Music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing
Dance music
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Stylistic origins
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Cultural origins
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Derivative forms
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Dance music
is
music
composed specifically to facilitate or accompany
dancing
. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are
live
dance music and recorded dance music. While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in
ancient history
(for example
Ancient Greek vases
sometimes show dancers accompanied by musicians), the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are old-fashioned dances. In the
Baroque
period, the major dance styles were
noble court
dances (see
Baroque dance
). In the
classical music era
, the
minuet
was frequently used as a third
movement
, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The
waltz
also arose later in the classical era. Both remained part of the
romantic music
period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the
barcarolle
,
mazurka
,
ecossaise
,
ballade
and
polonaise
.
Modern popular dance music initially emerged from late 19th century's Western
ballroom
and
social dance
music. During the early 20th century, ballroom dancing gained popularity among the
working class
who attended public
dance halls
. Dance music became enormously popular during the 1920s. In the 1930s, known as the Swing era,
Swing music
was the popular dance music in America. In the 1950s,
rock and roll
became the popular dance music. The late 1960s saw the rise of
soul
and
R&B
music. Dominican and Cuban New Yorkers created the popular
salsa dance
in the late 1960s which stemmed from the Latin music genre of
salsa
. The rise of
disco
in the early 1970s led to dance music becoming popular with the public. By the late 1970s,
electronic dance music
was developing. This music, made using electronics, is a style of
popular music
commonly played in
nightclubs
,
radio stations
,
shows
and
raves
. Many
subgenres of electronic dance music
have evolved.
Origins
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]
Dancing to rhythmic music has long been a cherished tradition in both Western and Eastern African civilizations, where dynamic movements synchronized with percussion instruments such as drums, bells, and rattles serve as integral expressions of cultural identity, social cohesion, and spiritual significance.
Folk dance music is music accompanying
traditional dance
and may be contrasted with historical/classical, and popular/commercial dance music. An example of folk dance music in the United States is the
old-time music
played at
square dances
and
contra dances
.
Historical dance music
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While there exist attestations of the combination of dance and music in ancient times (for example
Ancient Greek vases
sometimes show dancers accompanied by musicians), the earliest Western dance music that we can still reproduce with a degree of certainty are the surviving
medieval dances
such as
carols
and the
Estampie
. The earliest of these surviving dances are almost as old as Western staff-based
music notation
.
By period
[
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]
The
Renaissance dance
music was written for instruments such as the
lute
,
viol
,
tabor
,
pipe
, and the
sackbut
.
In the
Baroque
period, the major dance styles were
noble court
dances (see
Baroque dance
). Examples of dances include the
French courante
,
sarabande
,
minuet
and
gigue
. Collections of dances were often collected together as
dance suites
.
In the
classical music era
, the minuet was frequently used as a third
movement
in four-movement non-vocal works such as
sonatas
,
string quartets
, and
symphonies
, although in this context it would not accompany any dancing. The
waltz
also arose later in the classical era, as the minuet evolved into the
scherzo
(literally, "joke"; a faster-paced minuet).
Both remained part of the
romantic music
period, which also saw the rise of various other nationalistic dance forms like the
barcarolle
,
mazurka
and
polonaise
. Also in the romantic music era, the growth and development of
ballet
extended the composition of dance music to a new height. Frequently, dance music was a part of
opera
.
Popular dance music
[
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Modern popular dance music initially emerged from late 19th century's Western
ballroom
and
social dance
music.
By genre
[
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]
Dance music works often bear the name of the corresponding dance, e.g.
waltzes
, the
tango
, the
bolero
, the
can-can
,
minuets
,
salsa
, various kinds of
jigs
and the
breakdown
. Other dance forms include
contradance
, the
merengue
(
Dominican Republic
), and the
cha-cha-cha
. Often it is difficult to know whether the name of the music came first or the name of the dance.
Ballads
are commonly chosen for
slow-dance
routines. However ballads have been commonly deemed the opposite of dance music in terms of their tempo.
[
citation needed
]
Originally, the ballad was a type of dance as well (hence the name "ballad", from the same root as "
ballroom
" and "
ballet
"). Ballads are still danced on the
Faeroe Islands
.
Dansband
[
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]
"Dansband" ("Dance band") is a term in
Swedish
for bands who play a kind of
popular music
, "dansbandsmusik" ("Dance band music"), to
partner dance
to. These terms came into use around 1970, and before that, many of the bands were classified as "
pop groups
". This type of music is mostly popular in the
Nordic countries
.
