Trance genres.
The short answer
Classic trance has four core styles: uplifting, progressive, vocal and epic/orchestral. Around them sit related branches with their own histories, such as Psychedelic Trance, Goa Trance, Balearic Trance, Acid Trance. The table below gives each one's tempo range and era, and links to a full guide.
The core four
The four core styles of classic trance.
Uplifting Trance
138–142 BPM · 1998–2004
Hands in the air, tears on the floor.
Progressive Trance
128–134 BPM · 1993–2002
Hypnotic, layered, patient.
Vocal Trance
134–140 BPM · 1999–2004
A voice cutting through the strings.
Epic & Orchestral Trance
136–140 BPM · 2000–2005
Trance at cathedral scale.
Related branches
Related trance styles.
Psychedelic Trance
138–150 BPM · 1994–present
Trance rebuilt as a chemistry experiment.
Goa Trance
135–145 BPM · 1993–1998
Where trance was actually born.
Balearic Trance
No fixed BPM range · Late 1990s–early 2000s
A late-1990s trance mood, not a closed rulebook.
Acid Trance
No fixed BPM range · Early 1990s onward
Trance structures with an evolving acid line at the centre.
Dream Trance (Dream House)
No fixed BPM range · Mid-1990s
A piano-led 1990s dance-music label with deliberately blurred edges.
Frequently asked
What are the main types of trance music?
In the classic era the four main types were uplifting, progressive, vocal and epic/orchestral trance. Goa trance and psytrance are related but grew from a different scene.
Is psytrance a type of trance?
It shares the name and the four-to-the-floor beat, but it came out of the Goa party scene rather than the European club scene. This archive treats it as a related branch, not one of the four core styles.