Nature and Scope of Pop Music and Culture—Now and Then

The evolution of pop music dates back to 1950s, the era that was more importantly defined as the age of rock and roll. With time and technology, pop music as a mainstream genre has bloomed and has successfully established its position more than what it was meant for. The genre has been specially referred to as dealing with themes of urban culture, yet it has a lot more substance than just being a party track.

There has been a lot of confusion associated with pop music and popular music. While popular music particularly refers to the music style since industrialization in the 1800s, the genre refers to a variety of music styles from minstrel shows to heavy metal and vaudeville. Pop music, on the other hand, has evolved out of the rock and roll genre and has been evolving since then. There is no specific definition of pop music and it even today it continues to define is the path.

Pop Music and mass appeal

The one thing that sets Pop Music apart is that it is accessible to the widest audience. Pop music is the most popular genre like none other and it has successfully occupied its position as the global favorite genre of music fanatics from all over the world.

What makes Pop music pop?

Music is the way of life for most of us. It has always played a major role to connect people, tell stories and express mood and feelings. Every music genre has its format and each of them is characterized by some specific elements. Pop music genre as one of the most widely accepted music style is indeed the highest celebrated genre in the world. Since its evolution in the 1950s, pop music has crossed boundaries regardless of genre, caste, and creed.

Key elements of Pop Music

Even if there are no specific characteristics of pop music in general, pop music is easily identified by its repetitive verses and instruments. Pop music is lively yet also deals with themes like heartbreak. The pop artist plays a very important role to convey the authentic essence of the genre. Pop music of the present day mostly deals with love and relationships and also very trending topics.

Whether you recall the legendary duo Everly Brothers or get obsessed with the singes by sizzling Beyonce, the genre has been through a sea of changes in every respect. Some of the top-notch pop artists who indeed define the grandeur of the genre are Michael Jackson. Madonna, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Rihanna, Queen, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, Ed Sheeran, and the list is unending.

Pop music is a genre that has branched out into different categories or subgenres that depends on the pace o origin. However, the most popular forms of pop music with global visibility are-

Adult Contemporary-

It is a form of radio-played popular music that gained impetus during the 1960s and 1970s. Celine Dion is referred to as the ‘Queen of Adult Contemporary’.

Arab pop Music:

Produced and originated in Cairo, it is a subgenre of pop music. Its primary characteristics are that it synthetically combines pop elements and melodies with different Arabian styles.

Baroque Pop:

This popular style of pop music evolved in the 1960s and is referred to as the fusion music genre. Artists who specialized in this genre blended rock music with some elements of classical music.

Bubblegum pop:

This subgenre of pop music has an upbeat sound and especially targets pre-teens and teenagers. 1967 to 1972 marked the classic period of bubblegum music and the second wave ran till 1977.

Chalga:

Referred to as pop-folk, Chalga is a Bulgarian music genre. It is essentially a folk-inspired dance music genre.

There are various other sub-genres of pop music like country-pop, dance-pop, C-pop, Indie pop, Jangle pop, Pop Rap, pop-soul, surf pop, synthpop, wonky pop and numerous others as well.

10 Tips For making Pop Music

Most of the music genres have conventions attached to them and this is what makes them genres. For example, when you listen to a country music piece, you get carried away by different factors like the singing style, instrumentation, and other signifiers. However, things are not the same as pop music. Grammy award winner sound mixing engineer Dave Pensado once said in his interview with Forbes that pop is indeed the only music genre that is not a genre at all. Rather it is the music that is popular in that period.

There are many things that a musician must keep in mind while working on a record or mixing pop music for music lovers. Listenership is important and professional pop musicians give it the utmost importance to achieve universal acceptance. Here are some basic tips for making and mixing pop music. Let’s have a look-

Flawless editing:

Not all music styles encourage a devil-may-care approach. There are music pieces that become a hit because of its faded timbers and unpolished arrangement. While such accidents might make them a hit, it is inevitable for a pop music composer to stay extra attuned while mixing pop music.

