List of styles of music: N–R
N
Na
- Nagauta – Japanese music that accompanies kabuki theater
- Nakasi – Japanese and Taiwanese folk music
- Nangma – Tibetan EDM
- Nanguan (music) – Chinese classical music that is heavily influenced by Western styles
- Narcocorrido – Mexican polka-influenced folk music with lyrics focusing on illegal activity
- Nardcore – hardcore and skate punk subgenre based in Oxnard, California
- Narodna muzika – Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Serbian folk music
- Nashville sound – a slick, pop-informed 'radio friendly' form of American country music that began in Nashville, Tennessee
- National socialist black metal – black metal with lyrics supporting national socialism, fascism, and other far-right ideologies
- Nederpop – Dutch pop music
- Neoclassical – orchestral music of the early 20th century
- Neoclassical dark wave – fusion of neoclassical and dark wave music
- Neo-classical metal – fusion of neoclassical and heavy metal music
- Neoclassical New Age – fusion of neoclassical and new age music
- Neo kyma – style of classical Greek music from the 1960s with French influences
- Neofolk – fusion of folk rock and post-industrial music
- Neo-Medieval – music that attempts to imitate Medieval and earlier periods of classical music
- Neo-progressive rock – highly theatrical, emotional, and clean subgenre of progressive rock
- Neo-psychedelia – loose term for music inspired by psychedelic and acid rock
- Neo soul – alternative form of hip hop soul that focused on more soulful and emotive vocals and lyrics
- Neotraditional country – alternative country music that attempts to imitate pre-Nashville 'traditional' country
- Nerdcore – hip hop with lyrics concerning typically 'nerdy' subjects
- Neue Deutsche Welle – German punk and new wave music
- Neue Deutsche Todeskunst – German dark wave and Gothic rock
- Neurofunk – more advanced form of techstep
- New-age – form of ambient music intended for use during meditation
- New Beat – Belgian downtempo and acid house
- Neue Deutsche Härte – German fusion style that mainly takes elements of industrial and groove metal, as well as techno and alternative rock
- New jack swing (or swingbeat) – slickly produced fusion of soul, pop, dance, and hip hop music
- New Orleans blues – Dixieland- and Caribbean-informed style of blues from New Orleans
- New prog – more ambitious and alternative rock-inspired form of progressive rock
- New rave – fusion of alternative rock and EDM
- New school hip hop – hip hop music made after the mid-80s
- New Taiwanese Song – Taiwanese pop music
- New wave – early form of punk-informed synthpop
- New wave of new wave – 1990s British revival of new wave music
- New Weird America – term for the, often psychedelic-informed, indie folk music of the 2000s
- New York blues – a jazz-influenced style of blues from New York, New York
Ni
- Nintendocore – fusion of chiptune and metalcore
- Nisiotika – Greek folk music from the Agean Islands
- No wave – avant-garde punk subgenre created as a reaction to the commercial new wave
- Noh – long, highly dramatic Japanese opera
- Noise – trend in orchestral, rock, and electronic music where harsh, non-melodic, and often random sounds are used alongside or in place of conventional sounds
- Noise pop – derivative of noise rock in which noises and feedback are used, but made into a melodic, often relaxing sound
- Noise rock – loud, atonal, dissonant, and unconventional rock music
- Nordic folk – folk music of the Nordic people
- Nordic folk dance – upbeat style of Nordic folk
- Nortec – Mexican EDM
- Norteño – Mexican folk music
- Northern soul – soul music made by northern English
- Nu-disco – modern house music that draws inspiration from disco
- Nu gaze – new form of Shoegaze
- Nu jazz – modern jazz music that borrows from funk and EDM
- Nu metal – fusion of thrash, groove, and alternative metal that also borrows elements from punk, industrial, grunge, and hip hop
- Nu skool breaks – a more abstract and drum & bass-inspired style of breakbeat
O
- Obscuro
- Ocean Grunge Internet-born electronic grunge style mixed with oceanic sounds and ambiguous reverberated vocals
- Oi! – 1980s style of British punk rock
- Old school hip hop – generic term for hip hop music recorded before approximately 1989
- Old-time – archaic term for many different styles that were an outgrowth of Appalachian folk music and fed into country music
- Oldies – Popular music from the 50's and 60's.
- Olonkho – Yakut epic songs
- Old Time Radio – Old Time Radio Shows from the 30's – 60's
- Ondo
- Opera – theatrical performances in which all or most dialogue is sung with musical accompaniment
- Operatic Pop – subgenre of pop music that is performed in a classical operatic style (also referred to as "Popera")
- Oratorio – similar to opera but without scenery, costumes or acting
- Orchestra – a large ensemble, especially one used to play European classical music
- Organ trio – a style of jazz from the 1960s that blended blues and jazz (and later "soul jazz") and which was based around the sound of the Hammond organ
- Organic ambient – often acoustic ambient music which uses instruments and styles borrowed from world music
- Organum – Middle Ages polyphonic music
- Oriental metal – a subgenre of folk metal that incorporates elements of traditional Middle Eastern music.
- Ottava rima – Italian rhyming stanzas
- Ottoman military band – the oldest variety of military marching band in the world.
