List of styles of music: G–M
G
- G-funk – style of West Coast gangster rap
Gaa-Gal
- Gaana – upbeat Tamil dance song performed at celebrations
- Gabber – a faster, more anarchistic, form of house music designed to counter the pretentious Dutch house scene of the 1980s
- Gagaku – any Japanese classical music played for the Imperial Court
- Gaita Zuliana – diverse form of Venezuelan folk
- Galant – intentionally simplistic style of Western classical music designed to counter the increasingly complex Baroque music of the 18th century
- Gallican chant – plainsong used during the Gallican rite.
Gam-Gan
- Gamelan – Indonesian classical music
- Gamelan bebonangan – Balinese style of gamelan that utilizes a 7-tone scale and cymbals
- Gamelan degung – Sundanese style of gamelan that uses the pegog scale
- Gamelan gong kebyar – Balinese style of gamelan known for its explosive changes in tempo
- Gamelan salendro – West Javan gamelan
- Gamelan selunding – Balinese style of gamelan
- Gamelan semar pegulingan – Balinese style of gamelan
- Gammaldans – wide variety of traditional Nordic dance music, and modernized versions created by Nordic-Americans
- Gandrung – traditional Indonesian dance music
- Gangsta rap – hip hop that deals with illegal activity
Gar-Gav
- Gar – Tibetan chanting and dancing
- Garba – Gujarati music and dance
- Garage house – heavily polished style of American house
- Garage rock – a raw and energetic style of rock and roll, often practiced by high school bands in garages.
- Garage rock revival – a music revival of garage rock that occurred in the early 2000s.
- Gato – style of music folk dance popular in Argentina and Uruguay
- Gavotte – traditional French dance music
Ge-Gn
- Gender wayang – Balinese style of gamelan
- Geek rock – alternative rock with geeky themes.
- Gelineau psalmody – a style of plainsong developed by Joseph Gelineau that uses regular metre unlike other plainsongs.
- German folk – any folk music performed by Germans
- Ghazal – Arabic (particularly Pakistani) angst-ridden poetry, often accompanied by music
- Ghetto house – form of Chicago house known for its sexually explicit lyrics
- Ghettotech – fusion of Chicago house, Miami bass, electro, glitch, and techno
- Girl group – any all-female pop or rock group
- Glam metal – a subgenre of heavy metal with elements of glam rock, hard rock and pop rock.
- Glam punk – fusion of glam and punk rock
- Glam rock – a style of rock music which included heavy themes of gender-bending and androgyny.
- Glitch – style of EDM based around samples of malfunctioning technology in order to create an intentionally harsh sound
- Gnawa – Islamic African religious music
Go-Gr
- Go-go – style of funk known for its syncopated rhythms and call-and-response vocals
- Goa trance – fusion of trance music and traditional Indian styles
- Gong chime – any music performed with high-pitched pot gongs, usually Southeast Asian styles
- Goombay – Bahamian drum music
- Goregrind – style of grindcore known for its lyrical focus on gore and forensics
- Goshu ondo – traditional Japanese dance music from the Meiji era
- Gospel – a form of Christian music derived from spirituals that is known for its strong use of harmony and its usage of call and response.
- Gospel blues – a fusion of gospel music and blues.
- Gothic metal – fusion of gothic rock and heavy metal
- Gothic rock – an offshoot of post-punk that is heavily inspired by Gothic art.
- Gothabilly - a fusion of gothic rock and psychobilly.
- Gqom - style of house music from South Africa
- Grebo - a short-lived British style of alternative rock from the 1990s.
- Gregorian chant – the central plainsong used by the Roman Catholic Church that is said to be developed by Pope Gregory I; sung in monophonic a cappella.
- Grime – fusion of hip hop and UK garage
- Grindcore – fusion of death metal and hardcore punk.
- Groove metal – a style of heavy metal music that took elements of thrash, but played at mid-tempo, making a slower, groovier sound.
- Group Sounds – Japanese pop from the 1961s, inspired heavily by British beat and American bubblegum pop
- Grunge – a style of alternative rock that is heavily influenced by punk rock and heavy metal music and is known for its heavily distorted guitars and angst-ridden lyrics.
