Download A famous Tang Dynasty guqin "Jiu Xiao Huan Pei

THE HISTORY OF MUSIC
INTRODUCTION
Music history
A famous Tang Dynasty guqin "Jiu Xiao Huan Pei". Theguqin has been played since ancient times,
and has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and
refinement.
Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader
discipline of musicology that studies the composition. In theory, "music history" could refer to the
study of the history of any type or genre of music (e.g., the history of Indian music or the history
of rock). In practice, these research topics are nearly always categorized as part
ofethnomusicology or cultural studies, whether or not they are ethnographically based.
The
methods
of
music
history
include
source
studies
(esp. manuscriptstudies), paleography, philology (especially textual
criticism),
style
criticism,
historiography (the choice of historical method), musical analysis, and iconography. The application
of musical analysis to further these goals is often a part of music history, though pure analysis or the
development of new tools of music analysis is more likely to be seen in the field of music theory. (For
a more detailed discussion of the methods see the section on "Research in Music History" below)
Some of the intellectual products of music historians include editions of musical works, biography of
composers and other musicians, studies of the relationship between words and music, and the
reflections upon the place of music in society.
Pedagogy
Although most performers of classical and traditional instruments receive some instruction in music,
art pop, or rock and roll history from teachers throughout their training, the majority of formal
music history courses are offered at the college level. In Canada, some music students receive
training prior to undergraduate studies because examinations in music history (as well as music
theory) are required to complete Royal Conservatory certification at the Grade 9 level and higher.
Particularly in the United States and Canada, university courses tend to be divided into two groups:
one type to be taken by students with little or no music theory or ability to read music (often
called music appreciation) and the other for more musically literate students (often those planning
on making a career in music).
Most medium and large institutions will offer both types of courses. The two types of courses will
usually differ in length (one to two semesters vs. two to four), breadth (many music appreciation
courses begin at the late Baroque or classical eras and might omit music after WWII while courses
for majors traditionally span the period from the Middle Ages to recent times), and depth. Both types
of courses tend to emphasize a balance among the acquisition of musical repertory (often emphasized
through listening examinations), study and analysis of these works, biographical and cultural details
of music and musicians, and writing about music, perhaps throughmusic criticism.
More specialized seminars in music history tend to use a similar approach on a narrower subject
while introducing more of the tools of research in music history (see below). The range of possible
topics is virtually limitless. Some examples might be "Music during World War I," "Medieval and
Renaissance instrumental music," "Music and Process," "Mozart's Don Giovanni." In the United
States, these seminars are generally taken by advanced undergraduates and graduate students,
though in European countries they often form the backbone of music history education.
The methods and tools of music history are nearly as numerous as its subjects and therefore make a
strict categorization impossible. However, a few trends and approaches can be outlined here. Like in
any other historical discipline, most research in music history can be roughly divided into two
categories: the establishing of factual and correct data and the interpretation of data. Most historical
research does not fall into one category solely, but rather employs a combination of methods from
both categories. It should also be noted that the act of establishing factual data can never be fully
separate from the act of interpretation.
Archival work
may be conducted to find connections to music or musicians in a collection of documents of broader
interests (e.g.,Vatican pay records, letters to a patroness of the arts) or to more systematically study
a collection of documents related to a musician. In some cases, where records, scores, and letters
have been digitized, archival work can be done online. One example of a composer for whom archival
materials can be examined online is the Arnold Schoenberg Center.
Performance practice
draws on many of the tools of historical musicology to answer the specific question of how music was
performed in various places at various times in the past. Scholars investigate questions such as
which instruments or voices were used to perform a given work, what tempos (or tempo changes)
were used, and how (or if) ornaments were used. Although performance practice was previously
confined to early music from the Baroque era, since the 1990s, research in performance practice has
examined other historical eras, such as how early Classical era piano concerti were performed, how
the early history of recording affected the use of vibrato in classical music, or which instruments
were used in Klezmer music.
Biographical studies
of composers can give a better sense of the chronology of compositions, influences on style and works,
and provide important background to the interpretation (by performers or listeners) of works. Thus
biography can form one part of the larger study of the cultural significance, underlying program, or
agenda of a work; a study which gained increasing importance in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Sociological studies
focus on the function of music in society as well as its meaning for individuals and society as a whole.
Researchers emphasizing the social importance of music (including classical music) are sometimes
called New musicologists.
Semiotic studies
are most conventionally the province of music analysts rather than historians. However, crucial to
the practice of musical semiotics - the interpretation of meaning in a work or style - is its situation in
an historical context. The interpretative work of scholars such as Kofi Agawu and Lawrence
Kramer fall between the analytic and the music historical.
Before 1800
The first studies of Western musical history date back to the middle of the 18th century. G.B.
Martini published a three volume history titled Storia della musica (History of Music) between 1757
and 1781. Martin Gerbert published a two volume history of sacred music titled De cantu de musica
sacra in 1774. Gerbert followed this work with a three volume work Scriptores ecclesiastici de
musica sacracontaining significant writings on sacred music from the 3rd century onwards in 1784.
1800-1950
Ludwig van Beethoven's manuscript sketch forPiano Sonata No. 28, Movement IV, Geschwind, doch
nicht zu sehr und mit Entschlossenheit(Allegro), in his own handwriting. The piece was completed in
1816.
In the 20th century, the work of Johannes Wolf and others developed studies inMedieval music and
early Renaissance music. Wolf's writings on the history of musical notation are considered to be
particularly notable by musicologists. Historical musicology has played a critical role in renewed
interest in Baroque music as well as medieval and Renaissance music. In particular, the authentic
performance movement owes much to historical musicological scholarship. Towards the middle of the
20th century, musicology (and its largest subfield of historical musicology) expanded significantly as
a field of study. Concurrently the number of musicological and music journals increased to create
further outlets for the publication of research. The domination of German language scholarship
ebbed as significant journals sprang up throughout the West, especially America.
Exclusion of disciplines and musics
In its most narrow definition, historical musicology is the music history of Western culture. Such a
definition arbitrarily excludes disciplines other than history, cultures other than Western, and forms
of music other than "classical" ("art", "serious", "high culture") or notated ("artificial") - implying that
the omitted disciplines, cultures, and musical styles/genres are somehow inferior. A somewhat
broader definition incorporating all musical humanities is still problematic, because it arbitrarily
excludes the relevant (natural) sciences (acoustics, psychology, physiology, neurosciences,
information and computer sciences, empirical sociology and aesthetics) as well as musical practice.
The musicological sub-disciplines of music theory and music analysis have likewise historically been
rather uneasily separated from the most narrow definition of historical musicology.
Within historical musicology, scholars have been reluctant to adopt postmodern and critical
approaches that are common elsewhere in the humanities. According to Susan McClary (2000,
p. 1285) the discipline of "music lags behind the other arts; it picks up ideas from other media just
when they have become outmoded." Only in the 1990s did historical musicologists, preceded by
feminist musicologists in the late 1980s, begin to address issues such as gender, sexualities, bodies,
emotions, and subjectivities which dominated the humanities for twenty years before (ibid, p. 10). In
McClary's words (1991, p. 5), "It almost seems that musicology managed miraculously to pass
directly from pre- to postfeminism without ever having to change - or even examine - its ways."
