The quick answer is "music they played at the dances when you were attending your "old school"!

Seriously though..I find that as a musician..most musician's seem to refer it to the music that was before the hip hop drum beats became fashionable. The old school funksters used straight 16ths feels and straight 8ths without "too" much swing in it. In the early 90's when hip hop really exploded on the pop scene every drumbeat on records begin to have the hip hop swing to them. Even Nirvana and many of the alternative groups including the introspective females like Alannis Morrisette begin to feature hip hop grooves underneath their tunes. So to me it means any music before the early 90's. The black funk groups of the mid 70's played completely different, straighter feels than the swinging stuttered kick feels that began in the early 90's.

But a simple answer..to most kids today it's any music THEY did not get to live thru and experience first hand.

Welcome WisdomSeed to our group. Interesting topic. I am one who often speaks of a preference for “old school” music. I love music so much, and have great admiration for musicians and singers, who have produced great works of art from the past, that I cherish. I guess that “old school” to me is all of the music which came out before the decades of NOISE dominating the airwaves, called “acid rock,” “gangsta rap,” and “hip-hop.” Some of my favorite songs and artists are: Love Ballad by LTD, Theme from a Summer Place, The Impossible Dream by Luther Vandross, Color My World by Chicago, Ain’t No Way by Aretha Franklin, Somewhere by Barbara Streisand, Still Waters Run Deep by the Four Tops, Love is a Many Splendored Thing by Nat King Cole, Moon River by Andy Williams, Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis Presley, You Light Up My Life by Debby Boone, When I Fall in Love by Johnny Mathis, If Tomorrow Never Comes by Joose, All the Man That I Need by Whitney Houston, Home by Diana Ross, Shaft Theme by Isaac Hayes, The Nearness of You by Nancy Wilson, Solid As a Rock, by Ashford and Simpson, Have You Seen Her by the Stylistics, and an even longer listing of Gospel and Spiritual favorites.

Goodness, girl you got me thinking about the good old days. Those was the days when music was straight up music. Can't find it today,, nobody is singing it like that. My son is a rapper (not a gangster rapper and I love his music. But nothing beats old school. Give it to me anytime

Amen Ann. I have always rejected hip-hop, and rap music, in my own private protest of how America has changed. But recently, I was won-over to some in church by finding myself listening to Gospel-rap in Jacksonville, FL churches. People come into the church dancing to the beat. They're up on their feet rocking the house, until time for the sermon. Why, because I now can see how it appeals to the youngsters. I always took secularized contemporary Gospel music in church as a personal insult to me. I often say "How dare they deny me the right to hear the songs that led me to God, so they can get people in off of the streets?" I was angered when a mega-church preacher in Indy said "We're not goin' to let young people out there die in the streets, because you old people want to sing Amazing Grace." I even remember when I couldn't stand CeeCee Winans because (I still have a clip of the article) she said she doesn't sing about Jesus, because she wants young people to be "encouraged" when they listen to her music. I love her now though 'cause she changed-up and sings pure Gospel. Anyway I'm saying, like I surprised my daughter when I said a few days ago, "Gospel-rap is now OK with me 'cause it gets them in church to hear the Word of God."

That was pretty funny

Please elaborate.

What was funny Wisdonseed?