Dissemination (articles and investigations)
We will accept articles about every music genre.
Events & Tournaments
We will try to organize events of all kind of genres.
The encyclopedia (profiles)
MusiChess is principally dedicated to these music categories (see below). The reasons for “excluding” many musical genres in our encyclopedia are entirely out of practicality. We love music in general, but, as we believe it is impossible to properly cover such a wide range of musical styles, we prefer to focus in one particular spectrum.
- Classical (academic) / Ancient/Medieval (from ancient times till today)
- Avant-garde, 19th century (end) and 20th-21st centuries / Academic and popular genres of 20th and 21st centuries
- Traditional / Folk / World Music
- Soundtracks and event music
- Music professions related to accepted composers (theorists and critics, librettists and writers, orchestra conductors, luthiers, inventors of instruments, musical therapists, sound engineers, sonologists, disseminators, etc.)
- Historical and religious figures and mythological characters who influenced the music of accepted composers (patrons, philosophers, intellectuals, monarchs, members of the church, etc.)
Abbreviation
- Classical (academic) / Ancient/Medieval
- Avant-garde and academic/popular genres (20th-21st c.)
- Traditional / Folk / World Music
- Soundtracks and event music
- Music professions
- Historical figures who influenced music
* All profiles accepted in our encyclopedia must refer to figures related in some way or another to music.
*In the case of a significant fusion between two categories, as, for example, the case of academic and folk music, both should be included.
* We are aware that categories can be ambiguous. If in doubt, it is better to include all the categories involved.
- Category 1 includes all music currently known as “classical”, which, to avoid confusion, we will refer to as “academic music”. Not only western music is included, but music from all around the world. Western music includes medieval music, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Nationalist, and music from the 19th and 20th centuries. Regarding composers from the 20th century onwards, only those belonging to academic genres will be included in the category. This is in no case a question of elitism or rejection of other genres, but to provide users with better guidance. Conservatories and universities use these criteria and hence we follow them. This category (1) also includes music from ancient civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc.
- Category 2 includes avant-garde music (also music from the end of the 19th century) as well as all accepted genres from the 20 century on (academic and popular). For more information (link to specific examples).
- Category 3 includes traditional and/or folk music and what is commonly known as world music. The key in this category is the traditional nature of the music and not the origin of the composer. Ravi Shankar, Paco de Lucía, Carlos Gardel, Hamid el Shaeri and Tuini Ngawai would all fall into this category as they have composed traditional music belonging to a specific culture or geographical region. In contrast, all composers whose style is free of folk influences, regardless of origin, will be included in categories 1, 2 or 4. If their music is a fusion of various styles, all corresponding categories should be selected.
- Category 4 includes soundtracks and music composed for all nature of events.
- Category 5 comprises all professions with music as a cornerstone. These will essentially be musical professions.
- Category 6 refers to non-musical profiles that have simply had an influence on music.
Examples of each category
Category 1
- Ancient
- Medieval
- Renaissance
- Baroque
- Classicism
- Romanticism and Nationalism
- 20th century onwards (only academic)
Category 2
- Neoclassicism
- Post-romanticism
- Modernism
- Avant-garde (Expressionism, Impressionism, spectral music, saturation, minimalism)
- Dodecaphonism
- Musique concrète / acousmatic music / electroacoustic music / noise / serialism
- Jazz and related styles (Ragtime / Dixieland / Swing / Bebop / Cool Jazz / Soul Jazz / Funky Jazz / Free Jazz / Post-Bop / Jazz Fusion / Latin Jazz / Jazz Rock / Smooth Jazz / Acid Jazz / New Age Jazz / Post-Jazz / Big Bands)
- Electric Blues
- New Age*
- Ambient*
- Experimental*
- Electronic*
- Chill Out*
*Only some. (see: Exceptions / doubts).
Category 3 (Roots/folk music. No fusion of genres accepted)
- Traditional music from the USA, Canada and Mexico
- Traditional music from Africa
- Traditional music from Asia
- Traditional music from Latin America and the Caribbean
- Traditional music from Europe
- Traditional music from Oceania and the Pacific
- Neofolk
Category 4
- Music for the cinema, TV series, radio and TV commercials
- Music for videogames
- Music for major events (Cultural, sporting and social events, etc.)
Category 5
- Musical theorists related to accepted composers.
- Music critics related to accepted composers.
- Librettists and writers.
- Luthiers
- Inventors of instruments.
- Music publicists.
- Musical therapists.
- Sound engineers.
Category 6
- Major historical figures related to accepted composers, such as patrons monarchs, philosophers…
- Mythological characters having a connection with music (Euterpe, Apollo, Orpheus …)
Exceptions / doubts
- Musicians producing chill out, experimental music, new age, electronic and ambient music will be accepted provided their music is close enough to accepted genres.
- A good number of jazz-rock musicians will be accepted.
- Some composers a priori excluded will be accepted if we consider them to have had an impact on the academic music world.
The following guidelines are established for fusion genres:
- We will accept composers/bands fusing two accepted genres. (e.g. flamenco jazz, jazz blues)
- Generally speaking, we will not accept the fusion of accepted and excluded genres. (E.g. country rock, electro swing, soul & R&B, a mixture with notable pop/rock influences pop/rock, etc.). The moderators will decide on any possible exceptions, which will only occur in the case of highly relevant accepted genres.
Recent Comments