Explore the Styles
Listen, learn, and play along with every genre. Pick a style, hear the history, and try it yourself.
Boogie Woogie
A high-energy blues piano style born in Southern barrelhouses.
Emerging in the late 1800s among African-American pianists in Texas logging camps and barrelhouse bars, boogie woogie featured a relentless "eight-to-the-bar" bass line in the left hand and syncopated riffs in the right. Its train-like momentum and improvisational flair made it irresistible on the dance floor. The style spread north during the Great Migration and exploded into fame in the 1930s and 40s through pianists like Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux" Lewis, and Pete Johnson. It laid the foundation for rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and beyond.
🎵 Get the Free Sheet MusicReggae
A laid-back groove from Jamaica that carries messages of hope, unity, and resistance.
Reggae emerged in the late 1960s from earlier Jamaican styles like ska and rocksteady. Where most music lands hard on beat 1, reggae leaves it empty, creating that unmistakable laid-back sway. The off-beat guitar chop and deep, spacious bass lines do the rest. Many reggae songs carry messages of social justice and spiritual faith, rooted in the Rastafarian movement. Bob Marley brought it to the world stage, but its DNA now lives in everything from hip hop to pop.
🎵 Get the Free Sheet MusicWhat style should I do next?
Jazz? Blues? Bossa Nova? I'd love to hear what you want to play. Email me at nate@natehance.com with your vote!
Send Your Vote