List of styles of music: S–Z
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
S
Sa
- Sabar – drumming style found in Senegal
- Sacred Harp
- Sadcore
- Saibara
- Salegy
- Salsa – fusion of multiple Cuban- and Puerto Rican-derived pop genres from immigrants in New York City
- Salsa erotica – lyrically explicit form of salsa romantica
- Salsa romantica – a soft, romantic form of salsa music
- Saltarello
- Samba – form of Brazilian popular music
- Samba-canção – traditional samba in slow tempo and with romantic lyrics. influenced by bolero
- Samba-reggae – a genre of samba with a choppy, reggae-like rhythm.
- Samba-rock
- Sambai
- Sambass
- Sanjo – Korean instrumental folk music
- Sardana – Traditional Music Catalonia
- Sato kagura
- Sawt – urban music from Kuwait and Bahrain
- Saya – Bolivian music derived from African rhythms
Sc
- Schlager
- Schottisch
- Scottish Baroque music
- Scrumpy and Western – folk music from West Country of England
- Scuff
- Sea shanty
- Sean nós – Sean-nós singing style of Ireland
- Seapunk
- Second Viennese School
- Sega music
- Seggae
- Seis
- Semba
- Sephardic music
- Serialism
- Sertanejo
- Set dance
- Sevdalinka – Bosnian urban popular music
- Sevillana
- Shabad
- Shalako – Armenian folk dance
- Shan'ge – Taiwanese Hakka mountain songs
- Shango
- Shape note
- Shibuya-kei
- Shidaiqu – Hong Kong-based form of traditional music updated for pop audiences and sung in Mandarin
- Shima-uta – folk songs from the Amami Islands, Japan
- Shock rock
- Shoegaze – British pop
- Shoka – Japanese songs written during the Meiji Restoration to bring Western music to Japanese schools
- Shomyo – Japanese Buddhist chanting
- Show tune
Si
- Sica
- Siguiriyas
- Silat – Malaysian mixture of music, dance and martial arts
- Sinawi – Korean religious music meant for dancing; it is improvised and reminiscent of jazz
- Singer-songwriter
- Situational – pertaining to songs describing the current situation; most prevalent in films
- Ska
- Ska punk
- Skald
- Skate punk
- Skiffle
- Skullstep
- Slack-key guitar (kihoalu) – Hawaiian form invented by retuning open strings on a guitar
- Slängpolska
- Slide
- Slowcore
- Sludge metal – A subgenre of heavy metal with slow-tuned tempos, abrasive distortion and harsh vocals
- Smooth jazz
Sk
So
- Soca
- Soft rock
- Son-batá (batá rock)
- Son cubano
- Son montuno – Cuban folk music
- Sonata
- Songo – a mixture of changuí and son montuno
- Songo-salsa – a mixture of songo, hip hop and salsa
- Sophisti-pop
- Soukous
- Soul blues
- Soul jazz
- Soul music – form of African-American music with elements of gospel and doo-wop
- Soundtrack
- Southern Gospel
- Southern Harmony
- Southern hip hop
- Southern metal
- Southern rock
- Southern soul
- Space age pop
- Space music
- Space rock
- Spectralism
- Speedcore
- Speed garage
- Speed metal
- Spirituals
- Spouge – Barbadian folk music
- Sprechgesang
- Square dance
St
- St. Louis blues
- Steelband
- Stoner metal
- Stoner rock
- Straight edge
- Strathspeys
- Street bass
- Stride
- String – 1980s Thai pop music
- String quartet
- Sufi music
- Suite
- Sunshine pop
- Suomirock
- Super Eurobeat
- Surf ballads
- Surf instrumental
- Surf music
- Surf pop
- Surf rock
- Swamp blues
- Swamp pop
- Swamp rock
- Swing music
Sy
- Sygyt – type of xoomii (Tuva throat singing), likened to the sound of whistling
- Symphonic black metal
- Symphonic metal
- Symphonic poem
- Symphonic rock
- Symphony
- Synthpop
T
- Taarab
- Tai tu – Vietnamese chamber music
- Taiwanese pop – early Taiwanese pop music influenced by enka and popular with older listeners
- Tala – a rhythmic pattern in Indian classical music
- Talempong – a distinct Minangkabau gamelan music
- Tambu
- Tamburitza
- Tamil Christian keerthanai – Christian devotional lyrics in Tamil
- Táncház – Hungarian dance music
- Tango – Argentine popular music that spread internationally in the 1920s
- Tanguk – a form of Korean court music that includes elements of Chinese music
- Tappa
- Tarana – form of vocal music from northern India using highly rhythmic nonsense syllables
- Tarantella
- Taranto
- Tech House
- Tech Trance
- Technical death metal
- Technical metal
- Techno
- Technoid
- Techstep
- Techtonik
- Tecno brega
- Teen pop – A subgenre of pop music targeted towards pre-teen and teenage listeners
- Tejano music or "Tex-Mex", sometimes confused with norteño
- Tekno
- Tembang sunda – Sundanese sung free verse poetry
- Texas blues
- Theme music
- Thillana – form of vocal music from South India using highly rhythmic nonsense syllables
- Thrashcore
- Thrash metal – A heavy metal subgenre known for its fast tempos, screaming vocals, extended guitar solos and aggressive lyrics.
