Steve PMHDid you know a piano can be considered a string and a percussion instrument?
I bet you didn’t know that. Many people aren’t aware that pianos fall under the string instruments classification because the produced sound is a result of vibrating strings. It’s also considered a percussion instrument because a hammer strikes the vibrating strings.
These simple movements can produce a lot of melodic sounds, categorized into types.
To be a skillful player, you need to be fully inclusive of the types of piano music. Not only that, but you should also be capable of playing diverse styles. In this article, I’ll list the most common types of piano music, so you can pick on your favorites.
Classical Music
Classical piano music is the mother of all styles. It was first performed between 1750 and 1820, and it was exclusive to the royalty in Europe and the upper class. It’s believed that Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven are the ones who paved the way for this style, and they laid its foundation.
Classical piano music went through many phases, evolving from the renaissance era to the baroque age and settling in the romantic period. Along the way, more pianists emerged and took the style under their wings, including Handel, Debussy, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn.
Fun fact: the piece that Adrien Brody ‘played’ at the end of The Pianist was Chopin’s Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22.
Most types of piano music stem from the classical style, and that’s why it’s the first thing pianists learn on their way to master the skill.
Musical Theatre Music
We’re all familiar with the scene of a professional pianist in a tux playing a grand piano on a large theatre set, followed by a round of applause and a dramatic bow. Playing piano in a theatre isn’t a new concept; it’s actually been the main part of musical theatre for a while.
Musical theatre pianists are different from any other pianist mastering a specific style. That’s because they need to be as versatile as possible to fit into any theatre production. They may play alongside pit bands, or they can accompany solo singers.
There are a lot of Broadway composers who made a difference in the way musical theatre style is perceived, such as Gershwin.
Today, there are a lot of famous composers that fall under the classification of this style, including Steven Sondheim, Steven Schwartz, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Liturgical Music
Liturgical music, or church music, is originally a religious style meant for all kinds of ceremonies, and it’s been widely used by the Catholics, Protestants, and the Jewish.
There are no specific rules for liturgical music; each religion has its own pieces composed, and they all fall under the same umbrella.
Liturgical music is meant to be meaningful, and it’s a signification of the religion it’s composed for. The style evolved from one generation to the other, and piano has been a staple part of all pieces.
A lot of pianists take the religious path in their careers by playing for religious services, and it helps them make a living.
Pop & Rock Music
Musicians didn’t include the piano in pop and rock music until the ‘50s. Sometime later, in the ‘70s, pianists started using keyboards to compose, resulting in cool electric sounds that matched perfectly with pop and rock styles.
Pop and rock fall into the contemporary piano styles, making them some of the most rewarding types of piano music nowadays. It’s no secret that pop and rock piano players get the largest pay, whether it’s for touring concerts, weddings, or bands.
However, mastering that style is no easy task. If you have the courage to explore new sounds, you’ll be good at it. But the charts are continuously changing, and you have to keep up.
Mastering the skill of singing alongside this style can also get you places.
Jazz Piano
Jazz is a lot more recent than classical music. Its start was around 1918, and many pianists influenced it. These pianists include Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller, and Scott Joplin, although the last died before 1918.
The jazz piano music started around Chicago, New York, and New Orleans. Till this today, New Orleans holds festivals and street walks in celebration of the American music style.
When musicians first played jazz, it was considered rebellious because of its dramatic deviation from the classical style. It’s justified, really. When you hear a classical piece of piano music and then hear some jazz, your ear will flinch, although each style has its own magic.
But the difference in harmony, rhythms, and technique caused the rebellion.
Other than the beauty of the music, jazz is believed to have caused a unity that was hard to achieve out of the limits of music. That’s because Asians, African Americans, Europeans, and Latinos came together to create the music in America.
Jazz piano music in an umbrella to a lot of other styles that stemmed afterward, including ragtime, bee-bop, and swing.
Blues
Piano music is all about jazz and blues, especially in the modern eras. A lot of people think blues music is a part of jazz, but that’s actually not the case. Blues was played before jazz became known as a piano style.
You can consider blues as a jazz element, but not vice versa.
People mostly mix between the two styles, although they’re pretty different. Blues is all about a solo player or a vocalist, while jazz is played by an ensemble, with dynamics and harmony being essential parts of it.
You can say that jazz is on the instrumental side, while blues is more of a lyrical style.
Blues music gives a sense of syncopation, a term familiar for musicians, meaning an ensemble of rhythms playing together to form a composition.
Boogie Woogie Music
Boogie Woogie’s start was a solo style for piano music, but it went through a significant evolution. It’s now expanded into a lot of other piano styles, including gospel and country-western, which are two of the most common types.
It’s originally based on blues music, contrary to the common belief that it belongs to the jazz umbrella.
The difference between boogie-woogie and blues is in the impression both styles leave on the recipients. Blues music is supposed to deliver a sense of frustration and sadness, while boogie-woogie is more of dance music. It’s even obvious from its name!
Cocktail Music
Cocktail piano music is identified by highly ornamented melodies, along with arpeggios. Arpeggios are another word for broken chords. They occur when a chord’s notes are played on an instrument or sung in a descending or ascending order.
It’s a pretty popular playing style among pianists.
Cocktail music is majorly associated with Roger Williams, Eddy Duchin, and similar players. Their compositions are known for the diverse techniques and flourishes. However, all cocktail players are masters of other styles as well.
So, the style alone isn’t enough for a professional pianist. In the end, it’s not one of the main types of piano music, which include jazz and blues.
Ragtime Music
Like R&B music, ragtime also includes syncopation in the rhythm. The style is based on incorporating melodic tones among the rhythm’s stressed beats, resulting in a ragged sound. It’s considered the first 100% American music genre, predating jazz style by a couple of decades.
Some people consider ragtime a modification of Marching music style, and it may very well be considered so after adding the polyrhythms that have an African origin. One of the most famous ragtime composers is Scott Joplin, who influenced both ragtime and jazz styles significantly.
New-Age Music
New-age music is different from all the other styles. It’s meant to help people relax and create an aura of artistic inspiration. It’s widely used by yoga and meditation experts as a way to reduce stress.
New-age music isn’t meant to put you in a trance, but it rather gets you in a state of ecstasy that relaxes your mind to the fullest. It’s one of the few types of piano music associated with spirituality.
The music doesn’t involve a lot of chord changes. It relies on a simple progression of two chords, along with polychords, which occur when you play two different chords simultaneously. The technique is said to be hugely influenced by the earlier works of Stravinsky.
Gospel Music
Gospel style is one of the most famous types of piano music. It’s a bit similar to jazz, blues, and R&B. It focuses on some extended chords, like the 11th chord, and it gives the same swinging sense that’s mostly associated with jazz.
Gospel music sounds pretty simple, giving the impression that it’s easy to play. However, on the contrary, it’s one of the most musically complex styles. It, too, incorporates syncopation, giving a spiritual feeling to the music.
It’s more of Christian-style music, and it varies in different cultures according to the people playing it and perceiving it. Christian lyrics mostly accompany it.
