"Music is a world within itself with a language we all understand..."
Tropes found in music, songs and the listening experience.
See also: Albums Index, Composers, Music of Note, Musicians, and Music Video Tropes.
Note that sub-genres are listed in their respective pages.
— Stevie Wonder, "Sir Duke"
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Genres
- Afrobeat
- Alternative Dance
- Alternative Indie
- Alternative Rock
- Arena Rock
- Avant-garde Music
- Barbershop music
- Baroque Music
- Bluegrass
- Blues
- Boy Band
- Britpop
- Cantata
- Chanson
- Christian Rock
- Christmas Songs
- Chutney Music
- Classical Music
- Country Music
- Country Rap
- Disco
- Doowop
- Electronicore
- Electronic Music
- Electro Swing
- Emo Music
- Filk Song
- Filmi Music
- Folk Music
- Funk
- Gaita Zuliana
- Garage Rock
- Girl Group
- Glam Rock
- Gospel Music
- Goth Rock
- Grunge
- Hard Rock
- Heavy Metal
- Hip-Hop
- Instrumentals
- Jazz
- Krautrock
- March
- Math Rock
- Medieval Music
- New Jack Swing
- New Wave
- Opera
- Oratorio
- Pop
- Post-Punk
- Post-Rock
- Progressive Rock
- Psychedelic Rock
- Punk Rock
- R&B
- Rap Rock
- Reggae
- Renaissance Music
- Rock
- Rockabilly
- Rock & Roll
- Shock Rock
- Ska
- Sophisti-Pop
- Soul
- Southern Rock
- Space Rock
- Surf Rock
- Techno
- Visual Kei
- Voice Clip Song
- World Music
- Music by country
- Music by decade
Basic Tropes
Motifs
Score and Soundtrack
- Score and Music Tropes - for score and soundtrack in general.
- Sound FX Tropes
Singing Tropes
- A Cappella
- Basso Profundo
- Careful with That Axe
- Glass-Shattering Sound
- Harsh Vocals
- Incredibly Long Note
- Melismatic Vocals
- Metal Scream
- Motor Mouth
- One-Woman Wail
- Perishing Alt Rock Voice
- Recitation Handclasp
- Scatting
- Self-Backing Vocalist
- Serenade Your Lover
- Singing Voice Dissonance
- Something Something Leonard Bernstein
- Soprano and Gravel
- Spoken Word in Music
- That Syncing Feeling
- Stutter Stop
- Un Duet
- Vocal Range Exceeded
- Vocal Tag Team
- Voice Types
- Yarling
Lyrics Tropes
- Accent Upon The Wrong Syllable
- Album Title Drop
- Answer Song
- Bawdy Song
- Breakup Song
- Driving Song
- Drunken Song
- Dual Meaning Chorus
- Hashtag Rap
- Heavy Mithril
- Horrible History Metal
- Last Note Hilarity
- Limited Lyrics Song
- List Song
- Location Song
- Lyrical Cold Open
- Lyrical Dissonance
- Lyrical Tic
- Lyric Swap
- Mad Lib Metal Lyrics
- Midword Rhyme
- Misogyny Song and Misandry Song
- Non-Appearing Title
- Painful Rhyme
- Phrase Salad Lyrics
- Quarreling Song
- Rhyming with Itself
- Scatting
- "Setting Off" Song
- Sequel Song
- Silly Love Songs
- Singer Namedrop
- Single Stanza Song
- Song of Song Titles
- Spelling Song
- Stock Rhymes
- Stuffy Old Songs About the Buttocks
- Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion
- Title Only Chorus
- Word Salad Lyrics
Subject Tropes
- Age Progression Song
- Alma Mater Song
- Anti-Christmas Song
- Boastful Rap
- Comics Rule Everything Around Me
- Dance Sensation
- Educational Song
- Evil Music Index
- Exhort The Disc Jockey Song
- Food Songs Are Funny
- Football Fight Song
- Friendship Song
- Grief Song
- Hail to the Thief
- Heavy Meta
- Hymn to Music
- Hypocritical Singing
- Let's Duet
- Love Nostalgia Song
- Money Song
- Morality Ballad
- Murder Ballad
- Obligatory Bondage Song
- Ode to Intoxication
- Ode To Sobriety
- Ode To Youth
- Old Man Conversation Song
- Pep Talk Song
- Protest Song
- Anti-Police Song - a subtrope of Protest Song specifically about police or police behavior
- Religion Rant Song
- Rock Star Song
- Self-Demonstrating Song
- Self Empowerment Anthem
- Silly Love Songs
- Teenage Death Songs
- This Is a Song
- This Is Your Song
- Train Song
- Wanderlust Song
- When I'm Gone Song
Musicals
- Musical Number Index - main index of songs in Musicals.