- Grupera – American rock-inspired Mexican rock
Gu-Gy
- Guarania – Paraguayan music style also popular in Brazil
- Guajira – Cuban country music, performed in rural communities
- Gumbe – Guinea-Bissaun folk music
- Gunchei – Central American music played to accompany the garifauna dance of the same name
- Gunka – Japanese military music
- Guoyue – modernized Chinese traditional music
- Gwo ka – Guadaloupean drum music
- Gwo ka moderne – modernized form of gwo ka
- Gypsy jazz – Roma-French style of jazz
- Gypsy punk – Romani style of punk rock
H
Hab-Has
- Habanera – African-American style based on Cuban contredanza
- Halling – Norwegian folk music made to accompany the dance of the same name
- Hambo – Swedish folk music made to accompany the dance of the same name
- Hamburger Schule – style of alternative rock based in Hamburg, Germany
- Happy hardcore – incredibly fast, upbeat, and optimistic style of hardcore techno
- Haqibah – Sudanese a capella music
- Hardcore hip hop – an aggressive and confrontational form of hip hop music.
- Hardcore punk - aggressive and confrontational form of punk music.
- Hardcore – a style of electronic dance music originated from techno known for distorted, industrial-esque beats.
- Hard bop – a style of bebop informed by gospel music, rhythm and blues, and blues.
- Hard house – fusion of hardstyle and house music
- Hard rock – a loud, distorted, and technically proficient form of rock music. Related and originally used interchangeably with heavy metal music, hard rock usually maintains the bluesy elements of blues rock.
- Hardstep – gritty, heavy style of drum & bass
- Hardstyle – intense, heavy style of EDM known for its heavy kick-drums and reversed basslines
- Hard trance – heavy, reverberating style of trance music
- Harmonica blues – blues music that utilizes the Richter-tuned harmonica
- Harsh noise wall
- Hasapiko – Greek folk dance music, originating in Constantinople
Hat-Haz
- Hát tuồng (Hát bôi) – Vietnamese opera
He-Ho
- Heartland rock – style of rock known for its minimalism, straightforwardness, and concern with the American working class
- Heavy metal music – a technically proficient, aggressive form of rock music. Related and originally used interchangeably with hard rock, heavy metal music usually abandons the bluesy elements of rock music.
- Hi-NRG – an electronic, uptempo style of disco known for a reverberating, four-on-the-floor rhythm.
- Hill country blues – a style country blues developed in Northern Mississippi which puts strong emphasis on rhythm and percussion, steady guitar riffs, few chord changes, unconventional song structures, and heavy emphasis on the "groove".
- Highlife – Ghanan style that married traditional African forms with Western pop
- Hiplife – fusion of highlife and hip hop
- Hip hop music – a music genre that combines poetry and innovative DJ techniques, particularly the usage of sampling of pre-recorded material.
- Hip house – fusion of hip hop and house music
- Hindustani classical – Northern Indian classical music
- Hiragasy – style of music and dance performed by troupes of relatives for day-long periods by the Merina people of Madagascar
- Honky-tonk – a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons, specifically a crisp, clean form of it.
- Hokum – a comedic version of blues where lyrics is centered on making sexual innuendos.
- Honkyoku – religious music performed by Japanese Zen Buddhists
- Hora – Romani folk music
- Hora lungă – improvisational Romani folk music
- Hornpipe – music played to accompany the British naval dance of the same name
- Horrorcore – hip hop known for dark, horror-inspired lyrics
- Horror punk – punk that is lyrically inspired by 1950s horror B-movies, often in an ironic way
- House music – a relaxed, disco-informed style of electronic dance music characterized by repetitive 4/4 beats, rhythms provided by drum machines, off-beat hi-hat cymbals, and synthesized basslines.
Hu-Hy
- Huayño – Peruvian folk music
- Huella – folk music from Argentina and Uruguay
- Hula – Hawaiian folk music made to accompany the dance of the same name
- Humppa – Finnish jazz style
- Hunguhungu – folk music performed by Garifuna women
- Hyangak – Korean court music from the Three Kingdoms period
- Hymn – any religious song
- Hyphy – fast-paced style of hip hop from the San Francisco Bay Area
I
- Icaro – music sung in healing ceremonies of the Shipibo-Conibo people of Peru
- Igbo – any music performed by the Igbo people of Nigeria
- Illbient – form of ambient music inspired by dub music in its use of layering and hip hop music in its use of sampling.
