Music has been classified by the period that it was composed in, such as the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic periods. Compositions share characteristics with other music written during the same period. The same is true for popular music today. Each genre of music such as rap, county, and rock, has its own set of characteristics.
Most musicians compose music within one or possibly two genres.
However, exceptions to this rule have surfaced throughout history. Most early music composers wrote both sacred and secular music. Popular artists such as Faith Hill have transitioned between country and pop music. Similarly, the tejano singer Selena was able to make a crossover from Spanish to English. However, none of these artists have a range of musical styles as diverse as Tish Hinojosa.