- Thumri – a type of popular Hindustani vocal music
- Tibetan pop – pop music heavily influenced by Chinese forms, emerging in the 1980s
- Tientos
- Timbila – form of folk music in Mozambique
- Tin Pan Alley
- Tinga
- Tinku – traditional music and dance from Potosi Bolivia
- Toeshey – Tibetan dance music
- Togaku
- T'ong guitar – acoustic guitar pop music of Korea
- Traditional pop music
- Trallalero – Genoese urban songs
- Trance
- Trap music
- Trival
- Tribal house
- Trikitixa – Basque accordion music
- Trip hop
- Tropicalia
- Tropical music – Música tropical
- Tropipop
- Truck-driving country
- Tumba
- Turbo-folk – aggressive form of modernized Serbian music
- Turkish Music
- Turntablism
- Tuvan throat-singing
- Twee pop
- Twist (also a dance style, early 1960s)
- Two Tone)
U
- UK garage
- UK hard house
- UK pub rock
- Unblack metal (also known as Christian black metal)
- Underground music
- Uplifting Trance
- Urban Cowboy
- Urban Folk
V
- Vallenato – accordion-based Colombian folk music
- Vaporwave
- Vaudeville
- Verbunkos – Hungarian folk music
- Verismo
- Video game music – Melodic music as defined by its media.
- Viking metal
- Villanella – 16th century Neapolitan songs
- Virelais
- Visual Kei - Japanese music scene, created around the 1980s
- Visual music
- Vocal house
- Vocal jazz
- Vocal music
- Vocaloid
- Volksmusik
W
- Waila (chicken scratch) – a Tohono O'odham fusion of polka, norteño and Native American music
- Waltz
- Wangga – Australian aboriginal music genre
- Warabe uta
- Wassoulou
- Were music
- West Coast hip hop is a hip hop music subgenre that encompasses any artists or music which originates in the westernmost region of the United States
- Western blues
- Western swing
- Witch house
- Wizard rock
- Women's music or womyn's music, wimmin's music—1970s lesbian/feminist
- Wong shadow – 1960s Thai pop music
- Wonky
- Work song
- Wood Sounds of organic synthesis recorded on organic medium such as tape.
- Worldbeat
- World music
X
- Xoomii (khoomii, hoomii) – a type of Tuvan throat singing
- Xote – is a Brazilian music genre and dance for pairs or groups of four.
- Xhosa music
Y
Z
- Zajal
- Zamrock
- Zapin – derived from ancient Arabic music, zapin is popular throughout Malaysia
- Zarzuela – a form of Spanish operetta
- Zeuhl
- Zeibekiko – Greek Dance 9/8 Rytmus
- Zef – South African music based in both rap & rave
- Ziglibithy
- Zouglou
- Zouk – French Caribbean (Guadeloupean) dance music
- Zouklove – Guadeloupean Music
- Zulu music
- Zydeco – popular Louisianan Creole music