Furthermore, in their discussion on musicology and rock music, Susan McClary and Robert Walser
also address a key struggle within the discipline: how musicology has often "dismisse[d] questions of
socio-musical interaction out of hand, that part of classical music's greatness is ascribed to its
autonomy from society." (1988, p. 283)
Exclusion of popular music
According to Richard Middleton, the strongest criticism of (historical) musicology has been that it
generally ignores popular music. Though musicological study of popular music has vastly increased
in quantity recently, Middleton's assertion in 1990—that most major "works of musicology,
theoretical or historical, act as though popular music did not exist"—holds true. Academic and
conservatory training typically only peripherally addresses this broad spectrum of musics, and many
(historical) musicologists who are "both contemptuous and condescending are looking for types of
production, musical form, and listening which they associate with a differentkind of music...'classical
music'...and they generally find popular music lacking"
He cites three main aspects of this problem (p. 104-6). The terminology of historical musicology is
"slanted by the needs and history of a particular music ('classical music')." He acknowledges that
"there is a rich vocabulary for certain areas [harmony, tonality, certain part-writing and forms],
important in musicology's typical corpus"; yet he points out that there is "an impoverished
vocabulary for other areas [rhythm, pitch nuance and gradation, and timbre], which are less well
developed" in Classical music. Middleton argues that a number of "terms are ideologically loaded" in
that "they always involve selective, and often unconsciously formulated, conceptions of what
music is."
As well, he claims that historical musicology uses "a methodology slanted by the characteristics of
notation," 'notational centricity' (Tagg 1979, p. 28-32). As a result "musicological methods tend to
foreground those musical parameters which can be easily notated" such as pitch relationships or the
relationship between words and music. On the other hand, historical musicology tends to "neglect or
have difficulty with parameters which are not easily notated", such as tone colour or non-Western
rhythms. In addition, he claims that the "notation-centric training" of Western music schools
"induces particular forms of listening, and these then tend to be applied to allsorts of music,
appropriately or not". As a result, Western music students trained in historical musicology may
listen to a funk or Latinsong that is very rhythmically complex, but then dismiss it as a low-level
musical work because it has a very simple melody and only uses two or five chords.
Notational centricity also encourages "reification: the score comes to be seen as 'the music', or
perhaps the music in an ideal form." As such, music that does not use a written score, such as jazz,
blues, or folk, can become demoted to a lower level of status. As well, historical musicology has "an
ideology slanted by the origins and development of a particular body of music and its aesthetic...It
arose at a specific moment, in a specific context - nineteenth-century Europe, especially Germany and in close association with that movement in the musical practice of the period which was
codifying the very repertory then taken by musicology as the centre of its attention." These
terminological, methodological, and ideological problems affect even works symphathetic to popular
music. However, it is not "that musicology cannot understand popular music, or that students of
popular music should abandon musicology." (p. 104).
PART 1
FROM ANCIENT GREECE TO RENAISSANCE
The Middle Ages 450-1450
The Middle Ages (adjectival forms: medieval, mediaeval, andmediæval) is the period of European
history encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries, normally marked from the collapse of
the Western Roman Empire (the end of Classical Antiquity) until the beginning of
the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the periods which ushered in the Modern Era. The
medieval period thus is the mid-time of the traditional division of Western history into Classical,
Medieval, and Modern periods; moreover, the Middle Ages usually is divided into theEarly Middle
Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages.
In the Early Middle Ages, depopulation, deurbanization, and barbarianinvasions, begun in Late
Antiquity, continued apace. The barbarian invaders formed new kingdoms in the remains of the
Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century North Africa and the Middle East, once part of the
Eastern Roman Empire, became an Islamic Empire after conquest by Muhammad's successors.
Although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break
withAntiquity was not complete. The Eastern Roman Empire – orByzantine Empire – survived and
remained a major power. Additionally, most of the new kingdoms incorporated many of the extant
Roman institutions, while monasteries were founded as Christianity expanded in western Europe. In
the 7th and 8th centuries, the Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, established an empire
covering much of western Europe; the Carolingian Empire endured until the 9th century, when it
succumbed to the pressures of invasion — the Vikings from the north; the Magyars from the east,
and theSaracens from the south.
During the High Middle Ages, which began after AD 1000, the population of Europe increased
greatly as technological and agricultural innovations allowed trade to flourish and crop yields to
increase. Manorialism — the organization of peasants into villages that owed rent and labor services
to the nobles; and feudalism — the political structure whereby knights and lower-status nobles owed
military service to their overlords, in return for the right to rent from lands and manors - were two of
the ways society was organized in the High Middle Ages. Kingdoms became more centralized after
the breakup of the Carolingian Empire. The Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military
attempts, by western European Christians, to regain control of the Middle Eastern Holy Land from
the Muslims, and succeeded long enough to establish Christian states in the Near East. Intellectual
life was marked by scholasticism and the founding of universities; and the building of Gothic
cathedrals, which was one of the outstanding artistic achievements of the High Middle Ages.
The Late Middle Ages were marked by difficulties and calamities, such as famine, plague, and war,
which much diminished the population of western Europe; in the four years from 1347 through 1350,
the Black Death killed approximately a third of the European population. Controversy, heresy,
and schism within the Church paralleled the warfare between states, the civil war, and peasant
revolts occurring in the kingdoms. Cultural and technological developments transformed European
society, concluding the Late Middle Age and beginning the Early Modern period.
Characteristics of Music
Music comes from the Ancient Greek muses, who were the nine goddesses of art and
science. Music actually began around 500 B.C. when Pythagoras experimented with acoustics and
how math related to tones formed from plucking strings. The main form of music during the Middle
Ages was the Gregorian chant, named for Pope Gregory I. This music was used in the Catholic
Churches to enhance the services. It consisted of a sacred Latin text sung by monks without
instrumentation. The chant is sung in a monophonic texture, which means there is only one line of
music. It has a free-flowing rhythm with little or no set beat. The chants were originally all passed
through oral tradition, but the chants became so numerous that the monks began to notate them.
Music in Society
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, about the 12 th and 13th centuries, music began to move outside
of the church. French nobles called troubadours and trouveres were among the first to have written
secular songs. Music of this time was contained among the nobility, with court minstrels performing
for them. There were also wandering minstrels who would perform music and acrobatics in castles,
taverns, and town squares. These people were among the lowest social class, along with prostitutes
and slaves, but they were important because they passed along information, since there were no
newspapers.
COMPOSERS OF THE MIDDLE AGES
Queen Blanche of Castile (1188-1252)
Comtessa Beatiz de Dia (attested 1212)
Herrad of Landsberg (1167-1195)
Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
Leonin (1163-1190)
The Renaissance 1450-1600
Renaissance music is music written in Europe during the Renaissance. Consensus among music
historians – with notable dissent – has been to start the era around 1400, with the end of
the medieval era, and to close it around 1600, with the beginning of the Baroque period, therefore
commencing the musical Renaissance about a hundred years after the beginning of the Renaissance
as understood in other disciplines. As in the other arts, the music of the period was significantly
influenced by the developments which define the Early Modern period: the rise
of humanistic thought; the recovery of the literary and artistic heritage of ancient Greece and Rome;
increased innovation and discovery; the growth of commercial enterprise; the rise of
a bourgeois class; and the Protestant Reformation. From this changing society emerged a common,
unifying musical language, in particular the polyphonic style of the Franco-Flemish school.
