THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT ROCK CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The rock is a musical genre that emerged from the combination of other pre - existing musical types, mainly rhythm and blues and country. However, it is also influenced by characteristics of jazz, blues, and classical music.

Its origins date back to the 1950s and its appearance took place on the music scene with songs based on three fundamental chords and melodies that have endured in the collective imagination.

In this sense, rock can be defined as a style with simple structures, similar to those used by blues musicians but with a faster pace.

According to music experts, the songs Fat Man, by Fats Domino, in 1949, and Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner, in 1951, were the first of rock. Maybe this article about interesting rock phrases may interest you.

However, according to the specialized magazine Rolling Stone, the first rock and roll song was That's All Right Mama, recorded in 1954 by Elvis Presley, one of the founding fathers of the style. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones also stand out.

The lyrics spoke of sex, drugs and political issues to revolutionize established canons and the music scene. The main instrument was the electric guitar above others.

Due to the preponderant role of rock in musical history, I leave you some of the characteristics that define it, although with variation in its different subgenres. F

The main characteristics of rock

The structure

In the beginning, and throughout its history with modifications, the structure of rock has certain characteristics that marked its style.

Thus this musical genre is based on a type of short verses, based on a few chords, which are distributed between the verses and the chorus with a constant rhythm.

Alone

The incorporation of instrumental solos in the songs stands out, replacing the sung phrases in certain stanzas.

The themes

One of the characteristics of rock is to explicitly reflect other realities such as sex, war, vices and death, among others.

In turn, rock also brought a great self-referential sense to his lyrics, with many artists sharing their intimacies within the scene.

Social criticism was also the order of the day. Thus, rock collected many of the facts and concerns of contemporary societies.

Amplification

One of the central features in the appearance of rock was the electronic evolution allowed by the amplification systems that marked the beginning of the genre.

Likewise, the presence of microphones for voices and other instruments indicated a new path in the way of making and listening to music.

Band formation

The conformation of rock bands is characterized by the presence of three central instruments, in addition to the voices: the guitar, the bass and the drums.

However, other instruments can be added, mainly the piano or the wind instruments. With this musical conception, a melodic simplification was carried out and the concept of the big band was put aside.

Dirt

One of the central features that characterizes rock since its inception is musical dirt.

With effects that can alter the sound waves of the instruments and the more emotional intonations of the vocalists, this genre was characterized by being dirtier than the pre-existing ones.

This feeling was accentuated by constant syncopation, in which accents appear at unexpected moments in the measure.

Irregular pulse

The pulse in music is used to measure time. Through a repeated and constant succession of keystrokes, regular temporal divisions are achieved that order the song.

Rock broke in some way with this dominant logic in music. With deviations and the incorporation of varying impulses and intensities, this genre revolutionized musical history.

In addition, the time becomes irregular, with the possibility of varying from song to song, being slow, medium or accelerated, according to the tastes and needs of each composition.

Instrumental polyphony

Although the rhythmic base of jazz or blues is maintained, rock contributed to the music the idea of ​​polyphony with instruments that interact and improvise on the melody.

Improvisation

Related to instrumental polyphony and taking improvisation from jazz, rock implemented a new mode of musical performance with its appearance on the scene.

The scores served as a guide and each musician could add within the tonal spectrum the arrangements that best worked with the melody in question.

In jazz, improvisation occurs on a rhythmic basis with alternating moments of prominence, while in rock it can occur with small contributions of each instrument in any part of the song.

References

1. Rolling Stone Magazine, 50 Years of Rock and Roll, 2004.
2. This Is America - Rock and Roll History, Part 2.
3. Rock (music), Simon Frith Jr. and Ed Ward, Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011.