Disco
[
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]
Disco is a genre of dance music containing elements of
funk
,
soul
,
pop
, and
salsa
. It was most popular during the mid to late 1970s, though it has had brief resurgences afterwards. The first notable fully synthesized disco hit was "
I Feel Love
" by
Donna Summer
.
[1]
Looping
,It inspired the
electronic dance music
genre.
Electronic
[
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By 1981, a new form of dance music was developing. This music, made using electronics, is a style of
popular music
commonly played in dance music
nightclubs
,
radio stations
,
shows
and
raves
. During its gradual decline in the late 1970s,
disco
became influenced by electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers.
sampling
and
segueing
as found in disco continued to be used as creative techniques within
trance music
,
techno music
and especially
house music
.
Electronic dance music experienced a boom in the late 1980s. In the UK, this manifested itself in the dance element of
Tony Wilson
's
Hacienda
scene (in Manchester) and London clubs like Delirium, The Trip, and Shoom. The scene rapidly expanded to the Summer Of Love in
Ibiza
, which became the European capital of house and trance. In 2018, the release of
Fisher's "Losing It
," a significant tech-house crossover by the Australian EDM producer, marked a notable shift in trends within the dance music landscape.
Many music genres that made use of electronic instruments developed into contemporary styles mainly due to the
MIDI
protocol, which enabled computers, synthesizers,
sound cards
, samplers, and drum machines to interact with each other and achieve the full synchronization of sounds. Electronic dance music is typically composed using
synthesizers
and
computers
, and rarely has any physical
instruments
. Instead, this is replaced by
analogue
and
digital
electronic
sounds, with a 4/4 beat. Many producers of this kind of music however, such as
Darren Tate
and
MJ Cole
, were trained in classical music before they moved into the electronic medium.
Associated with dance music are usually commercial tracks that may not easily be categorized, such as "
The Power
" by
Snap!
, "
No Limit
" by
2 Unlimited
, "
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
" by
C+C Music Factory
, and the
Beatmasters
' "
Rok da House
" but the term "dance music" is applied to many forms of
electronic music
, both commercial and non-commercial.
Some of the most popular upbeat genres include
house
,
techno
,
drum & bass
,
jungle
,
hardcore
,
electronica
,
industrial
,
breakbeat
,
trance
,
psychedelic trance
,
UK garage
and
electro
. There are also much slower styles, such as
downtempo
,
chillout
and
nu jazz
.
Many subgenres of electronic dance music have evolved. Subgenres of
house
include
acid house
,
kwaito
,
electro house
,
hard house
,
funky house
,
deep house
,
afro house
,
tribal house
,
hip house
,
tech house
and
US garage
. Subgenres of
drum & bass
include
techstep
,
hardstep
,
jump-up
,
intelligent D&B/atmospheric D&B
,
liquid funk
,
sambass
,
drumfunk
,
neurofunk
and
ragga jungle
. Subgenres of other styles include
progressive breaks
,
booty bass
,
Goa trance
,
hard trance
,
hardstyle
,
minimal techno
,
gabber techno
,
breakcore
,
broken beat
,
trip hop
,
folktronica
and
glitch
.
Speed garage
,
breakstep
,
2-step
,
bassline
,
grime
,
UK funky
,
future garage
and the
reggae
-inspired
dubstep
are all subgenres of
UK garage
.
By decade
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]
1900s?1910s
[
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]
During the early 20th century,
ballroom dancing
gained popularity among the
working class
who attended public
dance halls
.
1920s
[
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]
Dance music became enormously popular during the 1920s. Nightclubs were frequented by large numbers of people at which a form of
jazz
, which was characterized by fancy
orchestras
with strings instruments and complex arrangements, became the standard music at clubs. A particularly popular dance was the
fox-trot
. At the time this music was simply called jazz, although today people refer to it as "white jazz" or
big band
.
Marabi
evolved in
South Africa
in the 1920s, rooted in South African folk music,
ragtime
,
jazz
and
blues
. People were able to dance endlessly without having to have been familiar with the songs being played, before.
[2]
[3]
1930s?1940s
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Genres
:
Swing music
,
mbube
,
Western swing
. Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller gained
swing jazz
hits.
