dance music codes conventions and hsitory

1. Dance Music
History, codes and conventions

2. Bit of history
“The rise of disco in the early 1970s
led to dance music becoming popular
with the public. By the late 1970s,
electronic dance music was
developing. This music, made using
electronics, is a style of popular music
commonly played in nightclubs, radio
stations, shows and raves.”
Disco
In the early 70s, nightclubs would
employ DJs to play because it was
cheaper than hiring a band. At first they
played funk and up-tempo soul tracks,
but then started playing tracks that
made dancing to music a whole lot
easier. It had a simple four-on-the-floor
bass-drum beat with hi-hat on the off
beats.
House
80s introduced a new style of disco called
house that came from the gay clubs of New
York and Chicago. They had catchy melodies
with lyrics about going out, having fun or
making love. They had pounding four-on-
the-floor disco rhythms, using drum
machines and synthesizers instead of drum
kits and other instruments.
Techno
techno developed in Detroit in the
early 80s. They used drum machines to
create electronic rhythms and
synthesizers with keyboards. They then
started sampling short sections of
music from old records, making music
recognisable but with a twist.
Advances in technology meant that classic instruments like guitars and drums could
be recorded and edited to change the way music was first, naturally and originally
heard to more dynamic. A new form of music.
Electronic Dance Music
Dance Music
House music
Techno
Deep house
Dubstep
Pop music

3. Codes and Conventions
If you have ever watched a dance music video, you will notice a fair few things in common. Due to the lack of lyrics in most
dance music it possibly makes it harder to really convey meaning or narrative through the music itself, which can also mean
that the video has no real link to the ”meaning” of the song. But there are conventions to look out for that provide
similarities.
Common themes :
freedom
Clubbing
Dancing
Sexuality predominantly these themes due to dance music being played in clubs and festivals
Strobe or special lighting
Travelling
Another convention of music videos is that the featuring artist r the DJ behind the track is rarely featured in the video itself,
this is mainly because (as previously mentioned) there are usually no real lyrics for an artist to lip sync, especially in drum
and bass/house music, also, for dance songs that do have an underlying meaning the video usually takes shape in a
narrative form.

4. Camera shots
• These kind of music videos use quick
cut shots that match the beat of the
music, keeping the audience alert
and concentrated on the video.
• To continue, they also play around
with different angles, ranging from
high angle shots, close ups of key
characters and slanted shots if drugs
or alcohol are involved. (shots of
what little lip syncing there may be)
• The use of fast shots also creates
a sense of realism, as if the
audience are in the video, in a
club.

5. Editing
• Fast cuts are the most
popular cuts within dance
music videos, purely as it
again adds a sense of
excitement to the video.
• The editing also contributes
to the ultimate goal of a
dance track… makes you
dance, presumably a similar
way to the video
• Slow motion, although
contradictory to the feeling of
the music video, its often used .
Not only does it conveniently
take up time but it allows gives a
break from the fast paced
editing, it also allow the
audience to focus on certain
part, submersing the audience in
the video even more.

6. Location/environment
• Un surprisingly, most dance music
videos take place in either a club or
a festival, a good example of this
would be Route 94 video My Love
ft Jess Glynne where nearly the
whole video is shown in a night
club.
• However, road trips and holidays
have also been a popular theme for
music videos, take Sigma’s Nobody
to love video, the whole video in its
entirety follows two girls as they
embark on an adventure of a
lifetime, travelling with loved ones
seems like a good theme if you ask
me.
• To continue, when settings go
outside the normal clubs bars and
beaches they don’t tend to stick to
a particular season or time,
preferably summer time meats the
dance genre best however snow is
also a good way to go outside the
norm… also, day time or night
time, if the song is good, the video
will match.