Electronic dance music facts for kids

Electronic dance music, often called EDM, is a type of electronic music. It's made for dancing, usually at parties or clubs. Producers and composers create EDM using electronic tools. Then, DJs (disc jockeys) play it for people to dance to.

EDM has many different styles. It's usually fast-paced music. It's made with electronic instruments like synthesizers, drum machines, and computers. Sometimes, people use the word "techno" to mean all EDM. But techno is actually just one specific type of EDM.

History of EDM

EDM has many roots. It grew from a mix of regular dance music and electronic music. One famous example is Donna Summer's song "I Feel Love" from 1977. It blended disco sounds with electronic music. This mix helped create new EDM styles like Hi-NRG and techno. Giorgio Moroder, who helped make that song, also created some of the first electronic dance music. The band Kraftwerk also greatly influenced electronic music. While much EDM comes from disco, not all of it does.

The song often credited with making EDM popular was Madonna's "Ray of Light" in 1998. Even though this song helped, EDM was already popular years before. For example, house music was big in the United States in the early 1990s. Another Madonna song, "Vogue" from 1990, also helped house music become well-known.

Types of Electronic Dance Music

There are many different kinds of EDM. Each one has its own unique sound and style. Here are some of the main types of electronic dance music:

• Italo disco - Started in the late 1970s. It came from disco music. It used more synthesizers and drum machines for a futuristic sound.
• Hi-NRG - Began in the late 1970s. This EDM style is based on disco but is usually faster. It uses short, sharp beats and strong bass lines.
• Garage house - Started in the late 1970s or early 1980s. It mixed disco with synthesizers and drum machines. Garage house often has strong piano parts and a soulful feel.
• Electro - Began in the early 1980s. This EDM style uses drum machines a lot. It often samples rhythms from hip hop and funk music.
• Freestyle - Started in the early 1980s. Freestyle EDM has influences from Latin music and hip hop. It features upbeat melodies.
• Post-disco - Began in the early 1980s. This style is based on disco but is more experimental. It uses synthesizers and drum machines instead of orchestras.
• Electronic body music (EBM) - Started in the early 1980s. EBM combines parts of industrial music with EDM.
• House - Began in the early 1980s. House music is usually fast-paced. It's strongly influenced by disco. It uses strong kick-beats and a big bass line, keeping a steady 4/4 rhythm. It focuses more on beats and less on melodies than disco.
• Techno - Started in the mid-1980s. Techno is usually fast and repetitive. It keeps a steady 4/4 rhythm. It's very rhythmic and often doesn't have singing.
• Alternative dance - Began in the mid-1980s. This style mixes EDM with alternative rock and New Wave music.
• Eurodance - Started in the late 1980s to early 1990s. This European EDM style often uses synthesizers for melodies. It has a strong bass and a generally melodic sound.
• Trance - Began in the early 1990s. Trance is usually fast-paced. It uses repeated melodic phrases made by synthesizers.
• Intelligent dance music (IDM) - Started in the early 1990s. IDM is a more experimental type of EDM.
• Hardcore techno - Began in the early 1990s. This is very fast music. It often uses distorted, harsh beats.
• Happy hardcore - Started in the early 1990s. Happy hardcore is usually fast music. It has cheerful or happy-sounding melodies.
• Trip hop - Began in the early 1990s. Trip hop is a slower type of EDM. It uses hip hop beats and often has a calm, soulful sound.
• Drum and bass - Started in the early 1990s. This EDM style has a strong bass. It uses "breakbeats," which are chopped-up drum loops.
• Bubblegum dance - Began in the mid-1990s. This style mixes Eurodance with bubblegum pop music. It keeps the dance-focused electronic sound and adds cheerful, simple qualities.
• Hardstyle - Started in the late 1990s. Hardstyle is a type of EDM that usually has strong, hard-hitting beats.
• Electroclash - Began in the late 1990s. Electroclash takes elements from 1980s synthpop and New Wave, plus rock music. It also focuses on performance art and fashion.
• Dubstep - Started in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Dubstep has a strong bass line and a "wobble bass." It often uses "bass drops" and doesn't always follow the usual 4/4 rhythm of other EDM.

Images for kids

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  The Roland TR-808 drum machine made the synthesized drum beats for electro music.

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  Roland TB-303: This bass line synthesizer was used a lot in acid house music.

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  A typical home studio setup for making EDM, with a computer and other music tools.

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  An EDM festival in 2013 in Plainfeld, Austria. Over 100,000 people attended, showing the big crowds and cool lights at these events.

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  BeatBurger performing at Spectrum Dance Music Festival in 2016.

See also

In Spanish: Electronic dance music para niños