The genealogy of musical genres is the pattern of musical genres that have contributed to the development of new genres. Evolution in musical instruments in technology and in culture can influence the evolution of musical genres.

Genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

charts or family trees of musical genres show how new genres have emerged from existing genres and how multiple genres have contributed to a new genre. Since

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

can be endlessly broken down into smaller and smaller categories, a genealogical chart will usually focus on one major genre and its different strains. For instance,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

is considered{{by whom?, date=November 2020 to be a genre with many subgenres, including New Orleans jazz, ragtime, swing, bebop, free jazz, and Latin jazz. How these developed out of one another is shown in a genealogical chart, often with major figures or innovators of each subgenre. A genealogy of genres may also incorporate several major genres, such as

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

. The family tree of music can also be explored by starting at the Wikipedia article for a given genre, and clicking on the items in the stylistic origins, subgenres, derivative forms, and fusion genres sections of the genre infobox. See also a dynamic, interactive view of "The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres from Origin 'Til Present, 1870-2016" by MusicMap. The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres from Origin 'Til Present, 1870-2016 http://www.musicmap.info/

Notes

External links

Musicalized - The Genealogy and History of Popular Music Genres

Map of Metal

Music genres