Modern, commercial, international pop music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. With hundreds of hits from world famous pop artists including Abba, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Shakira and Taylor Swift, have a look through our sheet music and scores, take a look at our Pop Sheet Music Downloads, and explore the wide world of pop music with Stretta Music today!
“Pop music… it’s a universal language. You don’t have to understand music to understand the power of a pop song.”
Paul Epworth, Record Producer, Musician, Songwriter.
Any music throughout history which was designed for dance or entertainment can be named pop music. From folk songs and dances, through to classical ensembles and operetta, pop music as we know it today evolved gradually, thrilling audiences, guests, bourgeoise, proletariat, young and old alike.
Many believe the birth of what we deem pop music today happened at the end of the nineteenth century, where Ragtime and Blues evolved into Swing and Jazz. From there, in the 1940s, Jazz moved into Bebop, which moved into Modern Jazz, whereas out of Blues came early R & B, and it was through R & B that Rock ’n’ Roll developed.
One of the big challenges in the pop music world in the first half of the twentieth century was amplification. In the 1930-40s, many people were playing around with microphones, pick-ups and amps, but with the Shure Model 55 Fatboy microphone in 1939, the Fender Esquire Electric Guitar in 1949, the Fender Precision Bass Guitar in 1951, amplification became a problem of the past, and with good quality equipment being much more readily available, the 1950s saw a hug boom in pop music, with artists like Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley helping pop music to grow, and reach more and more people around the world.
Today, we enjoy a wide range of pop music, from Justin Bieber to Coldplay, from Selena Gomez to Adele, no matter your preference, there’s something here for everyone.