EMC (Euphonic Music Classification) is a "music classification system" created by the Author and based on human listening of artists' repertoires, web sources and print media.
EMC is developed on four levels, starting from the wider : Frames, Broad Genres, Music Clusters and Main Genres.
This hierarchical structure is the index used as filter of the Artistic Area.
The same list of items used as entries of four Subcategories creates the Category Classification exactly as the other ones.
1.Generalities
2.3 Artistical Area Entries count
Level Name
Area
Categories
Total Count
Target
ELL Lev
2.1 Entries Count
The amount of the items listed for each levels are not predetermined by the Author(s) and have not upper or lower limits. They are natural conseguences of the EMC features and their numbers are costantly updated.
The first two levels are made up in a number "estimated fixed". This means that they will almost remain the same.
The number of Clusters might be increased or reduced, but not so much because this should mean to mutate drastically the nature of the system.
The total count of Genres is instead a number that is susceptible to be increased a lot because currently have been analyzed around the 60% of the Clusters. The full list will probably grow up to around 900-1000.
2.2 Estimate links generated by EMC Entries
2. EMC Levels Data
1.1 General definitions of EMC Levels
The layering of Genres in EMC system has been deterined according to four major definitions :
1) the Frames collects the cultural, ethnic, musical or technical origins of a very large and different group of genres;
2) the Broad Genres crosses the boundary of the cultural groups and goes into more detail with about thirty movements, often called genres, each of them collecting several levels of genres, subgenres, movements etc.. all included in those that can be described as the fundamental aesthetic rules of one or more "pivot" genres from which everyone has inherited their fundamental characteristics;
3) Clusters are those groups of genres within the Broad Genres that all have a common inspirational path in
- techniques used;
- general sounds approach;
- kind of instruments used;
- lyrics contents and themes;
A Cluster usually has also:
- a general audience and a prevailing target audience owned to a similar socio-cultural context;
- similar "objectives" of production . This term may seem despicable for an artist but it is an integral part of his own expression way. E.g. : the differences between a techno DJ and a composer of Ambient )
- artists' stylistic strategies;
- producers' strategies;4) (Main) Genres, the unit of EMC taxonomy system with which an artist or a work can be priorly summarized;
3.5 Artistical Overviews : added filter level for Artistic Area
All the searches in Artistical Areas both made by:
- ELL : internal links coming from the selected subcategory (e.g.: from Frames Subcategories)
or
- EMC Levels : internal links coming from a table in EMC Level page (e.g: from Frames List)
converge in to an Artistical Overview, a page in which are listed:
- any eventually lower levels as Internal Linklists;
- self-generated External Links related to the specific selected item, filterable in Actions;
- an extract from Wikipedia definition and a lit with the link to third parties' overviews;
In a non-artistical areas, subcategory entries do not have an overview, but link directly to an External Linklists, then to a table with precompiled external links, related to that item.
3.1 Level 1 : "Frames"
Definitions
EMC Level 1 is he wider sets and the higher filtering levels. Here you can find the more relevant movements and genres in popular music history, often described as genres. The terms Frameworks (or Frame) is not conventional and picked up by computer science (framework) . It is totally arbitrary and used only in this site in reference to the first level of classification, therefore the first of the filters in the searches.
In many cases it is comparable to the respective broad genre standards as in Pop Music, in others it represents a larger set, as in the case of African American Music, Contemporary Art Music, Folk and Country , but still recognizable in a pre-existing terminological context.
As for all the EML classification, they must be intended as sections of this website, created to simplify the search, redirecting the users to artists having similar more than one features described in the realted section of Features.
3.2 Level 2 : "Broad Genres"
Definitions
These levels include the same taxonomic terms that in most music websites or more generally in music literature are defined generically only by the term "genre".
E.g.: Hip Hop, Rock, Metal, Folk or Country in EML.org are Broad Genres
Broad Genres count
Broad Genres are collected in Frames in an average from 3 to 4 each.
Search by Broad Genres
Starting your search from here you will have the advantage of a low amount of sets (10 and 31) and mostly standard or very well-knewn terms.
They are generally characterized by being the first boundaries of different general "aesthetic" rules concerning styles, contents and in some cases, the language of the lyrics. Often ordered for major consumption markets or origin, usually a Broad Genres has its roots in a pivotal genre such as Rock and Roll for Rock.
As a level, this is the most useful and practical with which to begin research, as their elements identify a set of similar genres and not a large cultural movement as in "Frames". In addition, they are in limited quantity, set at about thirty.
3.4 Level 4 : "Main Genres"
The Main Genre or simply Genres (with upper case), is the base unit of EMC Levels.
The term Main Genre is used in EML in Artists or Works Categories to identify the features that best represents an artist in one or more of the following ways:
the genre that best describe the artistically most prolific period in a band's activity years;
-
the genre that best described any kind of artist in their more economically successfully period of activity;
-
the movement that an artist (band or soloist) have predated, becoming one of the pioneers of a genre;
-
the movement that an artist (band or soloist) have created writing the first works described in this way;
-
generally, the movement or genre defining that particular artist's work(s) that had a big exploit in mainstream, and give them the strongest raise in their artistical careers;
In some cases, as best described in the Feaures section of EML, the Main Genre in standard definitions may be different.
Differences with standard definitions due to sound features definitions
Most of 90% of Genres and listed in EML.org and their general definitions are literally extract from Wikipedia;
Also if not officially included in some classification , some added Genres have names derived from their definitions and easily recognizable .