1950s
[
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]
Genres
:
Rock and roll
,
kwela
In 1952, the television showed that
American Bandstand
switched to a format where teenagers dance along as records are played.
American Bandstand
continued to be shown until 1989. Since the late 1950s,
disc jockeys
(commonly known as DJs) played recorded music at nightclubs.
1960s
[
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]
Genres
:
Rock and roll
,
R&B
,
funk
,
mbaqanga
In 1960,
Chubby Checker
released his song "
The Twist
" setting off a dance craze. The late 1960s saw the rise of
soul
and
R&B
music which used lavish orchestral arrangements.
1970s
[
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]
Genres
:
Disco
,
funk
,
R&B
,
hip hop
In 1970, the television show
Soul Train
premiered featuring famous soul artists who would play or lipsync their hits while the audience danced along. In the early '70s, Kool and the Gang,
Ohio Players
, and B.T. Express were popular funk bands. By the mid-1970s,
disco
had become one of the main genres featured. In 1974,
Billboard
added a Disco Action chart of top hits to its other charts (see
List of
Billboard
number one dance club songs
).
Donna Summer
, the Bee Gees, the Village People and Gloria Gaynor gained pop hits.
[4]
Disco was characterized by the use of real orchestral instruments, such as strings, which had largely been abandoned during the 1950s because of rock music. In contrast to the 1920s, however, the use of live orchestras in night clubs was extremely rare due to its expense. The disco craze reached its peak in the late 1970s when the word "disco" became synonymous with "dance music" and nightclubs were referred to as "discos".
1980s
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Genres
:
Funk
,
hip hop
,
New jack swing
,
[5]
R&B
,
bounce
,
Miami bass
,
boogie
,
disco
,
jaiva
,
contemporary R&B
,
new wave
,
dark wave
,
Italo disco
,
Euro disco
,
post-disco
,
synth-pop
,
dance-pop
,
dance-rock
,
house
,
kwaito
,
acid house
,
hip house
,
techno
,
freestyle
,
electro
,
hi-NRG
,
EBM
,
cosmic disco
,
Balearic beat
,
new beat
1990s
[
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]
Genres
:
New jack swing
,
contemporary R&B
,
dancehall
,
hip hop
,
G-funk
,
Miami bass
,
house
,
Italo dance
,
Italo house
,
Eurodance
,
Europop
,
hip house
,
electro
,
electroclash
,
progressive house
,
French house
,
techno
,
minimal techno
,
trance
,
alternative dance
,
drum and bass
,
jungle
,
big beat
,
breakbeat
,
breakbeat hardcore
,
rave
,
hardcore
,
happy hardcore
,
speed garage
,
UK garage
,
soca
,
reggaeton
,
psytrance
,
Goa trance
,
Afro house
2000s
[
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]
Genres
:
Trance
,
Afro-tech
,
electropop
,
dance-pop
,
snap
,
crunk
,
dancehall
,
reggaeton
,
dance-punk
,
nu-disco
,
electro house
,
minimal techno
,
dubstep
,
grime
,
bassline
,
UK funky
,
contemporary R&B
,
hip hop
,
drum and bass
,
progressive house
,
hardstyle
,
funky house
2010s
[
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]
Genres
:
Electropop
,
synthpop
,
gqom
,
amapiano
,
glitchpop
,
hip house
,
nu-disco
,
new wave
,
new rave
,
trance
,
house
,
hi-NRG
,
hard NRG
,
dance-pop
,
electro-industrial
,
deep house
,
drum and bass
,
dubstep
,
techstep
,
liquid funk
,
electro house
,
progressive house
,
breakbeat
,
hardstyle
,
dubstyle
,
drumstep
,
hip hop
,
ghetto house
,
Jersey club
,
trap
,
drill
,
moombahton
,
moombahcore
,
dancehall
,
tropical house
,
UK garage
,
Europop
,
hyperpop
Radio formats
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The
Dance/Mix Show Airplay
chart tracks the most popular tracks played by radio stations using a "dance music"
format
. Modern dance music is typically a core component of the
rhythmic adult contemporary
and
rhythmic contemporary
formats, and an occasional component of the
contemporary hit radio
format in the case of dance songs which chart.
Mixshows are radio programmes which feature a sequence of dance music tracks where each track's outro is mixed into the intro of the next.
See also
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References
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