These days there are three major genres of music: Classical, Pop... and the least famous- Folk. All three of these music genres have their pros and cons. I'll take a second to explain:
Classical music does this thing to people where they go into a different world. It's literally meditation music. It does great things and it's been proven to breed smarter people if you listen to it. Funny how that happens. Classical is an extremely individualistic genre of music. The composers didn't focus so much on their situations as they did their actual emotions. Their compositions weren't written based on their situation but more the emotion that evolved out of the situation itself. Which is one of the main reasons why, in my opinion, Classical music has withstood so much time. Unfortunately, the fact that it's so individualistic and intellectual means that it sometimes creates an unhealthy egotism within the "classical stiffs" community. Nevertheless, I still highly advocate for listening to Classical music.
Secondly, there is the infamous Pop music. This style is more straightforward than all three of them. Most people point out the cliche cons of this music. It's shallow lyrically, musically, stylistically, and emotionally. Sure, those may apply. However, there's some good to it. Let's face it, pop music today will be what defines our culture tomorrow. That in itself may not be a good thing, but I do believe having such a defined style of music to describe a culture is a good thing. We look back on the 60s and 70s and their pop music talked about peace a lot. Funny how the Hippy movement came out of that time period. Pop music is naked. It isn't hiding anything. It's open and honest about the ideals of a culture. I hope that gives you incentive to make steps toward changing the ideals of our culture. But enough of my agenda ;)
Lastly, there is the genre of Folk music. This could be categorized under pop as well, but there are differences that make Folk and Pop two different genres. I'll be honest, I favor this genre over the other two. Folk music began long long ago when people would gather around a campfire and sing songs about the hardships and the joy that they were experiencing as a group. Keyword: Group. This music is not individualistic. It expresses ideals of a group, society, or culture. Sounds like Pop, right? The difference is- Folk music has a way of bringing people together that Pop music can't accomplish. I guess I haven't necessarily figured that distinction out yet, but it's a trend that I've noticed. Which is why Folk music has existed for such a long time and Pop music hasn't. Of course, Folk music has it's flaws as well. It's musicality is not always the most complex, it doesn't always provide the imagery that Classical music can provide, and so on. There are pros and cons alike in this genre as well.
So why do I favor Folk over all the other genres? It really all brings me back to one of my favorite things about music. Experiencing it with people. As a musician, the best feeling in the world is playing music for people. No, it's experiencing it with them. I'm just on a different end of the experience. Folk music has the mystery of pulling people together. It always appeals to the young and old and doesn't stop until it's made a mark in everyones' spirit.
This explanation of these three genres is brief and incomplete for two reasons, 1. A proper explanation would be extremely long and more importantly 2. I haven't experienced, thought out, or heard enough music to give the proper explanation. These are my thoughts, they're all I really have at this point. Keep listening.