Moreover, all professional mixing calls for thoughtful. In terms of pop music, a mixer must be way more conservative during editing. If a composer has to choose between something safe and something experimental or off-killer, it is always better to go with the safe one.

Hide your Edits:

Not only you must be careful with your editing but be aware of hiding it too. Make sure the vocals are chopped perfectly. Do audio restorations perfectly and don’t forget this is intended for the mass audience and not for a niche.

Listen to the top 10 references:

One of the most important things that a pop music composer/mixer must remember while making pop music is that one should always listen to the top trending hits on important charts like billboards, iTunes, etc. It is not always for the musicality but sound design. This is also necessary to have a look at the differences in terms of instrumentation, harmonic progression, and other facets.

Consider Mono Computability:

Even if some engineers don’t consider mono computability as they used to do in the past, but in pop music, it is important. Pop music is played in different venues beginning from the supermarket, dance floor back of the can to the open concerts and more. It is necessary for pop music engineer to frequently monitor the mono to make sure they deliver the same sound effect as in stereo.

Create the difference between the chorus and the verse:

In a pop song, its hook usually resides in its chorus, or after it. Heaps of attention is given in these sections and this is what differentiates the chorus from the verses. The pop mixer must play with frequency to make sure the sound is delivered distinctly from verses and chorus.

Create a pop mixing template for your own:

Work ling with an extensive template is not preferred by all engineers while working on the pop mix. It will be worth to use a template while working for it helps a lot.

Conclusion

Even if some tangible tricks are related to actual pop mixing practices. However, there are many tutorials one can find online, that are more detailed and are very helpful for amateur mixers. However, these tricks are basic and every aspiring music mixer who wants to have a great career in music can consider it. There are also some other factors related to pop music and engineering as well. Finally one should never forget that pop music is for the masses and must consider composing things that will receive acceptance globally.

Some all-time favorite pop music pieces

Have you ever wondered what makes a pop song classic? Is it only the catchy melody? Or the thoughtful lyrics or is it the vocal texture of the pop singer that melts your heart? The answer is every element right from the melody, to the theme, the lyrics and the caliber of the singer make urns a pop song into a masterpiece. Studies prove that there are three important factors without which pop music can never grab listeners’ attention-

Phrasing-

The more the singer holds a note, the more listeners get hooked. Freddy Mercury’s powerhouse vocals are the best examples indeed.

Chorus:

The three different pitches in music are the magical numbers that make the chorus of a song unforgettable.

Strong Vocals:

Powerful vocals of the pop artists have gained emotional responses from listeners since pop music originated.

The following list of few tracks defines the acceptability, grandeur, and growth of pop music as music lovers’ favorite genre. Have a look at the classics, the best pop songs of all time.

A-Ha: ‘Take on Me’ (1984)

Chicago: ’15 or 6 to 4’ (1970)

Jon Lennon: ‘Imagine’ (1971)

Lena Horne:  ‘Stormy Weather’ (1943)

Judy Garland: ‘Over The rainbow’ (1939)

Everly Brothers: ‘Bye Bye Love’ (1957)

Jeff Buckley: ‘Hallelujah’ 1994

Electric Light Orchestra: ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ (1978)

Queen: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (1975)

The Band: ‘The Weight’ (1998)

Beach Boys: ‘good Vibrations’ (1966)

Joni Mitchell: ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ (1970)

Elton John: ‘Your Song’ (1970)

Bobby Darin: ‘mack The Knife’ (1959)

Bruce Springsteen: ‘Born To Run’ (1975)

Janet Jackson: ‘Escapade’ (1990)

U2: ‘One’ (1992)

Maddona: ‘ray Of Light’ (1998)

Maddona: ‘Like a Prayer’ (1989)

No  Doubt: ‘Don’t Speak’ (1995)