Guitar Singing Intermediate Tutorial (1) Guitar and the Trend of Pop Music

Author: Li Rongzhong
Editor-in-Chief: Ye Lai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-08-01
Features:
Segment: Chapter The Rise and Fall of Pop Music
Pop music, sometimes also referred to as popular music, is known as Pop Music in English, while in some contexts it is called Prevailing Music. By its name, it is a genre of music that is popular and widely enjoyed by the masses. Its main characteristics include moderate length, distinctive vocal melodies, simple accompaniment, clear rhythms, smooth and easy harmonies, and a broad dissemination channel and range. With the increasing popularity of modern audio-visual equipment and software, people are becoming more enthusiastic about mimicking the singing and playing of pop music. Among them, guitar enthusiasts are particularly active. Moreover, the clear and delicate arpeggios of folk acoustic guitars, combined with the passionate and flowing strumming rhythms, have an charm that many electronic music cannot match.
Segment: Section The Classification and Origins of Pop Music
1. Pop Music and Serious Music
As we know, music in various countries is often categorized into two main types: serious music and pop music. Serious music, also known as concert music, includes symphonies, chamber music, large choirs, choral songs, art songs, hymns, narrative songs, and operas. Serious music is generally profound, with a certain philosophical depth or educational significance. Its form and structure are rigorous, and its length is typically substantial. The composition of serious music often employs complex professional techniques, such as harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, melodic development, structural application, and tonal changes, requiring the listener to have a certain level of musical literacy. Of course, some songs in serious music, such as marching songs, may have serious content, but performers and audiences do not necessarily need to have high professional skills or comprehension.
Pop music is divided into broad and narrow categories. Broadly speaking, pop music is also referred to as light music and can be divided into four major categories.
(1) Type 1: Popular Music in Classical Music
This was already quite common in the works of some composers in the 17th and 18th centuries. For example, Haydn's Serenade, Mozart's Minuet, Turkish March, Beethoven's Minuet, violin Romaunt, and piano sonata Für Elise. In some multi-movement suites by classical composers, certain movements can also be extracted for pop music performances. By the 19th century, Romantic composers had written even more popular music, in addition to program pieces, there were works such as serenades by Schubert, Gounod, and Tosti, as well as various concert dances, such as the Mazurkas, Waltzes, and Polonaises by the Polish pianist Chopin, the Hungarian Dances by Brahms, the Norwegian Dances by Grieg, and the Slavonic Dances by Dvo?ák, among which the most famous are the waltzes by Johann Strauss. Additionally, many solo pieces can be extracted from their ballet interludes, such as the many musical fragments from Tchaikovsky's ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Moreover, the overtures and intermezzos from some 19th-century composers' operas and operettas are often performed separately as pop music, such as Bizet's Carmen Overture, Weber's Der Freischütz, as well as many works by light opera composers like S?derberg and Offenbach. These various kinds of lively, passionate, and lyrical music quickly spread from the opera house to the hands of street musicians and became widely popular. In summary, there are many popular music pieces in classical music, and they can be easily found in various forms such as solo, chamber, ensemble, suite, and vocal works.