- Impressionist – style of Western art music inspired by the visual arts movement of the same name
- Incidental – music played in the background of a film or play
- Indian rock – rock music performed by Indians that usually incorporates elements of Indian music into it; related to raga rock, the term Indian rock is usually only applied to Indian rock musicians currently living in India.
- Indietronica – fusion of indie rock and EDM
- Indie folk – a fusion of indie rock and folk music.
- Independent music – any music made outside of major record labels. Independent music that is specifically formed around an idea of remaining on the underground and a DIY ethic is referred to as indie music.
- Indie pop - a melodic, often angst-free and optimistic, form of pop music associated with the indie music scene; related with indie rock.
- Indie rock – an alternative rock style linked to the indie music scene.
- Indigenous music of North America – any music made by the Indigenous peoples of North America.
- Indigenous rock - a style of music which mixes rock music with the instrumentation and singing styles of Indigenous peoples
- Indo jazz – fusion of jazz and traditional Indian music
- Industrial death metal – fusion of industrial and death metal
- Industrial hip hop – fusion of industrial and hip hop music
- Industrial music – an early form of electronica that linked avant-garde electronic experimentation to punk rock energy, vocalization, and ethics.
- Industrial musical – musical theater performed by the workers of a company to promote teamwork
- Industrial metal – fusion of industrial music and heavy metal music.
- Industrial rock – a fusion of industrial music and rock music; usually considered a subgenre of alternative rock.
- Instrumental – music that had no lyrics
- Instrumental hip hop – hip hop music that has no rapping.
- Instrumental rock – any rock music that neglects vocals
- Intelligent dance – IDM; more experimental and intellectual form of electronica so called to distinguish itself from the commercialist trends in rave music
- Inuit – any music performed by the Inuit people of Greenland and Canada
- Irish traditional music – folk music of the Irish people; part of the Celtic music umbrella.
- Irish rebel – Irish folk with an emphasis on Irish republicanism
- Isicathamiya – a capella form of singing used by the Zulu people of South Africa
- Islamic music
- Isolationist – style of ambient that uses repetition and dissonance to create a sense of uneasiness
- Italo dance – an optimistic form of Eurodance that developed in Italy
- Italo disco – form of disco developed in Italy that lead to the creation of modern EDM
- Italo house – Italian house music that followed on from Italo disco
- Izvorna bosanska – Bosnian rural roots music
J
Ja-Je
- Jaipongan – music made to accompany the dance of the same name of Sundanese people of Indonesia
- Jam – a type of band that plays long instrumental tracks, often improvised, called 'jams'
- Jamaican folk music – folk music originating from Jamaica.
- Jamrieng samai – Cambodian pop music
- Jangle – a sound characterized by undistorted, treble-heavy electric guitars (particularly 12-strings) played in a droning chordal style (by strumming or arpeggiating), giving it an uplifting, 'jangly' sound. This sound is the main centerpiece of a indie/pop rock music style known as jangle pop.
- Japanoise – noise music from Japan
- Jarana yucateca – traditional Yucatán dance music
- Jarocho – Mexican dance and song style from Veracruz
- Jawaiian – fusion of Hawaiian traditional music and reggae
- Jazz – a type of music (usually considered a form of popular music, although some forms can be considered art music) that originated in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Southern United States and is known for its heavy use of musical improvisation.
- Jazz improvisation – musical improvisation within the context of jazz.
- Jazz blues – fusion of jazz and blues music
- Jazz-funk – fusion of jazz and funk music
- Jazz fusion – can refer to any music that fuses something with jazz, although its usage is often limited to defining a fusion of jazz and rock music. Sometimes used interchangeably with Jazz rock, jazz fusion is usually seen as being a jazz subgenre that incorporates rock elements into its music.
- Jazz rap – fusion of jazz and hip hop
- Jazz rock – a fusion of jazz and rock music. Sometimes used interchangeably with Jazz fusion, jazz rock is usually seen as being a rock subgenre that incorporates jazz elements into its music.