The development of printing made distribution of music possible on a wide scale. Demand for music
as entertainment and as an activity for educated amateurs increased with the emergence of a
bourgeois class. Dissemination of chansons, motets, and masses throughout Europe coincided with
the unification of polyphonic practice into the fluid style which culminated in the second half of the
sixteenth century in the work of composers such as Palestrina, Lassus, andWilliam Byrd. Relative
political stability and prosperity in the Low Countries, along with a flourishing system of music
education in the area's many churches and cathedrals, allowed the training of hundreds of singers
and composers. These musicians were highly sought throughout Europe, particularly in Italy, where
churches and aristocratic courts hired them as composers and teachers. By the end of the 16th
century, Italy had absorbed the northern influences, with Venice, Rome, and other cities being
centers of musical activity, reversing the situation from a hundred years earlier. Opera arose at this
time in Florence as a deliberate attempt to resurrect the music of ancient Greece.[1]
Music, increasingly freed from medieval constraints, in range, rhythm, harmony, form, and notation,
became a vehicle for personal expression. Composers found ways to make music expressive of the
texts they were setting. Secular music absorbed techniques from sacred music, and vice versa.
Popular secular forms such as the chanson and madrigal spread throughout Europe. Courts
employed virtuoso performers, both singers and instrumentalists. Music for the first time became
self-sufficient, existing for its own sake. Many familiar modern instruments, including the violin, the
guitar, and keyboard instruments, were born during the Renaissance. During the 15th century the
sound of full triads became common, and towards the end of the 16th century the system of church
modes began to break down entirely, giving way to the functional tonality which was to dominate
western art music for the next three centuries.
From the Renaissance era both secular and sacred music survives in quantity, and both vocal and
instrumental. An enormous diversity of musical styles and genres flourished during the Renaissance,
and can be heard on commercial recordings in the 21st century, including masses, motets, madrigals,
chansons, accompanied songs, instrumental dances, and many others. Numerous early music
ensembles specializing in music of the period give concert tours and make recordings, using a wide
range of interpretive styles.
Overview
One of the most pronounced features of early Renaissance European art music was the increasing
reliance on the interval of the third (in the Middle Ages, thirds had been considered
dissonances). Polyphony became increasingly elaborate throughout the 14th century, with highly
independent voices: the beginning of the 15th century showed simplification, with the voices often
striving for smoothness. This was possible because of a greatly increased vocal range in music – in
the Middle Ages, the narrow range made necessary frequent crossing of parts, thus requiring a
greater contrast between them.
The modal (as opposed to tonal) characteristics of Renaissance music began to break down towards
the end of the period with the increased use of root motions of fifths. This later developed into one of
the defining characteristics of tonality.
The main characteristics of Renaissance music are:
Music based on modes.
Richer texture in four or more parts.
Blending rather than contrasting strands in the musical texture.
Harmony with a greater concern with the flow and progression of chords.
Polyphony is one of the notable changes that mark the Renaissance from the Middle Ages
musically. [3] Its use encouraged the use of larger ensembles and demanded sets of instruments that
would blend together across the whole vocal range.
Genres
Principal liturgical forms which endured throughout the entire Renaissance period were masses and
motets, with some other developments towards the end, especially as composers of sacred music
began to adopt secular forms (such as the madrigal) for their own designs.
Common sacred genres were the mass, the motet, the madrigale spirituale, and the laude.
During the period, secular music had an increasing distribution, with a wide variety of forms, but
one must be cautious about assuming an explosion in variety: since printing made music more
widely available, much more has survived from this era than from the preceding Medieval era, and
probably a rich store of popular music of the late Middle Ages is irretrievably lost. Secular music
included songs for one or many voices, forms such as the frottola, chanson and madrigal.
Secular music was music that was independent of churches. The main type was the German lied,
Italian frottola, the French chanson, the Italian madrigal, and the Spanish villancico [2] . Secular
vocal genres included the madrigal, the frottola, the caccia, the chanson in several forms
(rondeau, virelai, bergerette, ballade, musique
mesurée),
the canzonetta,
the villancico,
the villanella, the villotta, and thelute song. Mixed forms such as the motet-chanson and the secular
motet also appeared.
Purely instrumental music included consort music for recorder or viol and other instruments, and
dances for various ensembles. Common genres were the toccata, the prelude, the ricercar,
the canzona, and intabulation (intavolatura, intabulierung). Instrumental ensembles for dances
might play a basse danse (or bassedanza), a pavane, a galliard, an allemande, or a courante.
Towards the end of the period, the early dramatic precursors of opera such as monody, the madrigal
comedy, and the intermedio are seen.
Theory and notation
According to Margaret Bent (1998), "Renaissance notation is under-prescriptive by our standards;
when translated into modern form it acquires a prescriptive weight that overspecifies and distorts its
original openness."
Renaissance compositions were notated only in individual parts; scores were extremely rare,
and barlines were not used. Note values were generally larger than are in use today; the primary
unit of beat was the semibreve, or whole note. As had been the case since the Ars Nova (see Medieval
music), there could be either two or three of these for each breve (a double-whole note), which may be
looked on as equivalent to the modern "measure," though it was itself a note value and a measure is
not. The situation can be considered this way: it is the same as the rule by which in modern music a
quarter-note may equal either two eighth-notes or three, which would be written as a "triplet." By
the same reckoning, there could be two or three of the next smallest note, the "minim," (equivalent to
the modern "half note") to each semibreve.
These different permutations were called "perfect/imperfect tempus" at the level of the breve–
semibreve relationship, "perfect/imperfect prolation" at the level of the semibreve–minim, and
existed in all possible combinations with each other. Three-to-one was called "perfect," and two-toone "imperfect." Rules existed also whereby single notes could be halved or doubled in value
("imperfected" or "altered," respectively) when preceded or followed by other certain notes. Notes
with black noteheads (such as quarter notes) occurred less often. This development of white
mensural notation may be a result of the increased use of paper (rather than vellum), as the weaker
paper was less able to withstand the scratching required to fill in solid noteheads; notation of
previous times, written on vellum, had been black. Other colors, and later, filled-in notes, were used
routinely as well, mainly to enforce the aforementioned imperfections or alterations and to call for
other temporary rhythmical changes.
Accidentals were not always specified, somewhat as in certain fingering notations (tablatures) today.
However, Renaissance musicians would have been highly trained in dyadic counterpoint and thus
possessed this and other information necessary to read a score, "what modern notation requires
[accidentals] would then have been perfectly apparent without notation to a singer versed in
counterpoint." Seemusica ficta. A singer would interpret his or her part by figuring cadential
formulas with other parts in mind, and when singing together musicians would avoid parallel
octaves and fifths or alter their cadential parts in light of decisions by other musicians (Bent, 1998).
It is through contemporary tablatures for various plucked instruments that we have gained much
information about what accidentals were performed by the original practitioners.
For information on specific theorists, see Johannes Tinctoris, Franchinus Gaffurius, Heinrich
Glarean, Pietro Aron, Nicola Vicentino,Tomás de Santa María, Gioseffo Zarlino, Vicente
Lusitano, Vincenzo Galilei, Giovanni Artusi, Johannes Nucius, and Pietro Cerone.
Early Renaissance music (1400–1467)
This group gradually dropped the late Medieval period's complex devices of isorhythm and
extreme syncopation, resulting in a more limpid and flowing style. What their music "lost" in
rhythmic complexity, however, it gained in rhythmic vitality, as a "drive to the cadence" became a
prominent feature around mid-century.
