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Exercises / Music genres

Recognize musical styles by ear

Hear ten openly licensed recordings across jazz, reggae, rock, hip-hop and classical styles. Train the listening clues that distinguish different grooves, textures and phrasing.

This is a ten-recording starter course: two different examples for each broad tradition. Some recordings are isolated instrument or rhythm examples, not complete songs. Genres have overlaps and exceptions. Audio loads from Wikimedia Commons and requires a connection.

EXERCISE 01 · 5 EXAMPLES

Recognize five musical styles

Hear five genuine published audio examples of jazz, reggae, rock, hip-hop and classical music. Learn to identify the strongest clues.

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EXERCISE 02 · 5 EXAMPLES

Recognize rhythm and texture clues

Try different recordings of the same five traditions: jazz drums, reggae bass, rock backbeat, rap beat and a classical piano piece.

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Music source, authors and reuse licences

All media are unedited Commons originals, linked rather than bundled. Licence pages and credit remain available both here and after each answer. Before self-hosting or modifying a recording, independently recheck its latest licence and attribution requirements.