- Jegog – gamelan played with bamboo-based instruments
- Jenkka – Finnish folk dance music
- Jesus – style of CCM developed by the American hippie-based Jesus Movement
Ji-Jt
- Jig – uptempo Irish folk dance music
- Jing ping – Dominican folk dance music developed by slave during European colonialism
- Jingle – short, catchy song used in advertising
- Jit – Zimbabwean pop music
- Jitterbug – any music that accompanied the dance of the same name
- Jive – swing music used to accompany the African-American ballroom dance of the same name
- Joged – Balinese dance music
- Joged bumbung – fusion of gamelan and joged
- Joik – style of Sami folk music
- Joropo – Venezuelan waltz
- Jota – Spanish folk dance music
- Jug band – a band that plays a form of African-American folk music using household objects such as jugs, spoons, and washboards.
- Juke joint blues – fusion of blues and soul
- Jùjú – Nigerian pop music
- Jump blues – an uptempo, swing-influenced form of boogie-woogie played with horns.
- Jumpstyle – faster form of progressive house
- Jungle music – a style of breakbeat hardcore known for fast tempo, breakbeats, samples, and for being the immediate predecessor of drum and bass.
- Junkanoo – Bahamas folk dance music
K
K-
Ka
- Kaba – Southern Albanian instrumental folk music
- Kabuki – form of Japanese musical theatre known for its elaborate make-up and costuming
- Kagok – Korean folk music
- Kaiso – a type of Trinidadian music originating from Igbo and Kongo slaves that later developed into calypso music.
- Kalamatianó – Greek folk music
- Kan ha diskan – Breton folk music
- Kanikapila - Hawaiian music
- Kansas City blues – blues performed by Kansas City inhabitants.
- Kantrum – fast-paced Khmer-Thai folk music
- Kargyraa – deep, growling form of Tuvan throat singing
- Kaseko – Surinamese music that fuses African, European, and American styles
- Kachāshī – fast-paced Ryukyuan festive folk music
- Kawachi ondo – Japanese folk music from the Osaka region
- Kawaii metal - Fusion of heavy metal and J-pop
- Karaoke - a form of entertainment, offered typically by bars and clubs, in which people take turns singing popular songs
- Kayōkyoku – an early form of J-Pop
Ke-Kh
- Kecak – Balinese folk opera
- Kacapi suling – Sundanese folk music
- Kertok – Malay musical ensemble utilizing xylophones
- Khaleeji – Arab folk music
- Khene – Malay woodwind music
- Khyal – North Indian form of Hindustani classical music
- Khoomei – soft, droning form of Tuvan throat singing
Ki-Kp
- Kievan chant – a liturgical chant common in churches that have their roots in the Moscow Patriarchate; part of the Obikhod.
- Kirtan – Indian drum music performed during Hindu bhakti rituals
- Kiwi rock – rock music performed by New Zealanders
- Kizomba – Angolan folk dance music
- Klapa – Croatian a capella music
- Klasik – Afghan classical music
- Klezmer – Jewish classical music
- Kliningan – Sundanese folk dance music
- Kolomyjka – tongue-in-cheek Hutsul folk dance music
- Komagaku – Japanese court music from the Heian period
- Kpanlogo – Ghanan folk dance music
- K-pop – South Korean pop music
Kr-Kw
- Krakowiak – fast-paced Polish folk dance music
- Krautrock – a German form of experimental rock that largely replaced the blues influences of rock music with electronic music; considered a form of electronic rock.
- Kriti – Indian classical music
- Kroncong – Indonesian folk music utilizing the ukele
- Kuduro – Angolan folk music
- Kulintang – ancient gong music of the Filipinos, Indonesians, Malays, Bruneian, and Timorese
- Kundiman – Filipino love songs
- Kvæði – Icelandic folk music
- Kwaito – South African house music
- Kwassa kwassa – Congolese folk dance music
- Kwela – South African skiffle music
L
La
- Laiko – Greek folk dance music
- Lambada – Brazilian dance music
- Landó
- Latin alternative – alternative rock informed by traditional Latin American styles.
- Latin freestyle – a form of electro characterized by its usage of the clave rhythm found in Latin music.
- Latin jazz – jazz that incorporates rhythms from Latin music.
- Latino hip hop – hip hop music performed by Latino Americans.
- Latin metal – A genre of heavy metal with Latin origins, influences, and instrumentation, such as Spanish vocals, Latin percussion and rhythm such as Salsa rhythm
- Latin music – catch-all term for Spanish- and Portuguese-language popular music.