Middle Renaissance music (1467–1534)
1611 woodcut of Josquin des Prez, copied from a now-lost oil painting done during his lifetime[4]
In the early 1470s, music started to be printed using a printing press. Music printing had a major
effect on how music spread for not only did a printed piece of music reach a larger audience than any
manuscript ever could, it did it far cheaper as well. Also during this century, a tradition of famous
makers began for many instruments. These makers were masters of their craft. An example is
Neuschel for his trumpets.
Towards the end of the 15th century, polyphonic sacred music (as exemplified in the masses
ofJohannes Ockeghem and Jacob Obrecht) had once again become more complex, in a manner that
can perhaps be seen as correlating to the stunning detail in the painting at the time. Ockeghem,
particularly, was fond of canon, both contrapuntal and mensural. He composed a mass, Missa
prolationum, in which all the parts are derived canonically from one musical line.
It was in the opening decades of the next century that music felt in a tactus (think of the modern
time signature) of two semibreves-to-a-breve began to be as common as that with three semibrevesto-a-breve, as had prevailed prior to that time.
In the early 16th century, there is another trend towards simplification, as can be seen to some
degree in the work of Josquin des Prez and his contemporaries in the Franco-Flemish School, then
later in that of G. P. Palestrina, who was partially reacting to the strictures of the Council of Trent,
which discouraged excessively complex polyphony as inhibiting understanding the text. Early 16thcentury Franco-Flemings moved away from the complex systems of canonic and other mensural play
of Ockeghem's generation, tending toward points of imitation and duet or trio sections within an
overall texture that grew to five and six voices. They also began, even before the Tridentine reforms,
to insert ever-lengthening passages of homophony, to underline important text or points of
articulation. Palestrina, on the other hand, came to cultivate a freely flowing style of counterpoint in
a thick, rich texture within which consonance followed dissonance on a nearly beat-by-beat basis,
and suspensions ruled the day (see counterpoint). By now, tactus was generally two semibreves per
breve with three per breve used for special effects and climactic sections; this was a nearly exact
reversal of the prevailing technique a century before.
Late Renaissance music (1534–1600)
San Marco in the evening. The spacious, resonant interior was one of the inspirations for the music
of the Venetian School.
In Venice, from about 1534 until around 1600, an impressive polychoral style developed, which gave
Europe some of the grandest, most sonorous music composed up until that time, with multiple choirs
of singers, brass and strings in different spatial locations in the Basilica San Marco di
Venezia (seeVenetian School). These multiple revolutions spread over Europe in the next several
decades, beginning in Germany and then moving to Spain, France and England somewhat later,
demarcating the beginning of what we now know as the Baroque musical era.
The Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music in Rome, spanning the
late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Many of the composers had a direct connection to the
Vatican and the papal chapel, though they worked at several churches; stylistically they are often
contrasted with the Venetian School of composers, a concurrent movement which was much more
progressive. By far the most famous composer of the Roman School is Giovanni Pierluigi da
Palestrina. While best known as a prolific composer of masses and motets, he was also an important
madrigalist. His ability to bring together the functional needs of the Catholic Church with the
prevailing musical styles during the Counter-Reformation period gave him his enduring fame.[5]
The brief but intense flowering of the musical madrigal in England, mostly from 1588 to 1627, along
with the composers who produced them, is known as the English Madrigal School. The English
madrigals were a cappella, predominantly light in style, and generally began as either copies or
direct translations of Italian models. Most were for three to six voices.
Musica reservata is either a style or a performance practice in a cappella vocal music of the latter,
mainly in Italy and southern Germany, involving refinement, exclusivity, and intense emotional
expression of sung text.
The cultivation of European music in the Americas began in the 16th century soon after the arrival
of the Spanish, and the conquest ofMexico. Although fashioned in European style, uniquely Mexican
hybrid works based on native Mexican language and European musical practice, appeared very
early. Musical practices in New Spain continually coincided with European tendencies throughout
the subsequent Baroque and Classical music periods. Among these New World composers
were Hernando Franco, Antonio de Salazar, and Manuel de Zumaya.
In addition, many composers observed a division in their own works between a prima pratica (music
in the Renaissance polyphonic style) and a seconda pratica (music in the new style) during the first
part of the 17th century.
Masses
The 15th and 16th century masses had two kinds of sources that were used, monophonic and
polyphonic, with two main forms of elaboration, based on cantus firmus practice or, beginning some
time around 1500, the new style of pervasive imitation. Four types of masses resulted:
Cantus firmus mass (tenor mass)
The cantus firmus/imitation mass
The paraphrase mass
The imitation mass (parody mass)
Masses were normally titled by the source from which they borrowed. Cantus firmus mass uses the
same monophonic melody, usually drawn from chant and usually in the tenor and most often in
longer note values than the other voices.
Mannerism
In the late 16th century, as the Renaissance era closed, an extremely manneristic style developed. In
secular music, especially in the madrigal, there was a trend towards complexity and even extreme
chromaticism (as exemplified in madrigals of Luzzaschi, Marenzio, and Gesualdo). The term
"mannerism" derives from art history.
Transition to the Baroque
Beginning in Florence, there was an attempt to revive the dramatic and musical forms of Ancient
Greece, through the means of monody, a form of declaimed music over a simple accompaniment; a
more extreme contrast with the preceding polyphonic style would be hard to find; this was also, at
least at the outset, a secular trend. These musicians were known as the Florentine Camerata.
We have already noted some of the musical developments that helped to usher in the Baroque, but
for further explanation of this transition, see antiphon, concertato, monody, madrigal, and opera, as
well as the works given under "Sources and further reading."
For a more thorough discussion of the transition to the Baroque specifically pertaining to instrument
music, see Transition from Renaissance to Baroque in instrumental music.
Instruments of the Renaissance
Many instruments originated during the Renaissance; others were variations of, or improvements
upon, instruments that had existed previously. Some have survived to the present day; others have
disappeared, only to be recreated in order to perform music of the period on authentic instruments.
As in the modern day, instruments may be classified as brass, strings, percussion, and woodwind.
Medieval instruments in Europe had most commonly been used singly, often self accompanied with a
drone, or occasionally in parts. During the 15th century there was a division of instruments into
Haut (loud, outdoor instruments) and Bas (quieter, more intimate instruments) Only two groups of
instruments could play freely in both types of ensembles: the Cornett and sackbut and the Tabor and
tambourine.[6]
Beginning of the 16th century, instruments were considered to be less important then voices. They
were used for dances and to accompany vocal music. [2] Instrumental music remained subordinated
to vocal music, and much of its repertory was in varying ways derived from or dependent on, vocal
models.[1]
Brass
Brass instruments in the Renaissance were traditionally played by professionals. Some of the more
common brass instruments that were played:
Slide trumpet: Similar to the trombone of today except that instead of a section of the body sliding,
only a small part of the body near the mouthpiece and the mouthpiece itself is stationary. Also the
body was an S-shape so it was rather unwieldy, but was suitable for the slow dance music which it
was most commonly used for.
Cornett: Made of wood and was played like the recorder (will be mentioned at greater length later
on) but blown like a trumpet. It was commonly made in several sizes, the largest was called the
serpent. The serpent became practically the only cornetto used by the early 17th century while other
ranges were replaced by the violin. It was said to be the closest instrument to the human voice with
the ability to use dynamics and expression.
Trumpet: Early trumpets had no valves, and were limited to the tones present in the overtone series.
They were also made in different sizes. Although commonly depicted being used by angels, their use
in churches was limited, a prominent exception being the music of the Venetian School. They were
most commonly used in the military and for the announcement of royalty. Period trumpets were
found to have two rings soldered to them, one near the mouthpiece and another near the bell.
