Editing Music theory (section)

===Genre and technique===
{{Main|Music genre|Musical technique}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F008930-0019, Beethovenhalle Bonn, Kammerkonzert Kölner Trio.jpg|thumb|A Classical [[piano trio]] is a group that plays [[chamber music]], including [[sonata]]s. The term "piano trio" also refers to works composed for such a group.]]
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.{{sfn|Samson|n.d.}} It is to be distinguished from ''[[musical form]]'' and ''musical style'', although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably.{{sfn|Wong|2011}}{{Failed verification|date=December 2014}}<!--An electronic search of this web article finds only one occurrence of the word "form", as part of the compound expression; the word "style" does not occur at all. As a result, this citation confirms neither the claim that genre should be distinguished from form and style, nor the claim that they are sometimes used interchangeably in practice.-->

Music can be divided into different [[genres]] in many different ways. The artistic nature of music means that these classifications are often subjective and controversial, and some genres may overlap. There are even varying academic definitions of the term ''genre ''itself. In his book ''Form in Tonal Music'', Douglass M. Green distinguishes between genre and [[Musical form|form]]. He lists [[madrigal (music)|madrigal]], [[motet]], [[canzona]], [[ricercar]], and dance as examples of genres from the [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]] period. To further clarify the meaning of ''genre'', Green writes, "Beethoven's Op. 61 and Mendelssohn's Op. 64 are identical in genre—both are violin concertos—but different in form. However, Mozart's Rondo for Piano, K. 511, and the ''Agnus Dei'' from his Mass, K. 317 are quite different in genre but happen to be similar in form."{{sfn|Green|1979|loc=1}} Some, like [[Peter van der Merwe (musicologist)|Peter van der Merwe]], treat the terms ''genre'' and ''style'' as the same, saying that ''genre'' should be defined as pieces of music that came from the same style or "basic musical language."{{sfn|van der Merwe|1989|loc=3}}

Others, such as Allan F. Moore, state that ''genre'' and ''style'' are two separate terms, and that secondary characteristics such as subject matter can also differentiate between genres.{{sfn|Moore|2001|loc=432–33}} A music genre or subgenre may also be defined by the [[musical technique]]s, the style, the cultural context, and the content and spirit of the themes. Geographical origin is sometimes used to identify a music genre, though a single geographical category will often include a wide variety of subgenres. Timothy Laurie argues that "since the early 1980s, genre has graduated from being a subset of popular music studies to being an almost ubiquitous framework for constituting and evaluating musical research objects".{{sfn|Laurie|2014|loc=284}}

Musical technique is the ability of [[musical instrument|instrumental]] and vocal musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments or [[vocal cords]] to produce precise musical effects. Improving technique generally entails practicing exercises that improve muscular sensitivity and agility. To improve technique, musicians often practice fundamental patterns of notes such as the [[Natural minor|natural]], [[Minor scale|minor]], [[Major scale|major]], and [[chromatic scale]]s, [[Minor triad|minor]] and [[major triad]]s, [[Dominant seventh chord|dominant]] and [[diminished seventh]]s, formula patterns and [[arpeggio]]s. For example, [[Triad (music)|triads]] and [[Seventh chord|sevenths]] teach how to play chords with accuracy and speed. [[Scale (music)|Scales]] teach how to move quickly and gracefully from one note to another (usually by step). Arpeggios teach how to play [[broken chord]]s over larger intervals. Many of these components of music are found in compositions, for example, a scale is a very common element of classical and romantic era compositions.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

[[Heinrich Schenker]] argued that musical technique's "most striking and distinctive characteristic" is [[repetition (music)|repetition]].{{sfn|Kivy|1993|loc=327}} Works known as [[étude]]s (meaning "study") are also frequently used for the improvement of technique.