Beach Boys.

8. Elvis Presley

9. D. Alternative Music
Alternative music is an umbrella term for underground music
that emerge in the punk rock movement during the mid-1980s.
type of music is not played on mainstream radio or consumed by
the mainstream audience, or whose music does not fall into any
other genre.
This genre is considered to be rock, because some of its
influences have been folk music, reggae, electronic, and jazz,
others.

10. The bands involved in this genre often played in small clubs,
had indie labels, and spread popularity by word-of-mouth. The
lead instrument of this genre is electric guitar with lyrics that talk
about social concerns, like drug abuse, depression, and
environmentalism. Throughout most of its history, it has been
defined by the rejection of commercialization of mainstream
music.
Although alternative artists never achieved spectacular
record success, they laid the groundwork for musicians who grew
up in the 80’s. Soon other bands followed like Pearl Jam and Stone
Temple Pilots.

11. Pearl Jam

12. E. Disco
Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music. It may be
described as having soaring, reverberated vocals over a steady
four-on-the-floor beat, an eight note(quaver) or sixteenth note
(semi-quaver) hi-hat pattern with an open hi-hat on the off-
and a prominent, syncopated electric bass line. Strings, horns,
electric pianos, and electric guitars create a lush background
sound. Orchestral instruments such as the flute are often used
solo melodies, and unlike in rock, lead guitar, is rarely used.

13. Disco returned dancing to the forefront of pop music. The genre
emerged out of an urban subculture in the early 1970s. The deejay
deployed two turntables, a mike, and a public address (PA) system
where one could dance to recorded music. Discotheques help
popularize the twist and countless spin-off dances. Even wealthy
jet-setters found it hip to mix the masses in New York hot spots.
The release of the film and soundtrack of “Saturday Night
Fever”, which became the number one best-selling soundtrack of
all time, turned disco into a mainstream music genre. This in turn,
led may non-disco artists to record disco songs at the height of its
popularity, most often due to demand from record companies who
needed a surefire hit.

14. The top five popular disco artists include Donna Summer
(Disco Queen), the Bee Gees,, KC and the Sunshine Band, Michael
Jackson, and the Village People.
While disco music declined in popularity, it was an
important influence on the development of other disco and hip-
hop music.

15. Bee Gees Donna Summer