- Latin pop – used either as a catch-all term for any pop music from the Spanish-speaking world, or as a specific term for a fusion of pop music and Latin music.
- Latino punk – punk rock performed by Latino Americans.
- Latin rock – used either as a term for Spanish- and Portuguese-language rock music, or as a specific term for a style of rock music that incorporates elements found in Latin music.
- Latin soul – a fusion of Latin jazz and soul music.
- Lavani – style of traditional Indian music performed in Maharashtra
Le-Lo
- Legényes – Hungarian and Romanian folk dance music performed by the inhabitants of Transylvania, now modern-day Cluj-Napoca
- Letkajenkka – Finnish folk dance music
- Lhamo – Tibetan folk opera
- Lied – German poems spoken to music
- Light Metal music
- Light – soft, non-confrontational British orchestral music
- Liquid funk – form of drum and bass with a heavy emphasis on melody
- Liquindi – style of percussion performed by the various 'pygmy' peoples of Africa in which drummers stand in a body of water and hit the surface
- Lo-fi – any music recorded at a quality lower than usual
- Logobi – form of zouglou influenced by the French colonists in the Ivory Coast
- Loncomeo – musical style from the tehuelche people in Argentina
- Long song – Mongolian folk music in which each syllable is extended for a longer than average period of time
- Louisiana blues – blues performed by inhabitants of the state of Louisiana.
- Lounge – downtempo music intended to give the listener a sense of being somewhere else, i.e. a jungle or outer space
- Lovers rock – form of reggae fusion known for its romantic lyrics
- Lowercase – an extreme, minimalist form of ambient music consisting of long periods of silence and occasional, very minute sounds.
Lu
- Lu – Tibetan a capella music
- Lubbock sound – fusion of rock and roll and country music from Lubbock, Texas
- Luk Krung – more polished form of luk thung
- Luk thung – Thai folk music
- Lullaby – soothing song sung to young children to lull them to sleep
- Lundu – harmonious style of Afro-Brazilian music
- Lust - romantic retro 80's music
M
Ma – Mb-Mg – Mi – Min-Mir – Mo-Mp – Mu
- M-Base – style of musical thought and composition developed by Steve Coleman
Mad-Mam
- Madchester – a music scene developed in Manchester that combined alternative rock with acid house. The music itself is often referred to as baggy.
- Madrigal – style of classical singing popular in the Renaissance and Baroque eras
- Mafioso rap – subgenre of gangsta rap that focuses on organized crime
- Mahori – form of Thai and Khmer classical music
- Makossa – Cameroonian pop
- Malhun – Arab folk poetry
- Maloya – style of folk developed by the slaves on the French territory of Reunion
- Malambo – Argentine and Uruguayan style of folk music dance
- Mambo – a Cuban style of swing music.
Man-Map
- Manaschi – Kyrgyz song recital of the Epic of Manas
- Mandopop – style of C-pop sung in the Mandarin language
- Manele – Romani folk music
- Mangue bit – a Brazilian electronic music genre played in a fast-paced, alternative rock-informed style.
- Manila Sound – fusion of Western rock music and traditional Filipino folk music
- Mapouka – traditional folk dance music of the Aizi, Alladian, and Avikam people of the Ivory Coast
Mar-Maz
- Marabi – South African style informed by blues and jazz
- Maracatu – Brazilian folk dance music
- March
- Mariachi – fusion of Mexican folk music and pop music
- Marrabenta – Mozambican folk dance music informed by Portuguese styles
- Martial industrial – style of neo-folk informed by military marches and militaristic themes
- Martial music – music intended for use in military settings.
- Maskanda – South African folk music
- Marinera – romantic Peruvian folk dance music
- Martinetes – a capella flamenco music
- Mashup – Blend of two or more pre-recorded songs
- Mass – Christian hymns sung by large vocal groups
- Matamuerte – Garifuna folk dance music
- Mathcore – fusion of metalcore and math rock
- Math rock – a rhythmically complex and experimental form of indie rock.
