Ballad

How it is used

Used across pop, folk, rock, and musical theatre. It often suggests a more intimate tempo, expressive vocals, and clear lyrical focus.

Example sentences

1. The label chose the piano ballad as the second single because it showed a different side of the singer.

   Here ballad identifies a slower, emotionally focused song, contrasted with other tracks by mood and presentation.

2. In class, we compared a folk ballad with a pop ballad to hear how storytelling changes across genres.

   In this example, ballad refers to a song type defined by narrative or emotional delivery, not one single genre.

Common collocations

• power ballad
• folk ballad
• love ballad
• piano ballad

Related terms

• genreA category of music with shared features such as rhythm, instruments, harmony or history, for example jazz, rock, hip-hop or classical music.
• folk musicTraditional music of a people or region, usually passed down orally from generation to generation. It also names a modern acoustic, song-based style influenced by that tradition.

More terms: Genres and Styles

• cover
• classical music
• jazz
• pop music
• hip-hop
• recitative
• swing
• waltz