- Main article: The Musical
- Angry Mob Song
- Bad Girl Song
- B.S.O.D. Song
- Busby Berkeley Number
- Climactic Music
- Colorful Song
- Counterpoint Duet
- Crowd Song
- Cut Song
- Dark Reprise
- Death Song
- Distant Duet
- Duet Of Differences
- The Eleven O'Clock Number
- Fanfare
- Final Love Duet
- Gospel Revival Number
- Hakuna Matata
- "The Hero Sucks" Song
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show
- "I Am Becoming" Song
- "I Am Great!" Song
- "I Am" Song
- Image Song
- Irrelevant Act Opener
- The Item Number
- "I Want" Song
- Let's Duet
- Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number
- Medley Overture
- Minor Character, Major Song
- Movie Bonus Song
- Musical Chores
- Musical Exposition
- Musical World Hypotheses
- Musicalis Interruptus
- No Reprise, Please
- No Song for the Wicked
- Ondo
- Opening Chorus
- Parental Love Song
- Patter Song
- Reprise Medley
- Rock Opera
- Sanity Slippage Song
- Sidekick Song
- Silly Song
- Solo Duet
- Somewhere Song
- The Song Before The Storm
- Spoofing in the Rain
- Spontaneous Choreography
- Sudden Musical Ending
- Summon Backup Dancers
- Superfluous Solo
- Tenor Boy
- Triumphant Reprise
- Vampire Musicals
- Villainous Advice Song
- Villainous Lament
- Villain Love Song
- Villain Recruitment Song
- Villain Song
- "The Villain Sucks" Song
- Wanderlust Song
Musician and Fan Tropes
- All Drummers Are Animals
- Anonymous Band
- The Band Minus the Face
- Band of Relatives
- Blind Musician
- British Rock Star
- The Chanteuse
- Child Popstar
- Christmas Carolers
- Creator Couple
- Dumb and Drummer
- Face of the Band
- Fake Band
- Garage Band
- Glamorous Wartime Singer
- I Am the Band
- Idol Singer
- Impractical Musical Instrument Skills
- Juggalo
- Lead Bassist
- Lesser Star
- Long-Runner Lineup
- Lounge Lizard
- Magic Idol Singer
- Male Band, Female Singer
- Metal Head
- Nobody Loves the Bassist
- No Hit Wonder
- One-Hit Wonder
- Polka Dork
- The Quincy Punk
- Revolving Door Band
- Robot or Spaceman Alter Ego
- The Rock Star
- Rock Trio
- Sexy Sax Man
- Singer Songwriter
- Skeletal Musician
- Stage Names
- Street Musician
- Supergroup
- Tenor Boy
- Trash Can Band
- Two-Hit Wonder
- Wandering Minstrel
- Yoko Oh No
Tropes
- Adventurous Irish Violins
- Air Guitar
- Album Filler
- All Guitars Are Stratocasters
- Amen Break
- Anything Can Be Music
- Audience Participation Song
- Award Bait Song
- Ballad of X
- Band Land
- Band Toon
- Battle of the Bands
- Big Rock Ending
- Bizarre Instrument
- Black Sheep Hit
- Bo Diddley Beat
- Bolero Effect
- Breakaway Pop Hit
- Breakup Breakout
- B-Side
- Call-and-Response Song
- The Cancan Song
- Car Song
- Cartoon Conductor
- Celebrity Song
- Character Signature Song
- Chart Displacement
- Charity Motivation Song
- Chronological Album Title
- Chorus-Only Song
- Classical Music Is Boring
- Colonel Bogey March
- Concept Album
- Cover Version
- Creepy Circus Music
- Dancing Is Serious Business
- Dead Horse Genre
- Disco Tech
- Dramatic Timpani
- Dreadful Musician
- Drum Roll, Please
- Duet Bonding
- Ear Worm
- Elegant Classical Musician
- Epic Instrumental Opener
- Epic Riff
- Epic Rocking
- Everything Dances
- Everything Is an Instrument
- Evolving Music
- Fake Radio Show Album
- Falling Bass
- Filk Song
- The Four Chords of Pop
- Four More Measures
- Freaky Electronic Music
- Freestyle Version
- Girl Group
- God-Is-Love Songs
- A Good Name for a Rock Band
- Gratuitous Disco Sequence
- Gratuitous Rap
- Greatest Hits Album
- Harp of Femininity
- Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut
- Hell Is That Noise
- Hey, Let's Put on a Show
- Hidden Track
- Hitless Hit Album
- Iconic Song Request
- Idiosyncratic Album Theming
- Incessant Music Madness
- Incredibly Long Note
- Indecipherable Lyrics
- Instrumental Weapon
- Instrument of Murder
- In the Style of...
