Singer-Songwriter Genre

Singer-Songwriters are musicians who write and compose their own songs and lyrics with melodies. The genre is mainly associated with folk acoustic as its a distinct form of artistry. Most singer-songwriters tend to perform the song by themselves with the company of a guitar or piano as a solo artist. Most of the singers sing about things to do with romantic, sensitive or political issues. The History of the genre started in the ancient Bardic culture, which has lead to singer-songwriter being a popular genre for music artists. Poems had a major influence as they were first performed as chants or other various instruments, which developed, into the traditions of the folk acoustic, would accompany part of a song with. The Term 'Singer-songwriter' is a term that was developed in North America in the mid 20th century, which helped to build up the folks and blues style in music. The main singers at the time were: Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Leroy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson and many others.

There would also be folk and blues festivals in America to promote many artists new songs. The folk artists would write songs about life and the hard situations whereas the blues would write songs about their personal experiences. The generic features of the genre is amazing writing skills. For example Gary Barlow who chooses his lyrics specifically in order to aim it at the target audience. They also have to have the ability to perform with confidence as most singer-songwriter artists encounter the audiences present, as many tend to do performance on stage. Examples are Ed sheer an, Taylor swift. The key artists in this genre were Robert Johnson who was an early influence to the genre and helped to build up the genre. The key singer-songwriters in modern society today are: Adele, Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Elton John, Gary Barlow, Taylor Swift. Most artists tend to be very basic in the instruments that they use. They normally use an Acoustic guitar and a piano.