Electronic Music

[sfc_hoot]

Sorry if it's a dumb question, but what's the difference between Electronica, Techno, Trance, Dance and House? It's been bugging me for a while now. I can’t seem to see the difference between them.

 

[VaKo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_electronic_music_genres

Should cover most of it.

Daves Quick Capsual Answer:

House just isn't house, there's deep house, tech house, hard house, funky house, progressive house... usually all at around 125 -130 bpm using 4/4 time. Beats are usually in a fairly straight pattern.

Techno is a little faster usually, a fast, regular 4/4 beat in the 130-140 bpm range. Again there are loads of sub genres.

Trance is kinda like techno and house mixed together, but with lots of synths and generally very uplifting.

Electronica is kinda like the electric music worlds "misc." box... usually just songs that use electronic drums, or synths, or samples in place of (or with) regular instruments. One person's electronica is anothers post-detroit-techno/progressive-indie-fusion... just depends how "scene" you want to be really.


Hope this enlightens...

David

 

[sfc_hoot]

Thanks! That helped, but I'm still a little confused between Techno and Trance. They seem the same to me.

 

[el Chi]

Electronica's a lot more of an '80s thing. Stuff like New Order, Gary Numan and that ilk. There was a bit of a revivalist thing 2-3 years back (Fischerspooner, for example) but it sort of died away because people realised why it went away to begin with. Although some bands incorporate electronica into their own updated sound really well.

 

[Reaktor4]

Gotta disagree with vako and chi.
Electronica is just a term, which i happen to hate, for dance music in general really. Chi, youre referring to electro
Anyways i put together a small sample pack with good quality samples so you can actually hear the difference, here: junk.paulm.com/samples.zip
House nowadays seems to be all that funky stuff and not much else so there is no house sample (there is a hard house one though)

 

[sfc_hoot]

Wow, thanks! Just what I needed.

 

[el Chi]

Chi, youre referring to electro

Electronica, electro, electroclash. Different terms, similar styles - especially the last two.

 

[Reaktor4]

Electronica, electro, electroclash. Different terms, similar styles - especially the last two.

errrrrr.... except that electronica doesnt mean a specific genre like electro and electroclash do

 

[Ennui]

as far as I understand it

trance - heavy, heavy beat, rave-style music, generally simple repeating melodies at high tempos

techno - lighter trance, more variation in melodies and often the beat is more than the normal quarter note kick

electronica - electronic music in general

electro - see chi's post

ambient - far less drums and rhythm, lot more melodies, strings, etc. bands like delerium.

 

[Earl Danish]

did you know - the Eskimos' have 11 different words for 'snow'.

 

[Reaktor4]

as far as I understand it

trance - heavy, heavy beat, rave-style music, generally simple repeating melodies at high tempos

techno - lighter trance, more variation in melodies and often the beat is more than the normal quarter note kick

Youre wrong ennui.. guess you didnt listen to the clips or something
Ill explain a little
Trance tunes are pretty much built around a melody. The emphasis is usually on the synths more than percussion and effects. Like with most dance music the tunes will start off minimally, usually just some percussion and build up pretty smoothly to a breakdown w/ climax over 3 or 4 minutes, stay at a peak for a while then gradually things will be removed untill the end. This of course is so that the records are dj friendly and can be mixed seamlessly.
Sometimes there will be female vocals but if they are extensive and completely dominate the tune youre probably listening to the product of some ****ing pop producer whos trying to cash in on trance.
Techno is much harder and dirtier sounding. It focuses on percussion and synth effects, and there are more sudden changes than in trance. Usually there isnt much of a melody.
Tech trance is sorta like the lovechild of techno and trance. Its usually cleaner than techno and not as melodic as trance.
Hard house is fast with tons of synth and percussive effects and no melody normally. Most hard house tunes sound very similar, much more so than any other dance music genre. Some people like to call this nu nrg for some stupid reason.
Progressive is slowish, can be very melodic and flows very smoothly.

 

[synth]

www.digitallyimported.com



and check this out

http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html

 

[sfc_hoot]

Nice find, synth. :thumbs:

 

[Reaktor4]

ishkurs guide will probably confuse them more

 

[gurra]

It's hard to tell someone how music sounds, you have to find out for yourself. But I'll give it a shot, and give some examples of tunes to check out (buying the records of course).

TRANCE - 140 BPM usually, emotional & uplifting music with climaxes and stuff, lots of synths, vocals are pretty common. Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, & Tiesto are a few big names.

A huge subgenre is goatrance/psytrance which features very complex and psychedelic melodies, and fast basslines. High BPM, around 140-145. A popular genre in the mid-90's. The israeli duo Astral Projection is famous world-wide for their exquisite productions.

Progessive trance is also a huge subgenre, lower BPM (around 125-135) as the name suggests it focuses more on atmosphere than uplifting melodies. One of my favourite genres. Stunning productions. Holden & Thompson - Nothing (Original Mix) is a worthy representative of this genre. Progressive trance has a lot in common with progressive house, which is why both genres often are refered to as just 'Progressive'.

TECHNO - slightly lower bpm than trance usually (around 135-140), but more aggressive and rough. Consists of mainly drums and basslines. Vocals are very uncommon. 'Swedish Techno' is my favourite subgenre with guys like Cari Lekebusch and Adam Beyer. Totally awesome music. Dahlbäck & Krome - Murder Was The Bass is a fine example of techno, with a bass that blows your pants off. Great music for dancing.

HOUSE - Lowest bpm of these three genres (between 120-130 usually), and enjoys most commercial success. Warm atmosphere, simple melodies. LOTS of subgenres. The overplayed Eric Prydz - Call On Me is an example of commercial house music. IMHO french filter house is among the coolest subgenres, Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You is an example of just that.

I hope that helps.

 

[sfc_hoot]

I think I'm finally starting to hear the difference.

 

[Earl Danish]

I think I'm finally starting to hear the difference.

dont kid yourself mate - genre labels are a way of selling records to people that need labels in order to make a purchase - nothing more. a marketing tool.

buy whatever you like. even if it says "green fluffy folk music" on the rack.

 

[sfc_hoot]

dont kid yourself mate - genre labels are a way of selling records to people that need labels in order to make a purchase - nothing more. a marketing tool. buy whatever you like. even if it says "green fluffy folk music" on the rack.

No, no, this was about me not being able to tell the difference between Techno and Trance, not about me being forced into buying a specific genre. By "I think I'm finally starting to hear the difference.", I meant that I can hear the difference between the two genres. Semantics.

 

[Earl Danish]

fair dues - my mistake. but i still hate pigeon holes.