8,720
edits
Changes
Rock
,→Four Chord Songs: I - V - vi - IV
''Axis of Awesome's'' "4 Chord Song" uses this progression. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ Check out the song] - you can hear the effect I'm talking about above. And you can see its popularity, being used in dozens and dozens of recognizable songs.
== Sub-Genres==
Rock and Roll started out as basically a fusion of different genres in the 1950's. Since ''The Beatles'' and the "British Invasion", it became extremely popular and spawned a number of different sub-genres:
* Alternative - Alternative came around in the early 1990's as an attempt to move away from the technicality, pop-influence, "cheesiness", and synthetic "perfection" of the 80's. It featured a return towards folk and classic rock styles, yet the sound had a more modern edge due to more advanced production and playback technology. Vocal ranges returned to the normal range of most humans compared to the high-pitched vocals popular in the 80's. Guitar riffs were made simpler and less prominent. Guitar timbre features more clean and slightly broken up tones - heavy distortion was often nasty and rough instead of smooth and searing like the 80's. Examples: Nirvana, Better than Ezra, Spin Doctors, Alanis Morisette
* Blues-Rock - Although all rock and roll is strongly influenced by (and in fact an outgrowth of) blues, blues-rock is a term that came about to describe artists whose compositions were structurally based solidly in blues but used rock instrumentation and rhythms. Examples: B.B. King, George Thorogood, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Beck, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Gary Moore
* Death Metal -
* Grunge - A sub-genre of alternative, this was almost a protest of 80's music, having a kind of punk element. It replaced 80's cheesiness with quirkiness, featuring uncomfortable screaming, crying, whining, noise, or other unsettling soundscapes. Rather than focus on poppy one-line hooks in choruses, grunge would focus on depressing or brooding melodies, often with double-tracked or processed vocals. Guitars and bass were often distorted using a raucous fuzz distortion. Examples: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Veruca Salt
* Hair Metal (80's Metal) - Continuing the popularity of 70's Heavy Metal, Hair Metal focused on making the extremes of heavy metal more extreme: heavier distortion on guitars, larger and more intricate riffs, heavily technical and swift guitar solo's, high-pitched shrieking vocals, and cutting edge production techniques involving tape delays, rich simulated reverb, and synthesized drums. Examples: Extreme, Def Leppard, Poison, Warrant, Motley Crue
* Hardcore Metal - Examples: Hatebreed
* Heavy Metal - Heavy Metal began in the 70's with groups that pushed rock and roll into a harder edge, featuring heavily distorted guitars, more involved drums, and screeching vocals. Rather than establish simple shuffles, the guitars would establish tonality through more complex riffs. Examples: Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath, Judas Preist
* Metalcore -
* Pop-Punk - Examples: Blink 182
* Progressive Rock -
* Progressive Metal -
* Punk - Examples: The Ramones, The Sex Pistols
* Power Metal - Examples: Iron Maiden, Dragonforce
* Raggae - Examples: Bob Marley and the Whalers
* Ska - Examples: Mighty Mighty Bosstones
* Soft Rock - Examples: Rod Stewart, Bruno Mars
* Thrash Metal - While Hair Metal took a pop-direction in the 80's, Thrash Metal took an underground direction, with less focus on catchy vocal hooks or even recognizable chorus sections. Thrash focused on speed, screamed vocals (sometimes even without pitch), and unsettling lyrical topics such as nuclear war and black magic. Guitar riffs were fast and often focused on chugging open string palm mutes. Examples: Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Exodus, Pantera