6. Music conventions

Trope --> A convention which has formed over many years. 
For example a trope of horror movies would  be lots of blood and tense music. 


Meme --> How a trope/convention starts or develops, and then spreads.
For example using blood in a film initially, and this would have been copied by others.




Many music genres incorporate these ideas, for example...


Conventions of Pop -

• Attractive 
• Lots of dancing 
• Always sing about love and relationships 
• Video often follows the story within the song
• Brightly coloured, fashionable clothing
• Smiling
• Generally aimed at a teenage audience

These tropes have become conventions through the initial memes which would have caught on. Nowadays, we have TV programmes such as 'Glee' and 'X factor' which heighten the popularity of pop as a music genre, and also publicise artists within this genre. 

Teenagers are likely to have the largest amount of disposable income, as many have part-time jobs but no bills to pay, therefore the large majority of their earnings can be spent on themselves. Therefore, pop music has become more directed at this demographic, as they make up the largest sector of pop music sales. 

No-one wants to listen to sad songs all day, every day, so pop music has adhered to this meme and is generally very cheery and uplifting, providing an escape from stressful modern life. 

 Conventions of Rock - 

• Plain, casual clothes
• Fast paced
• Atmospheric video
• Passionate lyrics
• Usually male artists

Bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon have become much more popular in recent years, and this may be due to the less aggressive, therefore exclusive, nature of rock nowadays. They often develop existing songs or tunes, and may sample the original in their version. Rock music is often more of an artistic expressions of opinions. Today, the term 'rock' includes features of many genres, including pop, reggae, soul and hip-hop. 

Conventions of Metal -

• Long guitar solos
• Aggressive style
• Characteristic drumming

The sound of heavy metal has changed a lot over the years; the first metal bands, such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were very popular, and Motorhead and Iron Maiden introduced a more 'punk' feel. Thrash Metal then became popular through Metallica and Slayer, and nowadays there is a more modern feel within nu metal which incorporates more grunge and hip hop. 




Conventions of Reggae - 

• Set in Caribbean 
• Cheery lyrics
• Videos with bright colours - rarely follow a narrative

First developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. Nowadays it is mixing with pop and picking up some of these conventions along the way.