Sackbut (sometimes sackbutt or sagbutt): A different name for the trombone, [7] which replaced the
slide trumpet by the end of the 15th century. Sackbuts were used almost exclusively in church music
and faced behind the player.
Strings
Lute
As a family strings were used in many circumstances, both sacred and secular. A few members of
this family include:
Viol: This instrument, developed in the 15th century, commonly has six strings. It was usually
played with a bow. It has structural qualities similar to the Spanish vihuela; its main separating
trait is its larger size. This changed the posture of the musician in order to rest it against the floor or
between the legs in a manner similar to the cello. Its similarities to the vihuela were sharp waistcuts, similar frets, a flat back, thin ribs, and identical tuning. This is the predecessor of the modernday violin, viola, and violoncello (cello).
Lyre: Its construction is similar to a small harp, although instead of being plucked, it is strummed
with a plectrum. Its strings varied in quantity from four, seven, and ten, depending on the era. It
was played with the right hand, while the left hand silenced the notes that were not desired. Newer
lyres were modified to be played with a bow.
Irish Harp: Also called the Clàrsach in Scottish Gaelic, or the Cláirseach in Irish, during the Middle
Ages it was the most popular instrument of Ireland and Scotland. Due to its significance on Irish
history it is seen even on the Guinness label, and is Ireland's national symbol even to this day. To be
played it is usually plucked. Its size can vary greatly from a harp that can be played in one's lap to a
full-size harp that is placed on the floor
Hurdy gurdy: (Also known as the wheel fiddle), in which the strings are sounded by a wheel which
the strings pass over. Its functionality can be compared to that of a mechanical violin, in that its bow
(wheel) is turned by a crank. Its distinctive sound is mainly because of its "drone strings" which
provide a constant pitch similar in their sound to that of bagpipes.
.
Percussion
Some Renaissance percussion instruments include the triangle, the Jew's harp, the tambourine, the
bells, the rumble-pot, and various kinds of drums.
Tambourine: In the early ages the tambourine was originally a frame drum without the jingles
attached to the side. This instrument soon evolved and took on the name of the timbrel during the
medieval crusades, at which time it acquired the jingles. The tambourine was often found with a
single skin, as it made it easy for a dancer to play. The skin that surrounds the frame is called the
vellum, and produces the beat by striking the surface with the knuckles, fingertips, or hand. It could
also be played by shaking the instrument, allowing the tambourine's jingles to "clank" and "jingle".
Jew's harp: An instrument often known for its historical purpose for men "serenading" their
sweethearts,[citation needed] It even went to the extent of being repeatedly banned for its "endangerment
on female virtue",[citation needed] it is also believed that it was banned because of its construction of
silver, and due to the great demand on silver in the 19th Century Austria this was another reason
for its outlawing. A steel instrument that produces sound using shapes of the mouth and attempting
to pronounce different vowels with ones mouth. The loop at the bent end of the tongue of the
instrument is plucked in different scales of vibration creating different tones.
Woodwinds (aerophones)
The woodwind instruments (aerophones) produce sound by means of a vibrating column of air within
the pipe. Holes along the pipe allow the player to control the length of the column of air, and hence
the pitch. There are several ways of making the air column vibrate, and these ways define the
subcategories of woodwind instruments. A player may blow across a mouth hole, as in a flute; into a
mouthpiece with a single reed, as in a modern-day clarinet or saxophone; or a double reed, as in an
oboe or bassoon. All three of these methods of tone production can be found in Renaissance
instruments.
Shawm: A typical oriental shawm is keyless and is about a foot long with seven finger holes and a
thumb hole. The pipes were also most commonly made of wood and many of them had carvings and
decorations on them. It was the most popular double reed instrument of the renaissance period; it
was commonly used in the streets with drums and trumpets because of its brilliant, piercing, and
often deafening sound. To play the shawm a person puts the entire reed in their mouth, puffs out
their cheeks, and blows into the pipe whilst breathing through their nose.
Renaissance recorders
Reed pipe: Made from a single short length of cane with a mouthpiece, four or five finger holes, and
reed fashioned from it. The reed is made by cutting out a small tongue, but leaving the base
attached. It is the predecessor of the saxophone and the clarinet.
Hornpipe: Same as reed pipe but with a bell at the end.
Bagpipe/Bladderpipe: Believe to have been invented by herdsmen who thought to use a bag made out
of sheep or goat skin and would provide air pressure so that when its player takes a breath, the
player only needs to squeeze the bag tucked underneath their arm to continue the tone. The mouth
pipe has a simple round piece of leather hinged on to the bag end of the pipe and acts like a nonreturn valve. The reed is located inside the long metal mouthpiece, known as a bocal.
Panpipe: Designed to have sixteen wooden tubes with a stopper at one end and open on the other.
Each tube is a different size (thereby producing a different tone), giving it a range of an octave and a
half. The player can then place their lips against the desired tube and blow across it.
Transverse flute: The Transverse flute is similar to the modern flute with a mouth hole near the
stoppered end and finger holes along the body. The player blows in the side and holds the flute to the
right side.
Recorder: The recorder is a common instrument still used today, often taught to children in
elementary schools. Rather than a reed it uses a whistler mouth piece, which is a beak shaped mouth
piece, as its main source of sound production. It is usually made with seven finger holes and a thumb
hole.
Characteristics of Music
During the Renaissance Period, vocal music was still more important then instrumental. A
humanistic interest in language created a close relationship between words and music during this
time. Composers began to write music to give deeper meaning and emotion to the words in their
songs. They wrote in a style referred to as word painting, where the music and words combine to
form a representation of poetic images. Renaissance music is very emotional music, although to us it
seems to be much calmer. This is because the emotion is expressed in a balanced way, without
extreme contrasts of dynamics, tone color, and rhythm. Renaissance music has a mostly polyphonic
texture, which means there are many lines of music being played at the same time. As opposed to
medieval times, this music has a more full sound, because the bass register was used, expanding the
range of music to about four octaves. Each line of melody has rhythmic independence, giving
Renaissance music a more flowing rhythm and not a sharply defined beat. The melodies are also
easy to sing because they move along scales with few large leaps.
Music in Society
Music was becoming more popular during this time. Much of this was due to the invention of
the printing press, which could circulate copies of music. The number of composers also began to
increase. The Renaissance had the ideal of the ―universal man‖ and believed that every educated
person was to be trained in music. Musicians still worked in the churches, courts, and towns. The
size of church choirs grew. But unlike the Middle Ages where just a few soloists performed in the
church, an entire male choir would now sing. Music was still important in the church, although it
has shifted more to the courts. The kings, princes, and dukes were all fine composers. One court
alone might have had ten to sixty composers consisting of vocalists and instrumentalists. There was
a music director for each court that would compose and direct the court‘s performers. The town
musicians would perform for civic processions, weddings, and religious services. Musicians now had
a higher status in society with better pay, and they wanted to be known and sought credit for their
work.
COMPOSERS OF THE RENAISSANCE
Antoine Brumel (1460-1520)
Jean de Castro (1540-1611)
John Dowland (1563-1626)
Thomas Morley (1557-1602)
Claudin de Sermisy (1490-1562)
The Baroque Age 1600-1750
Baroque music is the style of Western music extending approximately from 1600 to 1750.[1] This era
follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era. The word "baroque" comes
from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning "misshapen pearl"[2], a negative description of the ornate
and heavily ornamented music of this period; later, the name came to be applied also to
its architecture.
Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed,
and listened to. Composers of the baroque era include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric
Handel, Alessandro
Scarlatti, Antonio
Vivaldi,Georg
Philipp
Telemann, Jean-Baptiste
Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, François Couperin,Denis Gaultier, Claudio Monteverdi, Jean-Philippe
Rameau and Henry Purcell.
The baroque period saw the creation of functional tonality. During the period, composers and
performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes in musical notation, and
developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music expanded the size, range, and
complexity of instrumental performance, and also established opera as a musical genre. Many
musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use today.
Etymology
History of European art music
The term "Baroque" is generally used by music historians to describe a broad range of styles from a
wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a period of approximately 150 years. [1]
Although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact
it appears earlier in reference to music, in an anonymous, satirical review of the première in October
1733 of Rameau‘s Hippolyte et Aricie, printed in the Mercure de France in May 1734. The critic
implied that the novelty in this opera was "du barocque," complaining that the music lacked coherent
melody, was filled with unremitting dissonances, constantly changed key and meter, and speedily
ran through every compositional device.[1]
The systematic application by historians of the term "baroque" to music of this period is a relatively
recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first to apply the five characteristics
of Heinrich Wölfflin‘s theory of the Baroque systematically to music.[3] In English the term acquired
currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of Lang and Bukofzer. [1]
As late as 1960 there was still considerable dispute in academic circles, particularly in France and
Britain, whether it was meaningful to lump together music as diverse as that of Jacopo
Peri, Domenico Scarlatti, and J.S. Bach under a single rubric. Nevertheless, the term has become
widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. [1] It may be helpful to distinguish the
Baroque from both the preceding (Renaissance) and following (Classical) periods of musical history.
History
Early baroque music (1600–1654)
The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals in late
Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de' Bardi to discuss and
guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama. In reference to music, their ideals were based
on their perception of Classical (especially ancient Greek) musical drama, in which discourse and
oration was viewed with much importance.[4] As such, they rejected the use by their contemporaries
of polyphony and instrumental music, and discussed such ancient Greek music devices as monody,
which consisted of a solo singing accompanied by a kithara. The early realizations of these ideas,
including Jacopo Peri's Dafne and L'Euridice, marked the beginning of opera,[6] which in turn can be
considered to have marked the catalyst of Baroque music.
Concerning music theory, the more widespread use of figured bass (also known as "thorough bass")
represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear underpinnings of
polyphony.[8] Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured bass is a visual representation
of those harmonies commonly employed in musical performance. [9] Composers began concerning
themselves with harmonic progressions,[10] and also employed the tritone, perceived as an unstable
interval,[11] to create dissonance. Investment in harmony had also existed among certain composers
in the Renaissance, notably Carlo Gesualdo;[12]However, the use of harmony directed towards
tonality, rather than modality, marks the shift from the Renaissance into the Baroque
period.[13] This led to the idea that chords, rather than notes, could provide a sense of closure, which
is one of the fundamental ideas of what came to be known as tonality.
Italy formed one of the cornerstones of the new style, as the papacy—besieged byReformation but
with coffers fattened by the immense revenues flowing in from Habsburgconquest—searched for
artistic means to promote faith in the Roman Catholic Church. One of the most important musical
centers was Venice, which had both secular and sacred patronage available.[original research?]
Giovanni Gabrieli became one of the important transitional figures in the emergence of the new
style, although his work is largely considered to be in the "High Renaissance" manner. However, his
innovations were foundational to the new style. Among these are instrumentation (labeling
instruments specifically for specific tasks) and the use of dynamics. [original research?]
The demands of religion were also to make the text of sacred works clearer, and hence there was
pressure to move away from the densely layered polyphony of the Renaissance, to lines which put
the words front and center, or had a more limited range of imitation. This created the demand for a
more intricate weaving of the vocal line against backdrop, or homophony. [original research?]
Claudio Monteverdi became the most visible of a generation of composers who felt that there was a
secular means to this "modern" approach to harmony and text, and in 1607 his opera L'Orfeo became
the landmark which demonstrated the array of effects and techniques that were associated with this
new school, calledseconda pratica, to distinguish it from the older style or prima pratica. Monteverdi
was a master of both, producing precisely styled madrigals that extended the forms of Luca
Marenzio and Giaches de Wert. But it is his pieces in the new style which became the most
influential. These included features which are recognizable even to the end of the baroque period,
including use of idiomatic writing, virtuoso flourishes, and the use of new techniques. [original research?]
This musical language proved to be international, as Heinrich Schütz, a German composer who
studied in Venice under both Gabrieli and later Monteverdi, used it to the liturgical needs of
the Elector of Saxony and served as the choir master in Dresden.
Middle baroque music (1654–1707)
The rise of the centralized court is one of the economic and political features of what is often labelled
the Age of Absolutism, personified by Louis XIV of France. The style of palace, and the court system
of manners and arts which he fostered, became the model for the rest of Europe. The realities of
rising church and state patronage created the demand for organized public music, as the increasing
availability of instruments created the demand for chamber music. This included the availability of
keyboard instruments.
The middle Baroque is separated from the early Baroque by the coming of systematic thinking to the
new style and a gradual institutionalization of the forms and norms, particularly in opera. As with
literature, the printing press and trade created an expanded international audience for works and
greater cross-pollination between national centres of musical activity.
The middle Baroque, in music theory, is identified by the increasingly harmonic focus of musical
practice and the creation of formal systems of teaching. Music was an art, and it came to be seen as
one that should be taught in an orderly manner. This culminated in the later work of Johann Fux in
systematizing counterpoint.
One pre-eminent example of a court style composer is Jean-Baptiste Lully. His career rose
dramatically when he collaborated with Molière on a series of comédie-ballets, that is, plays with
dancing. He used this success to become the sole composer of operas for the king, using not just
innovative musical ideas such as the tragédie lyrique, but patents from the king which prevented
others from having operas staged. Lully's instinct for providing the material that his monarch
desired has been pointed out by almost every biographer, including his rapid shift to church music
when the mood at court became more devout. His 13 completed lyric tragedies are based on libretti
that focus on the conflicts between the public and private life of the monarch.
Musically, he explored contrast between stately and fully orchestrated sections, and simple
recitatives and airs. In no small part, it was his skill in assembling and practicing musicians into an
orchestra which was essential to his success and influence. Observers noted the precision and
intonation, this in an age where there was no standard for tuning instruments. One essential
element was the increased focus on the inner voices of the harmony and the relationship to the
soloist. He also established the string-dominated norm for orchestras.
Arcangelo Corelli is remembered as influential for his achievements on the other side of musical
technique— as a violinist who organized violin technique and pedagogy— and in purely
instrumental music, particularly his advocacy and development of the concerto grosso. Whereas
Lully was ensconced at court, Corelli was one of the first composers to publish widely and have his
music performed all over Europe. As with Lully's stylization and organization of the opera, the
concerto grosso is built on strong contrasts— sections alternate between those played by the full
orchestra, and those played by a smaller group. Dynamics were "terraced", that is with a sharp
transition from loud to soft and back again. Fast sections and slow sections were juxtaposed against
each other. Numbered among his students is Antonio Vivaldi, who later composed hundreds of works
based on the principles in Corelli's trio sonatas and concerti.