E.g. :Alternative Hard Rock is a genre defining artists included in Alternative Rock Cluster having sound features very similar to the genre of Hard Rock, a Genre of Classic Rock Cluster )
Deviations from common definitions are always motivated by the need to give priority to the sound features rather than the audience's way of defining them, or other production characterisitc or strategies.
Differences with standard definitions to make search easier
In order to allow the EML.org Users a more easy experience during their search in the website, during the made up of EMC CLassification, the Author had to make some changes to some traditional terms defining genres and metagenres.
E.g. African Pop music has ben divided in Cluster defining the language fo the lyrics or to the origin of the artist as: Francophone African Pop, East Africa Pop, Portuguese African Pop etc..
Lacking Genres or metagenres
Viceversa, some really important definitions may not find place as official EMC level or may have such different meaning. These rare peculiarities are usually due to give a more strict sound definitions to artist and works.
E.g. you can't find literally “Indie Rock” in a EMC Level because its definitions and the range of artists including in this terms is too wide to create a Genre, and not so specific to generate a path as Cluster or to be a Genres ruel boundaries as for Broad Genres, and neither Indie Rock may be classified as a Cultural Roots at the same level of African American Music and obviously cannot be higher then Rock Frame.
All the lacking genres and some particular attribute (e.g.: supergroup, instrumental band etc..) are available in artists linklists in a column of features called "Other Genres" .
Differences between Genres and Main Genre
As entries both definitions are related to the same list and are exactly the same thing.
In EMC Section and Category Classification, the terms Genres is used to define the list of the more important genres in popular music.
In Artist Category the therm used is Main Genre for better express the idea that musicians , singers or bands are hardly classifiable by an only terms.
Main Genre is used to indicate one or more of the following artists's features :
1) the largest part of their repertoire;
2) the most significant ages of their carrer;
3) the album or single that lead them to the world fame;
4) an album or single or an age of them representing an huge innovation or a turning point in the histor of music; genre;
5) the genre of which they have been pioneer whether they have been aware or not of this role.
6) their origin or languages if their Main Genre are geographically classified.
In an argued artist's definition, is assigned the one that better fit for the most recent works;
For some particular aritsts, EML consider their global fame, and not use the latter feature.
The role of artists in mainstream lead the genre attributions
E.g. the Swedish pop group “Abba” should be included in Scandinavian Pop (Genre of “European Pop” Cluster) but they are globally knewn as a leading band in their genre and one of the high selling artists in the the history of popular music, So they are classified in this way: Pop Music(Frame)/ Western Pop (Broad Genre) / Classic Pop (Cluster) / Dance Pop (Genre) and not as they should be: Pop Music / International Pop / European Pop / Scandinavian Pop.
Lyrics languages or music markets over artists' languages
Artists language is is a really fundamental attribute in frame as "Pop Music" or in Broad Genre "Folk Music" where it defines the way they are classified in to this groups.
But also in this cases, as for the origin, the language is not enough to define an aritst.
The market in which they mainly operate and have or have ad sucess is fundamental for understanding their collocation in this kind of sets, and and the language of the majority of the lyrics of an artist's repertoire prevails over the language of the artist himself.
3.3 Level 3 : "Music Clusters"
Also called simply "Clusters", this level have been created to give to the Genres a more defined "habitat" than the big "house" of Broad Genres.
They collect Genres basically in three way:
- chronologically (Traditional, Classic and Contemporary);
- geographically (US Folk, European Folk, East Asia Pop etc..);
- semantically: using as main paramater an historical "path" of inspiration.
The chronological parameters are not so strict.
In standard taxonomies it refers generally at styles and techniques models that have had an exploit and have last mainly in a defined period / age (e.g. Traditional Pop also called American Standard for the pre-war and the pre-rock era). In EML a contemporary artist may be included in Traditional Pop for writing or performing exactly as the pop star from 40s-60s.
The geographically parameters use as indications:
- the origin of the artists;
- the country in which international band has been legally formed;
- where happen the great part of consumption of artists' record or the download/streaming of their tracks. This distinction is made up on the basis of the main music markets, generally macro region (e.g North America, Central Europe, Scandinavia, MENA Regions, Sub-saharian etc..)
- the language of more than 51% of the tracks of artist's repertoire;
Clusters made up using semantical "paths" of genres parameters are mainly sound oriented.
EML includes artists of different era and origins in the same semantical Cluster if they are part of a specific path of inspiration and of a "genre to genre" form eveolving throught generation of artists. Someone may argue that any Cluster have this feature !
This is also true but a semantical Cluster could melt genres that could have been included in other upper levels, but that are all so strictly bond toi each other that a disjunctionwould worse the EMC Media reseatch in external liks.
E.g : Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Folk, Krautrock, Fusion, Neopsichedelia, Stoner Rock, etc.. are very differetn genres. They could be included in Rock, Metal, Jazz, Electronic, Folk and Country , but this movements kind have so many common features (otherwordly sounds, and the purpose of let the audience have a "mind "travel with their tracks above all) that an audience with a particular tendency to listen one of them, usually have a natural predisposition for the ohter ones.
The "genre to genre "must not be confused with the line "genre-subgenre". In this latter the spread of new sub-movements are more simultanously and the sub-genre features cannot be isolate in a so defined way by the genre listed in Cluster.