Commonly used music terms in the Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT)

Music Cataloging at Yale MARC tagging

Note: this page was created with music cataloging in mind.

This is a list of commonly used names of genre and form terms selected from the Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms (LCGFT).

This list is not complete. It includes most, but not all, terms for western art music and some popular genres.
It does not show the hierarchy.
For the complete list and the hierarchical structure, please see Music Genre/Form Terms in LCGFT (scroll down to the top music term "music"). To search individual terms, please see Classification Web (subscription required) or the Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms website.

About vocal works with sacred texts: while LCGFT includes terms for forms of sacred music, e.g., Masses, Requiems, Vespers (Music), Psalms (Music) (but not specific psalms), Litanies (Music), etc., terms for settings of specific texts are not included in LCGFT, e.g., Magnificat, Kyrie, Agnus Dei, etc. (For a setting of a specific text, an added entry (730) may be made.) (source: Library of Congress, NMP-L, Mon 11/22/2021)

These terms are used in conjunction with Recording form of work (RDA 6.3), MLA's Best practices for using LCGFT for music resources (version 1.2 (July 8, 2019)), and MARC 380 (Form of work) and/or MARC 655 (Index term–genre/form).

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ

A
Accompaniments (Music)
Advent music
Airs de cour
Aleatory music
All Saints' Day music
Alleluias (Chants)
Allemandes (Music)
Alma mater songs
Animated film music
Animated television music
Anthems
Antiphonaries (Service books)
Antiphons (Music)
Arabesques (Art music)
Arrangements (Music)
Ascension Day music
Ayres
B
Background music
Bagatelles (Music)
Ballad operas
Ballades (Formes fixes)
Ballades (Instrumental music)
Ballads
Ballate
Ballets (Music)
Balletti (Part songs)
Barbershop (Music)
Barcaroles
Bawdy songs
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (Music)
Berceuses (
Blues (Music)
Blues-rock music
Boleros (Music)
Boogaloos (Music)
Boogie woogie (Music)
Bop (Music)
Bossa nova (Music)
Bourrées (Music)
C
Cadenzas
Cajun music
Calypso (Music)
Camp songs
Campaign songs
Cancans (Music)
Candlemas music
Canons (Music)
Cantatas
Canticles
Cantillations
Cantorial music
Canzonas (Instrumental music)
Canzonets (Part songs)
Capriccios (Music)
Carnival music
Carols
Celtic music
Chamber music
Chaconnes (Music)
Chants
Chorale preludes
Chorales
Choros
Chorus scores
Christmas music
Circus music
Clausulas (Songs)
Clog dance music
Compline music
Communion service music
Concert etudes
Concertos
Concerti grossi
Conductus
Congadas (Music)
Contrafacta
Coronation music
Corpus Christi Festival music
Cotillions (Music)
Country-dances (Music)
Courantes (Music)
Court dances (Music)
Csárdás (Music)
Cumulative songs
D
Dance music
Dialogues (Music)
Dirges (Music)
Divine Office (Music)
Dixieland music
Dramatic music
Drinking songs
Drum circles
Dumky (Art music)
E
Easter music
Ecossaises (Music)
Elegies (Music)
Ensaladas
Enumerative songs
Epic songs
Epiphany music
Erotic songs
Estampies (Music)
Evening service music
Event music
Exercise music
F
Falsobordone
Fakebooks (Music)
Fandangos (Music)
Fanfares
Fantasias (Music)
Feast of the Transfiguration music
Fight songs
Finales (Music)
Flamenco music
Folias (Music)
Folk dance music
Folk music
Folk-rock music
Folk songs
Foxtrots (Music)
Fraternity and sorority songs
Frottole (Music)
Fugues
Functional music
Funeral music
Furiants (Music)
G
Galliards (Music)
Galops (Music)
Gavottes (Music)
Glees (Music)
Glitch music
Gospel music
Graduals (Chants)
Graduals (Service books)