In England the middle Baroque produced a cometary genius in Henry Purcell, who, despite dying at
age 36, produced a profusion of music and was widely recognized in his lifetime. He was familiar
with the innovations of Corelli and other Italian style composers; however, his patrons were
different, and his musical output was prodigious. Rather than being a painstaking craftsman,
Purcell was a fluid composer who was able to shift from simple anthems and useful music such as
marches, to grandly scored vocal music and music for the stage. His catalogue runs to over 800
works. He was also one of the first great keyboard composers, whose work still has influence and
presence.
In contrast to these composers, Dieterich Buxtehude was not a creature of court but instead was an
organist and entrepreneurial presenter of music. Rather than publishing, he relied on performance
for his income, and rather than royal patronage, he shuttled between vocal settings for sacred music,
and organ music that he performed. His output is not as fabulous or diverse, because he was not
constantly being called upon for music to meet an occasion. Buxtehude's employment of contrast was
between the free, often improvisatory sections, and more strict sections worked out contrapuntally.
This procedure would be highly influential on later composers such as Bach, who took the contrast
between free and strict to greater heights.
Late baroque music (1680–1750)
The dividing line between middle and late Baroque is a matter of some debate. Dates for the
beginning of "late" baroque style range from 1680 to 1720. In no small part this is because there was
not one synchronized transition; different national styles experienced changes at different rates and
at different times. Italy is generally regarded as the first country to move to the late baroque style.
The important dividing line in most histories of baroque music is the full absorption of tonality as a
structuring principle of music. This was particularly evident in the wake of theoretical work by Jean-
Philippe Rameau, who replaced Lully as the important French opera composer. At the same time,
through the work ofJohann Fux, the Renaissance style of polyphony was made the basis for the
study of counterpoint. The combination of modal counterpoint with tonal logic of cadences created
the sense that there were two styles of composition— the homophonic dominated by vertical
considerations and the polyphonic dominated by imitation and contrapuntal considerations.
The forms which had begun to be established in the previous era flourished and were given wider
range of diversity; concerto, suite, sonata, concerto grosso, oratorio, opera and ballet all saw a
proliferation of national styles and structures. The overall form of pieces was generally simple, with
repeated binary forms (AABB), simple three part forms (ABC), and rondeau forms being common.
These schematics in turn influenced later composers.
Antonio Vivaldi is a figure who was forgotten in concert music making for much of the 19th century,
only to be revived in the 20th century. Born in Venice in 1678, he began as an ordained priest of the
Catholic Church but ceased to say Mass by 1703. Around the same time he was appointed maestro di
violino at a Venetian girls' orphanage with which he had a professional relationship until nearly the
end of his life. Vivaldi's reputation came not from having an orchestra or court appointment, but
from his published works, including trio sonatas, violin sonatas and concerti. They were published
in Amsterdam and circulated widely through Europe.
It is in these instrumental genres of baroque sonata and baroque concerto, which were still evolving,
that Vivaldi's most important contributions were made. He settled on certain patterns, such as a
fast-slow-fast three-movement plan for works, and the use of ritornello in the fast movements, and
explored the possibilities in hundreds of works— 550 concerti alone. He also used programmatic
titles for works, such as his famous "The Four Seasons" violin concerti. Vivaldi's career reflects a
growing possibility for a composer to be able to support himself by his publications, tour to promote
his own works, and have an independent existence.
Domenico Scarlatti was one of the leading keyboard virtuosi of his day, who took the road of being a
royal court musician, first inPortugal and then, starting in 1733, in Madrid, Spain, where he spent
the rest of his life. His father, Alessandro Scarlatti, was a member of the Neapolitan School of opera
and has been credited with being among its most skilled members. Domenico also wrote operas and
church music, but it is the publication of his keyboard works, which spread more widely after his
death, which have secured him a lasting place of reputation. Many of these works were written for
his own playing but others for his royal patrons. As with his father, his fortunes were closely tied to
his ability to secure, and keep, royal favour.
Perhaps the most famous composer to be associated with royal patronage was George Frideric
Handel, who was born in Germany, studied for three years in Italy, and went to London in 1711,
which was his base of operations for a long and profitable career that included independently
produced operas and commissions for nobility. He was constantly searching for successful
commercial formulas, in opera, and then in oratorios in English. A continuous worker, Handel
borrowed from others and often recycled his own material. He was also known for reworking pieces
such as the famousMessiah, which premiered in 1742, for available singers and musicians. Even as
his economic circumstances rose and fell with his productions, his reputation, based on published
keyboard works, ceremonial music, constant stagings of operas and oratorios and concerti grossi,
grew tremendously.
By the time of his death, he was regarded as the leading composer in Europe and was studied by
later classical-era musicians. Handel, because of his very public ambitions, rested a great deal of his
output on melodic resource combined with a rich performance tradition of improvisation and
counterpoint. The practice of ornamentation in the Baroque style was at a very high level of
development under his direction. He travelled all over Europe to engage singers and learn the music
of other composers, and thus he had among the widest acquaintance of other styles of any composer.
Johann Sebastian Bach has, over time, come to be seen as the towering figure of Baroque music,
with what Béla Bartók described as "a religion" surrounding him. During the baroque period, he was
better known as a teacher, administrator and performer than composer, being less famous than
either Handel or Georg Philipp Telemann. Born in Eisenach in 1685 to a musical family, he received
an extensive early education and was considered to have an excellent boy soprano voice. He held a
variety of posts as an organist, rapidly gaining in fame for his virtuosity and ability. In 1723 he
settled at the post which he was associated with for virtually the rest of his life: cantor and director
of music for Leipzig. His varied experience allowed him to become the town's leader of music both
secular and sacred, teacher of its musicians, and leading musical figure. He began his term in
Leipzig by composing a church cantata for every Sunday and holiday of the Liturgical year, resulting
in annual cycles of cantatas, namely his second cycle of Chorale cantatas. About 200 sacred cantatas
are extant.
Bach created the grand scale works St John Passion, the St Matthew Passion, theChristmas
Oratorio, spanning six feast days, and the Mass in B minor. Bach's musical innovations plumbed the
depths and the outer limits of the Baroque homophonic and polyphonic forms. He was a virtual
catalogue of every contrapuntal device possible and every acceptable means of creating webs of
harmony with the chorale. As a result, his works in the form of the fugue coupled with preludes and
toccatas for organ, and the baroque concerto forms, have become fundamental in both performance
and theoretical technique. Virtually every instrument and ensemble of the age— except for the
theatre genres— is represented copiously in his output. Bach's teachings became prominent in the
classical and romantic eras as composers rediscovered the harmonic and melodic subtleties of his
works.
Georg Philipp Telemann was the most famous instrumental composer of his time, and massively
prolific— even by the standards of an age where composers had to produce large volumes of music.
His two most important positions – director of music in Frankfurt in 1712 and in 1721 director of
music of the Johanneum in Hamburg – required him to compose vocal and instrumental music for
secular and sacred contexts. He composed two complete cantata cycles for Sunday services, as well as
sacred oratorios. Telemann also founded a periodical that published new music, much of it by
Telemann. This dissemination of music made him a composer with an international audience, as
evidenced by his successful trip to Paris in 1731. Some of his finest works were in the 1750s and
1760s, when the Baroque style was being replaced by simpler styles but were popular at the time
and afterwards. Among these late works are Der Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus) 1755, "Die DonnerOde" (The Ode of Thunder) 1756, "Die Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu" (The Resurrection and
Ascension of Jesus) 1760 and "Der Tag des Gerichts" (The Day of Judgement) 1762.
