House music
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House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It originated in the Black queer community in Chicago. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
The TR-909 drum machine (top) and TB-303 synthesizer, instruments often used in house music
House music pioneers Alan King, Robert Williams and Derrick Carter.
Frankie Knuckles (pictured in 2012) played an important role in developing house music in Chicago during the 1980s.
An honorary street name sign in Chicago for house music and the seminal DJ Frankie Knuckles.
Disco
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Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.
Ceiling of a discothèque in Arlington, Texas
Major disco clubs had lighted dance floors, with the lights flashing to complement the beat.
The reflective light disco ball was a fixture on the ceilings of many discothèques.
Disco dancers typically wore loose slacks for men and flowing dresses for women, which enabled ease of movement on the dance floor.