- Outlaw country – late 1960s and 70s form of country music with a hard-edged sound and rebellious lyrics
- Outsider music – generic term for music performed by outsiders
P
- P-Funk – 1970s fusion of funk, heavy metal and psychedelic rock, most closely associated with the bands Funkadelic and Parliament, who shared many members collectively known as P-Funk
- PBR&B
Pa
- Pagan metal
- Pagan rock
- Pagode – Brazilian style of music which originated in the Rio de Janeiro region
- Paisley Underground – 1980s style of alternative rock that drew heavily on psychedelia
- Palm wine – fusion of numerous West African, Latin American and European genres, popular throughout coastal West Africa in the 20th century
- Panambih – tembang sunda that uses metered poetry
- Panchai baja – Nepalese wedding music
- Panchavadyam – Temple music from Kerala, India
- Pansori – Korean folk music played by a singer and a drummer
- Paranda – Garifuna form of music
- Parranda – Afro-Venezuelan form of music
- Parody – humorous renditions of existing songs or styles
- Patriotic
- Pambiche (Merengue estilo yanqui)
- Paranda – Garifuna music of Belize
- Parang – Trinidadian Christmas carols
- Partido alto
- Pasillo
- Psychobilly – Punk rock and country
- Peace Punk
- Pelimanni music – Finnish folk dance music
- Persian traditional music
- Peruvian cumbia – also known as chicha music.
- Petenera
- Peyote Song – a mixture of gospel and traditional Native American music
- Philadelphia soul – soft 1970s soul that came out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pi
- Piano blues
- Pimba – Origin: Portugal.
- Piedmont blues
- Pinoy rock – rock and roll sung in Tagalog from the Philippines
- Pinpeat orchestra
- Piphat – ancient form of Thai classical ensemble
- Pirate metal – mix of heavy metal and pirate music
- Piyyutim
- Plainchant (Gregorian chant)
- Plena
- Pleng phua cheewit – Thai protest rock
- Pleng Thai sakorn – a Thai interpretation of Western classical music
Po
- Polka French music style originated in paris in 1844
- Polo Venezuelan folk music
- Polonaise
- Pols – Danish fiddle and accordion dance music
- Polska
- Pong lang
- Pop folk
- Pop music
- Pop punk
- Pop rap
- Pop rock
- Pop sunda – Sundanese mixture of gamelan degung and pop music structures
- Pornocore
- Porro – Colombian big band music
- Post-Britpop
- Post-dubstep
- Post-disco
- Post-grunge
- Post-hardcore - A metal style that often utilizes screaming and melodic vocal techniques as well as dynamic range
- Post-industrial
- Post-metal
- Post-minimalism
- Post-punk
- Post-rock
- Post-romanticism
- Powada- Marathi Folk
- Power duo
- Power electronics
- Power metal – A style of heavy metal with melodic vocals, symphonic context and with fantastic or mythical lyrics.
- Power noise (or rhythmic noise)
- Power pop
- Power trio
- Powerviolence (also known as power violence)
- Pow-wow – Native American dance music
- Ppongtchak – Korean pop music developed during the Japanese occupation
Pr
- Praise song
- Program symphony
- Progressive electronic music
- Progressive folk music
- Progressive house
- Progressive metal – A subgenre of heavy metal and progressive rock.
- Progressive bluegrass
- Progressive rock – A subgenre of rock music with origins of jazz fusion and psychedelic rock.
- Progressive trance
- Protopunk
- Psychedelic music
- Psychedelic folk
- Psychedelic rock – A style of rock music that relates to psychedelia.
- Psychedelic trance (Psy-trance)
- Psychobilly
- Pub rock – back-to-basics rock music, see Pub rock (Australia) and Pub rock (United Kingdom).
- Pungmul – a Korean folk music tradition that includes drumming, dancing, and singing.
- Punk blues – a US music genre that developed in the 1980s, which mixes elements of blues with the aggressive sound of punk.
- Punk Cabaret – a fusion of musical theater and cabaret style music with the aggressive, raw nature of punk rock.
- Punk jazz
- Punk rock A subgenre of rock music known for its raw and distorted sound, usually fast and short songs, and lyrics of angst or anti-establishment.
- Punta
- Punta rock – 1970s Belizean music
Q
- Quan ho – Vietnamese vocal music which originated in the Red River Delta
- Qasidah – Epic religious poetry accompanied by percussion and chanting
- Qasidah modern – Qasidah updated for mainstream audiences
- Qawwali – Sufi religious music updated for mainstream audiences, was originated in India
- Quadrille
- Queercore
- Quiet Storm
R
- Raga rock – Swiss soul, rock and Indian music fusion
- Raga
- Raggamuffin (Ragga)
- Ragga Jungle
- Ragtime
- Rai – Algerian folk music now developed into a popular style
- Raicore
- Raï'n'B
- Rake-and-scrape – Bahamanian instrumental music
- Ramkbach
- Ramvong
- Ranchera – pop mariachi from 1950s film soundtracks
- Rap
- Rapso - A poetic "rap" form of Trinbagonian music—the next evolutionary step of Calypso and Soca.
- Rara
- Rare groove - Gujarati music and dance
- Rasiya
- Rave
- Ravanahatha- Ravana music
- Rebetiko
- Red Dirt (music)
- reel
- Reggae
- Reggae dancehall (see Dancehall)
- Reggae fusion
- Reggae highlife
- Reggaeton
- Rekilaulu – Finnish rhyming sleigh songs
- Religious
- Rembetiko
- Renaissance music
- Retro
- Requiem
- Rhapsody
- Rhumba
- Rhyming spiritual – Bahamanian hymns
- Rhythm and blues (R&B)
- Ricercar
- Rímur – Icelandic heroic epic songs
- Riot grrrl
- Rock
- Rock opera
- Rock and roll
- Rock en español
- Rockabilly
- Rocksteady
- Rococo
- Romantic period in music
- Ronggeng – a folk music from Malacca, Malaysia
- Roots reggae
- Roots rock
- Roots rock reggae
- Rumba