How do you figure out the genre of your music?

[BoneDigger]

I realize that for some people, they strive to be a country or rock musician, but some of us just write and record what sounds good to us, and it can be a bit tough labelling the genre? I released an album recently through CD Baby but had a really hard time figuring out how to classify my music. Just wondering is there any rule of thumb on how to classify your own music?

[rick-slo]

IMO yours sounds like pop with a country flavor in the singer song writer category.
Do a google search of well know musicians who play music similar to some of yours
and see what category people consider them.

[Brent Hahn]

If my music could be neatly categorized I'd consider that a failure.

[mr. beaumont]

I pulled up your website, and I thought the first thing I read-- Americana--described it just fine.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I pulled up your website, and I thought the first thing I read-- Americana--described it just fine.

Unfortunately, Americana isn't a recognized category. I was thinking folk or folk country?

[mr. beaumont]

I think folk-country probably works.

[jim1960]

I'm a folkie for as long as I can remember. Among the hand-me-down albums I had as a little kid were Pete Seeger and The Chad Mitchell Trio. That sealed my fate (along with whichever elementary school teacher played Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind for the class one day).

To my mind, there's a definite divide between folk and country, and I'd never call the music I write the latter. There are some artists I like with a foot on both sides of that line ...for example, Lyle Lovett, Doc Watson, Robert Earl Keen Jr... but the songs I tend to like from them are those that lean on the folk side. My own writing will sometimes take a foray into soft rock or jazz, but the vast majority of the songs I've written are folk ...and that's how I refer to myself when asked.

And why can't Americana be a genre? I think it's a more apt descriptor of a lot of music than "folk-country" (which sounds like an uncomfortable marriage to me).

[Doug Young]

The categories on all the release platforms are ridiculous.You just pick the one that's least objectionable. I'm not sure it really matters, tho I did just have a complication due to Apple having really picky rules about anything labeled "classical".

[Dave Hicks]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

Unfortunately, Americana isn't a recognized category. I was thinking folk or folk country?

For what it's worth, there is an Americana Music Association, just as there are groups for blues, bluegrass, country, etc.: https://americanamusic.org/

According to Wikipedia, the AMA defines Americana in the following terms: "Contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_(music)

D.H.

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by Dave Hicks

For what it's worth, there is an Americana Music Association, just as there are groups for blues, bluegrass, country, etc.: https://americanamusic.org/

According to Wikipedia, the AMA defines Americana in the following terms: "Contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana_(music)

D.H.

I agree and didn't mean that Americana isn't real. I meant that it's not a category offered when making an album.

[Chipotle]

I have the same problem categorizing my stuff. It ranges from more rock-ish to pretty country to fingerpicking folky to jazz tinged.

But since it's solo acoustic guitar, it's easiest just to lump it all under "folk".

[Dave Hicks]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I agree and didn't mean that Americana isn't real. I meant that it's not a category offered when making an album.

I know what you mean - I often make up custom genres on Soundcloud, e.g. "Vaguely Celtic" (there's no professional association for that one ).

D.H.

[KevWind]

I agree with Doug all this trying to shoe horn music into what has now become a plethora of ridiculous "genre's" is silly IMO
That said :: As far as having to pic a label, I would think if predominately acoustic guitar and vocal original music ?,, I think "Singer Songwriter" probably spans a wide margin and mix .....

[FrankHudson]

Two mottos I (wrote and...) live by:

Labels are just sticky paper.

Jon Ra is Sun Ra's brother.*

I sorta understand the reason we have labels for styles of music. Music does a lot of different things, and sometimes folks are looking for a certain type of thing. You wouldn't want to open a can of peaches and find it contains baked beans. But it's really hard for someone like me that has many musical moods and expresses them to the best of my compositional ability to select a singular label for what I do.

Who was it above who had fun making up their own genres? Some that I've used for fun and rough descriptive intent are "Punk Orchestral," "Jazz as if Jazz hadn't already been invented," and "Contemporary Traditional." But of course all of those are just elements of what I try to do. I'd be hard pressed to satisfy an audience that understood I was something called "Punk Orchestral" when I play something on solo acoustic guitar and voice. Similarly, someone who thought I was a folkie (and like Jim1960, the Folk Scare musicians of '50s and '60 imprinted me in my youth) would likely feel mislead with a piece that's all synth lines and percussion.

Roll with the punches is all I can say. The small audience I have attracted might not be larger if I stuck to one genre label. Also, I'd likely get too bored to carry on in one kind of expression -- and given the small potential of commercial rewards for my level of talent and inclination, enjoyment in surprise is what keeps me going.






*So, he's from Saturn too.

[Bob Womack]

You can find mine filed under Popeye the Sailor Man Music or Tuber Music because I yam what I yam.

Bob