So I want to start by saying I was extremely hesitant about this topic, but filling this out has pushed me to think about music in a new way and I love it.
Identify and Describe Patterns in the Genre’s Features
- What content is typically included or excluded? How is the content treated? What sorts of examples are used? What counts as evidence (personal testimony, facts, etc.)?
BASS it’s 100% needed to even begin to fall under the EDM genre umbrella. Lyrics are dependent on the producer, they can be used but aren’t necessary. Live performances use visuals to help draw a crowd, but not all artists use them.
- What rhetorical appeals are used? What appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos appear?
Logos: logos isn’t really found on the listeners end but more on the producers end. Music isn’t something that everyone is capable of producing. Putting together a sound takes a lot of thought and reason. EDM is different than a typical band because they don’t play instruments, which can be taught. Instead, DJs just have sounds that they need to put together in a way that will make people want to listen.
Pathos: There are two ways I can think of that pathos is used. One, live performances are emotional as hell. Listening to music is one thing but EDM genre allows you to feel the music and it’s intense. Second, artists put a lot of time into their music and even though I keep describing it as bass heavy there are still emotions behind the music. Illenium, is a dubstep artist who produces music that can honestly make people cry. On the other hand, Excision, dubstep artist, has the capability to make people rage, or headbang.
Ethos: Here I’m thinking the credibility of the producer or DJ. I think that EDM artists are credible because they come from nowhere. Soundcloud helps them get followers, and the DJs I know personally send their music to small clubs, and eventually get a small, local fanbase. From there they can move to bigger clubs and eventually festivals, which is the end all goal. DJs are all self-made individuals, instead of coming from an already famous family, and I think this gives them a lot of credibility.
- How are texts in the genres structured? What are their parts, and how are they organized?
Dubstep, Moombahton: the texts are used normally right before a bass drop, so listeners have an idea of what to expect
Trance/House: These subgenres are more similar to pop songs, so they have lyrics throughout the entire song. They still however have bass drops and parts where there are no lyrics and just bass.
- In what format are texts of this genre presented? What layout or appearance is common? How long/big is a typical text in this genre?
There’s typically some sort of intro to the song, then a build-up, then a bass drop, then the song mellows out a little bit, then get ready for bass drop number 2 and finally mellow to the end.
EDM songs feel longer than most because they follow that pattern so 3 to 6 mins is average. There are also mixes which a lot of artists produce and those are 45 mins to an hour (typically).
- What types of “sentences” do texts in the genre typically use? How long are they? Are they simple or complex, passive or active? Are the sentences varied? Do they share a certain style?
Each subgenre has its own style. Even further than that each DJ has their own style.
- What diction is most common? What types of words (or symbols, images, etc.) are most frequent? Is a type of jargon used? Is slang used? How would you describe a typical writer’s tone?
So I saw images and the first thing that popped into my head were artist visuals. They use these during live performances (they are shown behind them on a screen). I could try and describe them, but that wouldn’t work so imma attach pics.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opdp5O8b8EQ]
These are all from Tipper’s set who falls into the subgenre of electronica. His music is actually really hard to pin into a genre. I went to a music festival last year and everyone was talking about Tipper’s visuals and how insane they were going to be. Not one person I knew was talking about the actual music.
Analyze What These Patterns Reveal About the Situation and Scene
- What do these patterns reveal about the genre, its situation, and the people who use it?
- What do participants have to know or believe to understand or appreciate the genre?
- They just have to be open-minded and accepting of others. Understanding the amount of time that DJs put into their music is absolutely necessary. My friends that hate EDM claim that all they have to do is press a button on a computer, but it is far more complex than that.
- Who is invited into the genre, and who is excluded??
- The greatest part about EDM is that everyone is invited into the genre. EDM community is one of the most open-minded communities I have ever been a part of. Anyone excluded is that way because they probably were talking trash.
- What roles for writers and readers does it encourage or discourage?
- I’m strictly talking about live performances of DJs here, but they encourage people to admire the environment around them. People ignite people.
- What can you learn about the actions being performed through the genre by observing its language patterns?
- How is the subject of the genre treated? What content is considered most important? What content (topics or details) is ignored?
- I guess it depends on the producer. As I mentioned earlier, Tipper is known for his visuals and his music is sorta downplayed. On the other hand, there are DJs where you can listen to their music and just vibe with no other means necessary. Bass is probably the most important factor in the EDM genre, all the subgenres incorporate it. Lyrics are often times over looked or ignored.
- What values, beliefs, goals, and assumptions are revealed through the genre’s patterns?
- People are capable of creating. It doesn’t have to creating music. It can be creating art, photography, jewelry, etc. EDM also has creative dance-ish styles—gloving which is strictly using your hands, using a poi, hooping, or shuffling. These all allows listeners to be creative as well.