Gregorian chants
Giustiniane (Villanelle)
Guarachas (Music)
H
Habaneras (Music)
High Holiday music
Hobo songs
Holy Week music
Hornpipes (Music)
Humorous music
Humorous songs
Hunting music
Hymn tunes
Hymnals
Hymns
I
Impromptus (Music)
Improvisations (Music)
In nomines (Music)
Incidental music
Instrumental settings
Intabulations
Interludes (Music)
Intermezzos (Instrumental music)
Introits (Music)
J
Jazz
Jigs (Dance music)
Jingles (Advertising songs)
Jotas (Music)
Juvenilia (use for works created during a person's childhood or youth)
K
Karaoke
Klezmer music
Krakowiaks (Music)
Kyriales
L
Ländler (Music)
Laude
Lauds (Music)
Lead sheets
Lenten music
Litanies (Music)
Lounge music
Love songs
Lullabies (Songs)
M
Madrigals (Music)
Mambos (Music)
Marches (Music)
Mariachi (Music)
Mashups (Music)
Masses
Mazurkas (Music)
Medleys (Music)
Methods (Music)
Merengues (Music)
Michaelmas music
Microtonal music
Military music
Milongas (Music)
Minnesang
Minstrel music
Minuets (Music)
Missals (Service books)
Mission music
Modern dance music
Monologues (Music)
Monophonic chansons
Motets
Motion picture music
Morning service music
Morris dances (Music)
Mouth music
Musical games
Musical parodies
Musical sketches
Musicals
Musique concrète
N
Narrative songs
Nocturnes (Music)
Nonsense songs
Notated music
Novelty songs
O
Obereks (Music)
Offertories (Music)
Old-time music
Open form music (musical compositions in which the sections are played in an order that is determined by the performers)
Operas
Oratorios
Organ masses
Organa
Orthros (Music)
Overtures
P
Pachangas (Music)
Pantomimes (Music)
Part books
Part songs
Parts (Music)
Pasillos (Music)
Paso dobles (Music)
Passacaglias
Passamezzos (Music)
Passepieds (Music)
Passover music
Pasticcios (Music)
Pastoral music
Pavans (Music)
Penitential psalms (Music)
Pentecost Festival music
Peyote songs
Piano scores
Pilgrimage music
Polkabilly music
Polka-mazurkas (Music)
Polkas (Music)
Polonaises (Music)
Polskas (Music)
Polyphonic chansons
Polyphonic Lieder
Popular music
Postludes (Music)
Powwow songs
Preludes (Music)
Processionals (Service books)
Production music
Program music
Propers (Music)
Prosulas (Music)
Protest songs
Psalms (Music)
Q
Quadrilles (Music)
Quicksteps (Marches)
Quodlibets (Music)
R
Radio music
Radio operas
Ragtime music
Rappresentazioni sacre (Music)
Recorded accompaniments
Reels (Music)
Remixes (Music)
Reproaches (Chants)
Requiems
Responses (Music)
Revues
Rhapsodies (Music)
Ricercars
Rigaudons (Music)
Rockabilly music
Romances (Music)
Rondos
Rounds (Music)
Rumbas (Music)
S
Sabbath music
Sacred music
Salsa (Music)
Saltarellos (Music)
Sambas (Music)
Sarabandes (Music)
Sardanas (Music)
Satirical songs
Scat singing
Scherzos
Schottisches (Music)
Scores
Sea shanties
Seguidillas (Music)
Sequences (Music)
Sequentiaries (Service books)
Serenatas
Service books (Music)
Sevillanas (Music)
Shape-note hymnals
Sicilianas (Music)
Silent film music
Simplified editions (Music)
Singing commercials
Singing games
Sonatas
Song cycles
Song parodies
Songbooks
Songs
Songs without words (Instrumental music)
Sound effects recordings
Soundscapes (Music)
Spirituals (Songs)
Square dance music
State songs
Strathspeys (Music)
Studies (Music)
Suites
Swing (Music)
Symphonic poems
Symphonies
T
Tangos (Music)
Tap dance music
Tarantellas (Music)
Teaching pieces (Music)
Television music
Television operas
Tientos (Art music)
Toccatas
Tonadillas
Trinity Sunday music
Tropes (Music)
Tune books
Tyroliennes (Music)
U
V
Variations (Music)
Vaudeville songs
Vespers (Music)
Villanelle (Songs)
Villotte
Virelais (Formes fixes)
Vocal scores
Vocalises
W
Waulking songs
Waltzes (Music)
Wedding music
Western swing (Music)
Work songs
XYZ
Yodels
Yom Kippur music
Zamba (Music)
Zortzikos (Music)