Arts & Entertainment, Music

Country Music Overview

Lesson time 09:59 min

The country music industry is unlike any other music industry in the world. Reba walks you through what makes the country music business special, and what it’s been like to be a woman in country music.

Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars

Topics include: What Makes Country Music Unique • Women in Country Music

Preview

[MUSIC - REBA MCENTIRE, "I DON'T WANT TO BE A ONE NIGHT STAND"] I don't want to be a one night stand. [MUSIC - REBA MCENTIRE, "HOW BLUE"] How blue. How blue can you make me. [MUSIC - REBA MCENTIRE, "FANCY"] She said, here's your once chance, Fancy don't let me down. She said, here's your one chance Fancy. Don't let me down. Country music has changed so much over the last, gosh, I guess, since the beginning of country music. It's changed a lot. It goes back. It goes cyclical. It will go traditional. It will go very contemporary. It will go almost rock and roll. But then again, the next song played on the radio is very traditional. So it's a broad spectrum of music in the country music category. You really can't put it in a box. It's very broad and so is the audience. The easiest thing about country music is that it's easy to listen to. It's easy to love. It's easy to be a part. It's easy to get wrapped up in it. It's an easy type of music to listen to. The biggest challenge of country music is keeping country music pure. Now it's been pure, and it's gone to the far side of very contemporary rock and roll music. And again, there are some who fight to keep it as pure as it can be in the country music vein of purism. So I have been a fan of all genres inside the country music category. I will say, the umbrella. I've done all kinds of different types of music under that umbrella of country music. And called it country music because the way I talk, the way I sing, the instrumentation. And I will take a good old tear jerking, slow, ballad country song-- I'd sing that in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, for some reason or other, women in country music are not accepted by singing good old country songs. That has happened in the last 10 years. I'm thinking that's fixing to change with artists like Brandy Clark, who is very country and writes very country. And I have been an advocate for that. I hope that happens. I guess the key element that makes country music country music-- relatability. They're always sad songs, there's beer drinking songs, there's cheating songs. A lot of people can relate to that. So country music is about what people live day to day. It's their lives. It's their life story all written in a song. [MUSIC PLAYING] The country music industry is different from other genres because we do compete. We're still friends. We pull for each other. It's kind of like the rodeo business. Grandpap, one time, had two ropes, and this other guy didn't have any. And although Grandpap was going to be competing against this guy, he let him have one of his ropes. And another competitor said, well, John, what did you do that for? He could beat you. He said, well, I had two ropes. He didn't have any. So although we are in competition with each other, we're all fr...

About the Instructor

You know her songs. Her Oklahoma charm. Now learn directly from Reba in her first-ever online class. Join her as she records a never-before-heard song, creates a new acoustic version of Fancy, breaks down her hits, and delivers emotional performances on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. This is more than a music class. This is Reba's life, business, and country music MasterClass.

Featured MasterClass Instructor

Reba McEntire

Reba teaches her approach to making great country music and navigating the business in 21 video lessons.

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