My Messy Journey Figuring Out Music Genres
Alright folks, gotta be honest here, I used to feel totally lost whenever someone started rambling about different music types. “Oh, this is deep house,” “That’s progressive trance,” “Classic acid techno!” Seriously? It all just sounded like loud, fast noises to my ears most of the time. Especially trying to follow along with DJ sets or club nights. Pure confusion! I knew I needed to get a handle on this “El Genero” stuff – figured it’s a typo people use online for genres, kinda slangy. The goal? Break it down into just 3 big buckets I could actually understand and recognize, without needing a PhD in beat-matching.
So, I grabbed my headphones and dove into my streaming playlist, determined to actually listen properly this time. No zoning out. First step? Just hit play on tracks tagged wildly differently and try to hear what actually stuck out. Was it the super-fast drums? The heavy bass you feel in your chest? A weird, hypnotic melody? It was frustrating at first, like trying to solve a puzzle blindfolded.
Slowly, patterns started crawling out. I noticed some tunes felt like they were pushing you, all energy and sweat, perfect for when you wanna just move non-stop. Super fast electronic drums felt like someone was poking my brain, relentlessly. I lumped a bunch together:
- Tracks where the kick drum was basically hammering away constantly.
- Stuff that felt super fast and kinda robotic.
- Things building up to huge “drops” with super intense sounds after.
Alright, Bucket One was taking shape: The Energy Drivers. Music that feels physical, makes you want to jump, focused on constant rhythm and power. Think that banging tech house or peak-time techno. Clear-ish so far.
Then another group sounded completely different. Like sinking into a comfy beanbag instead of running a sprint. Slower overall, way more focus on bass that rumbled deep down low. The melodies were often smoother, loopier, sometimes even a bit jazzy or soulful. Less frantic pounding, more head-nodding groove. These weren’t necessarily trying to make me break a sweat, they were building an atmosphere, making me sway. This felt distinct from Bucket One’s relentless push. So, welcome Bucket Two: The Deep Groovers. Deep house, some minimal stuff, garage vibes – tunes designed more for vibe than velocity.
Then came the weird stuff. The tracks I kept skipping because they felt… off. Disorienting rhythms that didn’t seem to line up comfortably. Sounds that screeched or clanged in strange ways. Structures that felt deliberately broken or jarring. Stuff that made my brain itch instead of my feet move. Experimental techno, some industrial bits, really out-there IDM (whatever that stands for!). This music clearly wasn’t about easy dancing or deep vibes; it felt like it was exploring strange sonic spaces or trying to bend rules. Boom, Bucket Three: The Experimental Curveballs. Music that challenges, twists sounds, or avoids traditional rhythm entirely.
Putting it into practice? Game-changer. Listening to a DJ mix became way less overwhelming. Instead of drowning in sub-genres, I’d think: “Okay, now they’re playing an Energy Driver (fast, pounding), now they’re shifting into a Deep Groover (slower, bassy) to bring the mood down a bit, wow suddenly a total Curveball (weird noises, disjointed beats) – interesting choice!” It stopped being meaningless names and became recognizable feelings and purposes. Does this cover every single niche sub-genre? Absolutely not! Jungle feels fast and complex, garage has shuffle, trap stuff makes my head spin. But honestly? Most club stuff I bump into fits reasonably cleanly into one of these three feels for me now. It works.
Listen, trying to memorize every micro-genre is like chasing your tail. Taking a step back to focus on the core feeling a track gives you – is it physically driving, deep and groovy, or weird and experimental? That simple switch from labels to sensations made all the difference for me. Now, “El Genero” doesn’t scare me!
