Styles

Every style here is taken apart into the things that actually make it: the chords it favours, the groove underneath, the tempo range, and the one move that gives it away. Load any of them into the Drumlab and hear it rather than read about it.

Start here

Pick a style you already listen to.

You know more than you think. These pages mostly give names to things your ear has already worked out.

Jump straight inPress the triangle to hear it, the name to read it

Electronic

House and EDM
Techno
Ambient and Lo-Fi
Hip-Hop and Trap

Groove and soul

Funk and Disco
Soul and R&B
Reggaeton and Afrobeats
Blues

Songs and bands

Pop
Rock and Folk
Singer-Songwriter
Country and Americana

Composed

Jazz
Film Music
Classical Principles
Non-Western Traditions

Electronic

House and EDMHouse keeps the four on the floor and the chords simple. Hear the vamp, the offbeat hat, and the filter, then play a track section by section.
TechnoIn techno the sound is the subject. Hear the kick, the filter sweep, and the slow change over a steady pulse, then move the controls yourself.
Ambient and Lo-FiLofi and ambient run on soft sevenths, drifting tempo, and tape noise. Hear each layer on its own, then play the chords behind the haze.
Hip-Hop and TrapHip-hop and trap build from a loop, not a chord route. Hear the break, the hi-hat rolls, and the 808, then play the loop under your own beat.

Groove and soul

Funk and DiscoFunk parks on one chord and lets rhythm do the writing. Hear the sixteenth-note grid, the bass, and the one, then play the groove yourself.
Soul and R&BSoul and R&B stack sevenths, ninths, and gospel suspensions. Hear each voicing move under a melody, then play the changes yourself.
Reggaeton and AfrobeatsReggaeton runs on one cell, afrobeats on layered percussion. Hear both patterns slowed down and sped up, then tap and play them yourself.
BluesThree chords, twelve bars, and endless freedom inside them. Hear the shuffle, the blue notes, and the turnaround, then play the form yourself.

Songs and bands

PopPop puts the record first and the hook above everything. Hear the vocal, the loop, and the lift into the chorus, then play the parts yourself.
Rock and FolkRock and folk share a guitar, a voice, and three chords. Hear the power chord, the strum, and the modal turn, then play the changes yourself.
Singer-SongwriterOne voice, one instrument, and choices that serve the words. Hear pedal tones, descending bass, and open shapes, then play them yourself.
Country and AmericanaCountry runs on plain chords, a bass-strum groove, and a story on top. Hear the fiddle, banjo, and dobro parts, then play the changes yourself.

Composed

JazzSwing, tension, and a shared form. Hear the ride pattern, the tritone pull, and one tune played straight and then treated. Then play it yourself.
Film MusicFilm music picks its sound per scene. Hear the chromatic mediants, pedal tones, and low ostinatos that move a picture, then play them yourself.
Classical PrinciplesCadences, pedal points, and moving bass lines still run pop, film, and gospel. Hear each device on its own, then drop it into your own song.
Non-Western TraditionsOther traditions organize pitch and time in their own way. Hear tunings, cycles, and interlocking parts side by side with the western grid.

Keep going

Swing, Shuffle and Groove
Chord Progressions

The other sections

Everything on this site sits in one of these, in the order they are meant to be learned.

The building blocks

Chords
Scales
Intervals
Rhythm
Reading Music

How music works

Harmony
Chord Progressions
Melody and Form
Sound and Hearing

In practice

Songwriting
Playing and Improvising
Production and Arranging