- Isn't It Ironic?
- iSophagus
- Jungle Drums
- Kayfabe Music
- Kids Rock
- Last Chorus Slow Down
- Last Note Nightmare
- Lead Bassist
- Lead Drummer
- Long Song, Short Scene
- Looped Lyrics
- Loud of War
- Lyrical Shoehorn
- Magic Music
- Magical Flutist
- Mating Dance
- Medley
- Metal Band Mascot
- Mind-Control Music
- Miniscule Rocking
- Minsky Pickup
- Misattributed Song
- Mohs Scale of Lyrical Hardness
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness
- Mondegreen
- Musical Assassin
- Music at Sporting Events
- Music for Courage
- Music Is Eighth Notes
- Music Is Politics
- Music Soothes the Savage Beast
- Music Stories
- Music Video Tropes
- Music to Invade Poland To
- Myspeld Rökband
- Neoclassical Punk Zydeco Rockabilly
- New Sound Album
- Nobody Loves the Bassist
- No Export for You
- Not Christian Rock
- One Man Song
- One Woman Song
- Pachelbel's Canon Progression
- Pelvic Thrust
- Piano Key Wave
- Piss-Take Rap
- Playground Song
- Power Ballad
- The Power of Rock
- Quieter Than Silence
- Raised Lighter Tribute
- Rated G for Gangsta
- Rearrange the Song
- Recycled Lyrics
- Refrain from Assuming
- Repurposed Pop Song
- Rerelease the Song
- Revival by Commercialization
- Rewritten Pop Version
- Rhythm Typewriter
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!
- Rockers Smash Guitars
- Rockumentary
- Rooftop Concert
- Rotten Rock & Roll
- Scary Musician, Harmless Music
- Second Verse Curse
- Self-Titled Album
- Senseless Violins
- Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll
- Sexophone
- Signature Song
- Sirens Are Mermaids: And sing!
- Snake Charmer
- Solo Side Project
- Something Blues
- The Something Song
- Song Association
- Song of Courage
- Song Parody
- The Song Remains the Same
- Songs in the Key of Lock
- Song Style Shift
- Sound Off
- Sound Stone
- Spoken Word
- Step Up to the Microphone
- Stop and Go
- Subdued Section
- Surprisingly Gentle Song
- Suspiciously Similar Song
- Talent Show Version
- Textless Album Cover
- Theremin
- Thunder Drum
- Three Chords and the Truth
- Truck Driver's Gear Change
- They Stole Our Act
- Tick Tock Tune
- To the Tune of
- The Walrus Was Paul
- What Song Was This Again?
- A Wild Rapper Appears during many pop songs.
- Xylophone Gag
Production Tropes
- Album Intro Track
- Album Single
- Auto-Tune
- Distinct Double Album
- Echoing Acoustics
- Fade Out
- Fading into the Next Song
- Fake Loud
- Fake-Out Fade-Out
- Gratuitous Panning
- Loudness War
- Pop-Star Composer
- Record Producer
- Remaster
- Rock Me, Amadeus!
- Sampled Up
- Sampling
- Siamese Twin Songs
- Studio Chatter
- The Not Remix
- Unplugged Version
- Waxing Lyrical
