A Century of Sound. Forty-two genres from 1912 to the 2020s, laid out as a family tree — who came from whom, what each one sounds like, and a featured track to prove it. Listen, compare, contextualise.
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About this resource
Every genre on the timeline gets the same treatment: the year it emerged, the artists who defined it, its subgenres, and a two-paragraph "About the Sound" — first the feel, then the mechanics (form, tempo, instrumentation, the scale or groove that makes it tick). Blues to bebop to trap, students can follow the family tree and hear how one sound became the next.
Three views. Global is the default: 42 mainstream genres from 1912 to the 2020s. Australia swaps in Australian artists and featured audio for each genre, adds a Bush Ballads root, and includes a third paragraph on the Australian scene where there is one. Aboriginal is a separate timeline: a Traditional node for pre-colonial practice, then 26 artists from Dougie Young and Jimmy Little to The Kid LAROI, Budjerah and King Stingray, each described by musical style, lyrical themes and cultural context.
Middle mode (Years 7–9) shows 18 genres chosen for teachability — concept density, reading level, junior curriculum fit. Senior mode (Years 10–12) shows the full tree. Neither is a content filter; every featured track was audited individually.
Teaching materials
We're writing classroom-ready materials to go with Genres Timeline — for Years 7–12 music, from a single genre study to a term-long history of popular music. The first ones are on the way — subscribe and we'll tell you when they land.
Multi-week sequences with outcomes, assessment and week-by-week lesson outlines, built around Genres Timeline.
Single lessons you can drop into an existing unit — objectives, timings, tasks and a worksheet where one helps.
Self-contained lessons a non-specialist can run cold: open the app, hand out the sheet, done.
Got a unit you'd like first? Tell us.
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