I wanted to delve into the key characteristics of different genres this easter holiday and explore their musical structures, the impact in which they have on society, the content and emotive feelings in which the genres evoke. I began looking deep into rock and roll music and the sub-genres and styles that evolved from it.
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated in the United States in 1950s. It then developed into different styles and branched off into the United Kingdom.
Classic Rock and Roll music commonly use a 4/4 time signature while using a verse - chorus form, with a repetitive snare drum. The main instruments associated with rock are electric guitar, bass and drums.
The sound of rock is traditionally centred on the amplified electric guitar, which emerged in its modern form in the 1950s, and was influenced by the sounds of electric blues guitarists. The sound of an electric guitar in rock music is typically supported by an electric bass guitar, which pioneered in jazz music in the same era, and percussion produced from a drum kit that combines drums and cymbals.
Blues Rock
This sub-genre of rock combines elements of Blues and Rock. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock
Blues rock bands "borrow[ed] the idea of an instrumental combo and loud amplification from rock & roll". It is also often played at a fast tempo, distinguishing it from the blues.
Early blues rock bands often emulated jazz, playing long, involved improvisations, which would later be a major element of progressive rock. From about 1967 bands like Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience had moved away from purely blues-based music into psychedelia.
Structure of Blues Rock:
Often follows typical blues structures like twelve-bar blues, sixteen-bar blues.
Unlike many earlier styles of popular music, rock lyrics have dealt with a wide range of themes in addition to romantic love: including sex, rebellion against " The Establishment", social concerns and life styles.
Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, "rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality and aggression".
I decided to listen to some blues rock to get a sense of understanding in the structure and common features of the genre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVSMABmTo_U
Psychedelic rock
Liquid oil projections are a popular visual accompaniment for live psychedelic rock performances. I found this very intriguing and interesting and decided i would try it for myself and incorporate it into my experimentations. With it being well associated with this music genre, it will help observers create connections between the visual language and the art form.
As I listen to the music and explore the genre i can get a visual taste in which the music expresses and gives off. With clear differences in sub-genres and when listening to the music you get distinctive sounds and feelings towards them.
This is a sub-genre which was developed in 1960's and early 1970's, in which it emphasises volume, power and speed. The bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, massive sound, characterised by highly amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles are oftenly associated with aggression and machismo .
Led Zeppelin added elements of fantasy to their riff laden blues-rock, Deep Purple brought in symphonic and medieval interests from their progressive rock phase and Black Sabbath introduced facets of the gothic and modal harmony, helping to produce a "darker" sound.
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