New age music is a broad term for music that promotes relaxation, meditation, and optimism. It is used by its listeners for meditation, yoga, and therapy. It is an effective method of stress management. Instead of fear and trance, it brings about peace and calmness. Music is known to create a soothing and peaceful environment anywhere.
The forefathers of new age music
Before new age music became identifiable as a unique music genre on its own, it was tagged under these parent genres.
Ambient music: Ambient music is a type of music that portrays texture, tonality, and atmosphere. Unlike most popular music that consists of steady rhythms and formal melodies, the sound of ambient music crafts ambience from waves of texture.
Some ambient music sounds are built on synthesizer pads, which makes it categorize as electronic music. In general, the aura of ambient music often overlaps with that of minimalist new age music and drone rock. Some characteristics of the ambient music genre are:
Gradual exploration of timbre, Harmonic progression that is minimal, Emphasizes atmosphere and texture, and De-emphasized melodies
World Music: This is a type of music genre that uses distinctive ethnic scales and musical inflections. This type of music genre is not usually accompanied by traditional instruments. The term “world music” has now replaced “folk music”, which is a short-term description for recordings and music all over the world. In the 1980s, the term became more classificatory as it was used to describe “foreign music (Non-western music)”.
Music is a broad category that includes non-European classical music, Eastern folk music, and tribal music from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Central America.
Progressive Rock: Progressive rock music, also known as progressive rock, is a subgenre of rock music that portrays experimentation, concept-driven lyrics, musical virtuosity, and ambiguous compositions. The first rock band was formed in the 1960s, and progressive rock has continued to this day. Popular progressive rock bands are the Beach Boys and the Beatles.
Progressive rock is known for sophisticated harmonies and expanded instruments to create a strong and unique sound.
Psychedelic Rock: The psychedelic rock genre was first noticed in the 1960s, formed out of the hippie culture of San Francisco. This music genre spread quickly around the world, giving rise to some of the most popular rock bands of all time.
Psychedelic rock music incorporates elements of folk rock and blues, which contributed to the growth and spread of hard rock and progressive rock. Psychedelic rock music is typically known for its sound effects, improvisation, and inventive use of instruments. They are known for studio effects like phasing, distortion, and reversing sound. The lengthy improvised solo guitars are also one of the qualities of psychedelic rock.