- Maxixe – Brazilian folk dance music
- Mazurka – Polish folk dance music
Mb-Mg
- Mbalax – Senegalese folk dance music that combines traditional sabar drumming techniques with jazz, soul, rock, and Latin music
- Mbaqanga – Zulu jazz style that was one of the first South African genres to achieve intertribal recognition
- Mbube – South African a cappella music
- Meditation – any music created to aid meditation procedures
- Medieval folk rock – form of folk rock that incorporated elements of earlier folk traditions, such as Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, despite what the name may suggest
- Medieval metal – fusion of folk metal and Medieval folk rock
- Medieval music – a period of Western art music ranging from the 6th to 15th centuries.
- Mejoranera – Panaman guitar music
- Malhun – north African style of classical music that borrows from Andalusian traditions
- Melam – Indian drumming style
- Melisma – a singing technique where a single single syllable of text is sung through several different notes in succession.
- Melodic hardcore – style of hardcore punk known for its slower, melodic guitars, juxtaposed with shouted vocals
- Melodic metalcore – fusion of melodic hardcore and metalcore
- Melodic – any music that utilizes melody, the combination of notes so that they are perceived as a single string of music
- Memphis blues – a style of blues from Memphis.
- Memphis soul – polished, funky style of soul from Memphis
- Mento – a style of Jamaican folk music that later developed into ska; heavily conflated with calypso music.
- Merengue – Dominican folk dance music
- Merengue típico – style of modern merengue that attempts to sound similar to 19th century merengue
- Méringue – Haitian guitar music
- Metalcore – fusion of extreme metal and hardcore punk; often sung melodically
- Mexican rock – rock music performed by Mexicans
- Meykhana – Azerbaijani spoken word music
- Mezwed – Tunisian folk music
Mia-Mil
- Miami bass – rave-inspired style of hip hop
- Microhouse – minimalist, stripped down form of house music
- Microsound
- Middle Eastern music – music originating from the Middle East.
- Midwest hip hop
- Mini-jazz – rock-inspired meringue music
- Minuet – French folk dance music
- Milonga – Argentine and Uruguayan folk dance music
- Milongón – Uruguayan folk music
Min-Mit
- Min'yō – Japanese folk music
- Minimal music – a heavily experimental form of music known for its simplicity and repetitiveness. Usually refers to a form of postmodern classical music, although the term have been applied to some genres of popular music (particularly electronica).
- Minimal Goa
- Minimal trance – fusion of psychedelic trance and minimal music
- Minimal techno – fusion of techno and minimal music
- Minstrel – American folk music which parodied African-American styles
- Minneapolis sound – glam-informed style of dance-rock pioneered by Prince
Mo
- Modal jazz – jazz that uses musical modes rather than tonal scales and thinking as a framework.
- Modinha – Brazilian folk music
- Modern classical – loose term for orchestral music made during or after the 20th century
- Modern laïka – modernized and pop-informed style of laïka
- Modern rock – any rock music (usually alternative rock) made during or after the 1990s
- Morenada – folk music and dance style from the Bolivian Andes
- Mor lam – Laotian and Thai folk music
- Mor lam sing – fast-paced, sexual, and modernized form of mor lam
- Moombahton – fusion of electro house and reggaeton
- Moombahcore – moombahton incorporating dubstep influences and elements of Dutch house
- Motown sound – a slick, pop-informed style of soul music; produced by and named after the famous record label.
- Montuno – loose term for Cuban music and its derivatives
- Morna – Cape Verdean folk music
- Mozambique of Cuba – Cuban folk dance music
- Mozambique of America – American derivative of the Cuban style of the same name
- Mozarabic chant – plainsong used during the Mozarabic rite.
Mu
- Mugham – Azerbaijan classical music
- Mumble rap - A modern subgenre of hip-hop characterized by simplistic and often unintelligible lyrics
- Murga – Uruguayan and Argentinian folk dance music
- Musette – French folk dance music
- Mushroom Jazz – eclectic genre that draws from downtempo, hip hop, and world styles
- Music drama – an artwork that covers all forms of art
- Music hall – English popular music of the 19th century
- Música criolla – Peruvian music informed by African, European, and Andean styles
- Musica llanero – Venezuelan and Colombian folk music
- Música popular brasileira – loose term for Brazilian pop music
- Musical improvisation – music made up on the spot.
- Musiqi-e assil – Persian orchestral music
- Musique concrète – heavily experimental orchestral music known for its use of electronic instruments
- Muwashshah – Arabic musical poetry