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Thread: The Music Phylogeny Project : Collecting Suggestions for Traits!
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Old 10-30-2009, 06:15 AM   #2 (permalink)
Guybrush
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List of suggested traits :

  1. A Capella - Does the band sometimes use a capella? (ex. Gentle Giant)
  2. Accents second/fourth beat - The second and fourth beat are accented, typically by guitar chords (Bob Marley and the Wailers)
  3. Acoustic - Is acoustic instrumentation central to the sound? (ex. Cat Stevens)
  4. Amazing Vocal Prowess - Does the singer have an amazing vocal prowess and delivery? (ex. Mariah Carey)
  5. Ambient Soundscapes - Are there often ambient soundscapes in the music? (ex. Brian Eno)
  6. Anger - Does the artist or bands' music vent feelings of anger? (Rage Against the Machine)
  7. Banjo - Does the band ever use the banjo in their music? (ex. Flatt and Scruggs)
  8. Blues - Is the music blues or strongly blues influenced? (ex. Led Zeppelin)
  9. Catchy - Does the band/artist ever make songs which are instantly likeable/will stick after the first listening? (ex. Katy Perry)
  10. Choir - Is or does the band/artist ever employ a choir? (ex. Sisters of Mercy)
  11. Dark - Is the music dark? (ex. Moonspell)
  12. Distortion Guitar - Does the band/artist use distorted guitar? (ex. Cream)
  13. Drum Machine - Did or does the band or artist sometimes use a drum machine instead of a live drummer? (ex. Buckethead)
  14. Epic - Does the music sometimes have a very epic feel to it? (ex. Dream Theater)
  15. Fast Tempo - Is the music fast? (ex. Megadeth)
  16. Flute - Is flute ever important to the sound? (ex. Jethro Tull)
  17. Growling vocals - Are lyrics often growled? (ex. Pig Destroyer)
  18. Guitar band - Is guitar clearly the dominant melodic instrument? (ex. Mahavishnu Orchestra)
  19. Guitar solos - Does the band play extended guitar solos? (ex. Pink Floyd)
  20. Happy - Does the band/artist express feelings of happiness through their music? (ex. Caravan)
  21. Horn Riffs - Does the band use horn riffs? (ex. Save Ferris)
  22. Heavy - Does the music have a heavy oompfy feel? (ex. Nirvana)
  23. Improvisational - Is the sound ever improvisational? (ex. Return to Forever)
  24. Instrumental Skill - Does the band flaunt their instrumental skills? (ex. Yes)
  25. Electronica - Does the band use mainly electronic instruments, music programs and samples? (ex. The Prodigy)
  26. Danceable - Can you dance to much of the music by this band? (ex. Jamiroquai)
  27. Hypnotic Beats - Does the band have a droning beat with a sort of hypnotic or danceable feel? (ex. Sisters of Mercy)
  28. Instrumentalists - Is the band's music mainly instrumental as in non-verbal and lacking lyrics? (ex. Ozric Tentacles)
  29. Layered vocal harmonies - Does the band have layered vocal harmonies, either with several singers or overdubbing? (ex. Queen)
  30. Long songs - Does the band sometimes make songs over 10 minutes long? (ex. Genesis)
  31. Miminalist instrumentation - Does or has the band or artist gotten by with very few instruments, ex. no more than one or two? (ex. Leonard Cohen)
  32. Medieval - Does the music sometimes have medieval qualities? (ex. Kamelot)
  33. Metal Screams - Does the artist or bands singer sometimes do high-pitched metal screams? (ex. Judas Priest)
  34. Orchestral instrumentation - Is orchestral instrumentation like string, brass and woodwind instruments essential to the sound? (ex. Henry Cow)
  35. Overdub - Does the band somtimes use overdubbing? (ex. The Alan Parsons Project)
  36. Piano - Does piano ever take the center-stage as an instrument? (ex. Tori Amos)
  37. Quiet/Loud dynamics - Does the band or artist often use quiet parts constrasted by louder parts? (ex. The Pixies)
  38. Rapped lyrics - Are the lyrics sometimes or always rapped? (ex. Linkin Park)
  39. Sad - Would you describe the music as often sad or melancholic? (ex. Pink Floyd)
  40. Sampled drums - Does the artist or band sometimes use breakbeats along with more traditional methods? (ex. Sublime)
  41. Scary - Would you describe the band/artists music as sometimes scary? (ex. The Residents)
  42. Shrieked Vocals - Are vocals sometimes delivered in a high-pitched screeching manner? (ex. Cradle of Filth)
  43. Sluggish - Is the music often heavy and slow, sorta sluggish? (ex. Black Sabbath)
  44. Standards - Does the band/artist ever play or have made a jazz standard? (ex. Miles Davis)
  45. Superfast Bass Drums - Are the drums often played in an aggressive, superfast double-kickin' fashion? (ex. Gorgoroth)
  46. Symphonic - Does the band sometimes employ symphony orchestras? (ex. Mighty Rhapsody)
  47. Thematic Shifts - Is the music highly thematic and shifts between themes? (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
  48. Turntablism - Does the band/artist ever use a turntable for stuff like scratching or beat juggling? (ex. Beastie Boys)
  49. Untraditional time signatures - Does the band sometimes use untraditional time signatures? (ex. King Crimson)
  50. Whimsicality - Is the music often whimsical and a bit silly? (ex. Samla Mammas Manna)
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