CountryMusic (2019-09-16)

DDEX Data Dictionary for Allowed Value Sets, 2019-09-16

CountryMusic

Characterized by the use of guitar and twangy vocals. Instrumentation traditionally includes any of drums, bass, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, electric organ, or steel guitar, though much modern music makes heavier use of pop and rock instrumentation. Originated in the southern United States in the 1920s and influenced by southern folk music tradition, including blues and descendant styles of Scottish, Irish, and English folk traditions.

Relationships
Parents	MusicalWork	A Work intended to be perceivable as a combination of sounds, with or without accompanying text.
Children	AlternativeCountry	Diverse in sound, but united by operating outside of the contemporary traditions, tropes and industry of mainstream country music. Often features relatively lo-fi production relative to the Nashville standard, as well as a somewhat punk rock or rock ‘n’ roll attitude and aesthetic. Sonically, the music typically more closely resembles traditional country, Americana, and bluegrass than it does contemporary mainstream country music.
	Americana	With roots in early folk and country music, as well as elements of other acoustic American genres, such as blues, rhythm & blues and rock & roll. Emerged in the 1990s to describe music in the country tradition that fuses elements of earlier American popular music styles. Closely overlaps with alt-country, though Americana features a broader sonic palette. Artists include Son Volt, The Band, and Alison Krauss.
	BakersfieldSound	Features significant rock and roll influence, especially by way of extensive use of electric instruments and emphasis on the backbeat. Developed around Bakersfield, California in the 1950s. Major artists include Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
	Bluegrass	With roots in blues, jazz, and the traditional ballads and dance tunes of the British Isles, by way of Appalachian musical tradition. Pioneered by and named for Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, who began playing in the style in the mid-1940s. Traditional instrumentation includes the guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo and bass, though bluegrass groups may feature other instruments such as the dobro, piano, and accordion. Guitarists typically flatpick, bassists play the root and fifth in a pizzicato style, and fiddlers play in thirds and fifths while vocalists harmonize in two to four parts, often with the highest voice singing dissonant or modal harmony. Bluegrass is often virtuosic and rapidly played. As in jazz, different instruments typically take turns stating and improvising around the melody.
	CountryPop	Fusion of country and pop. Favors pop instrumentation over the musical elements of traditional country, typically favoring pop-like melodies and a sleek production aesthetic rather than fiddles and banjos.
	CountryRap	Fusion of country and rap, running the gamut from raps over country instrumentals to country vocals over rap-like beats. Prominent recordings include Kid Rock's 'Cowboy' and B.o.B. and Taylor Swift's 'Both of Us'.
	CountryRock	Fusion of country and rock, with varying degrees of influence of either style depending on the artist. Includes artists ranging from the Eagles and Emmylou Harris to Hank Williams Jr.
	HonkyTonk	Early country music with a full rhythm section that plays a two-beat rhythm with a crisp backbeat. Guitar, string bass, steel guitar and fiddle are prominently featured. Grew stylistically out a style of piano playing related to ragtime that emphasized rhythm over melody and harmony due to the lack of reliability of pianos in the early honky tonk environment. Major musicians include Hank Williams and George Jones.
	ModernCountry	Strains of country music that developed in the final decades of the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st. Features stronger incorporation of other popular music styles, such as pop, rock, and hip-hop, and often fewer traditional country elements.
	NashvilleSound	Characterized by smooth strings, sophisticated background vocals, and relatively slower tempos. Developed in Nashville in the 1950s.
	NeoTraditionalCountry	Aspires to the sounds and styles of old country music, a la Hank Williams and Kitty Wells, updated with modern production methods and other more modern musical elements. Emerged in the 1980s and eschewed the dominant pop country style of the time. In addition to adopting the sounds of older country music, neotraditionalists often dress in the style of older country musicians. Prominent artists include George Strait and the Judds.
	OutlawCountry	Draws from earlier subgenres like honky tonk and rockabilly and is characterized by a blend of rock and folk rhythms, country instrumentation and introspective lyrics. It was most popular during the 1970s and 1980s. Major artists include Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.
	TexasCountry	[missing definition]
	TraditionalCountry	Emerged from the folk music of the American South as a phenomenon in the late 1920s. In this decade, Jimmie Rodgers and The Carters were among the first star country music acts. Early country saw folk styles mixed with popular styles such as jazz, pop and rock, with folk sounds fading as the decades went on. Characterized by twang.
	WesternSwing	Features significant influences from jazz and swing. Melodies are often swung, and saxophones and trumpets are added to the traditional early country lineup of drums, string bass, fiddle, guitar, and pedal steel guitar. The style proliferated in the American West and South from the late 1920s through the mid 1940s. Major Western Swing musicians include Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys and Hank Thompson And His Brazos Valley Boys.
Belongs to AVS	avs:ClassifiedGenre	A Type of genre.