Influence on later music
Transition to the Classical era (1740–1780)
The Flute Concert of Sanssouci by Adolph von Menzel, 1852, depicts Frederick the Great playing the
flute as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach accompanies on the keyboard. The audience includes Bach's
colleagues as well as nobles.
The phase between the late Baroque and the early Classical era, with its broad mixture of competing
ideas and attempts to unify the different demands of taste, economics and "worldview", goes by many
names. It is sometimes called "Galant", "Rococo", or "pre-Classical", or at other times, "early
Classical". It is a period where composers still working in the Baroque style were still successful, if
sometimes thought of as being more of the past than the present—Bach, Handel and Telemann all
composed well beyond the point at which the homophonic style is clearly in the ascendant. Musical
culture was caught at a crossroads: the masters of the older style had the technique, but the public
hungered for the new. This is one of the reasons Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was held in such high
regard: he understood the older forms quite well and knew how to present them in new garb, with an
enhanced variety of form; he went far in overhauling the older forms from the Baroque.
The practice of the baroque era was the standard against which newcomposition was measured, and
there came to be a division between sacred works, which held more closely to the Baroque style from
secular or "profane" works, which were in the new style.
Especially in the Catholic countries of central Europe, the baroque style continued to be represented
in sacred music through the end of the eighteenth century, in much the way that the stile antico of
the Renaissance continued to live in the sacred music of the early 17th century. The masses and
oratorios of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, while Classical in their orchestration and
ornamentation, have many Baroque features in their underlying contrapuntal and harmonic
structure. The decline of the baroque saw various attempts to mix old and new techniques, and many
composers who continued to hew to the older forms well into the 1780s. Many cities in Germany
continued to maintain performance practices from the Baroque into the 1790s, including Leipzig,
where J.S. Bach worked to the end of his life.
In England, the enduring popularity of Handel ensured the success of Charles Avison, William
Boyce, and Thomas Arne—among other accomplished imitators—well into the 1780s, who competed
alongside Mozart and Bach. In Continental Europe, however, it was considered an old-fashioned way
of writing and was a requisite for graduation from the burgeoning number ofconservatories of music,
and otherwise reserved only for use in sacred works.
After 1760
Because baroque music was the basis for pedagogy, it retained a stylistic influence even after it had
ceased to be the style of composing or of music making. Even as Baroque practice fell out of use, it
continued to be part of musical notation. In the early 19th century, scores by baroque masters were
printed in complete edition, and this led to a renewed interest in the "strict style" of counterpoint, as
it was then called. WithFelix Mendelssohn's revival of Bach's choral music, the baroque style became
an influence through the 19th century as a paragon of academic and formal purity.
In the 20th century, Baroque was named as a period, and its music began to be studied.
There are several instances of contemporary pieces being published as "rediscovered" Baroque
masterworks. Some examples of this include a viola concerto written by Henri Casadesus but
attributed to Johann Christian Bach, as well as several pieces attributed by Fritz Kreisler to lesserknown figures of the Baroque such as Gaetano Pugnani andPadre Martini. Alessandro
Parisotti attributed his aria for voice and piano, "Se tu m'ami", to Pergolesi.
Various works have been labelled "neo-baroque" for a focus on imitative polyphony, including the
works of Giacinto Scelsi, Paul Hindemith, Paul Creston and Bohuslav Martinů, even though they are
not in the baroque style proper. Musicologists attempted to complete various works from the
Baroque, most notably Bach's ‗‘The Art of Fugue‘‘. Composer Peter Schickele parodies classical and
baroque styles under the pen namePDQ Bach.
Baroque performance practice had a renewed influence with the rise of "Authentic" orHistorically
informed performance in the late 20th century. Texts by Johann Joachim Quantz and Leopold
Mozart among others, formed the basis for performances which attempted to recover some of the
aspects of baroque sound world, including one-on-a-part performance of works by Bach, use of gut
strings rather than metal, reconstructed harpsichords, use of older playing techniques and styles.
Several popular ensembles adopted some or all of these techniques, including the Anonymous 4,
the Academy of Ancient Music, Boston's Handel and Haydn Society, William Christie's Les Arts
Florissants, Sigiswald Kuijken's La Petite Bande and others.
Characteristics of Music
Unlike the previous two periods in music, the Baroque Age was a time of unity. Most musical
pieces of this time expressed one mood throughout the whole piece. These moods were conveyed
through a musical language with specific rhythms and melodic patterns. One exception to the
unified mood is vocal music. There would be drastic changes in emotion, but they would still convey
one mood for a long period in the piece. One thing that helps the unity of mood was the continuity of
rhythm of this time. The rhythm is maintained throughout the entire piece creating a drive and feel
of forward motion that goes uninterrupted. Along with mood and rhythm, the melody is also
continuous. The melodies tend to be varied throughout the piece and many are elaborate and
difficult to sing or remember. They do not give an impression of balance and symmetry; many times
a short opening phrase is followed by a longer one with a flow of rapid notes. Dynamics are in the
same category with the other characteristics; they are usually continuous. The dynamics in Baroque
music have a term called terraced dynamics. This means that the dynamics usually stay the same
for a while, but shift suddenly. Much of the Baroque music was played in a polyphonic texture with
multiple melodic lines. People of this time believed that music could move the listener in more ways
than one. Opera was a major ideal for this belief.
Music in Society
There was a new demand for music now. Churches, aristocratic courts, opera houses, and
municipalities wanted music. Composers were pressured to write new music because audiences did
not want to hear pieces of music in the ―old-fashioned‖ style. The composers of the courts were paid
well and more prestigious, but they were still considered a servant of the court. They could not quit
nor vacation without the patron‘s permission. The demand for music in the church was greater so
they employed musicians, although they were paid less and had less status than the court
musicians. In the Baroque Age, a person became a musician usually by being the son of a musician
or an apprentice. An apprentice would live in the musician‘s home and in return for instruction the
young boy would do odd jobs for the musician. Orphanages would give thorough musical training to
both the boys and girls who lived there. The word conservatory, which today means a music school,
originated from the Latin word for orphans‘ home. Musicians usually had to pass a difficult test in
order to receive a job. The test was usually performing and submitting compositions, but sometimes
the test consisted of nonmusical requirements. The musician might have had to contribute to the
town‘s treasury, or marrying the daughter of a retiring musician. The Baroque Age began the sprout
of music in society, and it continued to blossom further.
COMPOSERS OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Wilhelm Friedman Bach (1710-1784)
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Antonin Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Baroque instruments
Baroque instruments including hurdy gurdy, harpsichord, bass viol, lute, violin, and guitar.
Strings
Violino piccolo,Violin,Viol,Viola, Viola d'amore,Viola pomposa
Tenor violin,Cello,Contrabass,Lute,Theorbo,Archlute,Angélique,Mandolin
GuitarHarpHurdy gurdy
Woodwinds
Baroque flute, Chalumeau,Cortol (also known as Cortholt, Curtall, Oboe family)
Dulcian,Musette de cour,Baroque oboe, Rackett,Recorder
Brasses
Baroque trumpet,Cornett, Horn,Serpent,Sackbut
Keyboards
Clavichord,Tangent piano
Fortepiano – early version of piano
Harpsichord, Organ
Styles and forms
The Baroque suite
The Baroque suite often consists of the following movements:
Overture – The Baroque suite often began with a French overture ("Ouverture" in French), which
was followed by a succession of dances of different types.
Allemande – Often the first dance of an instrumental suite, the allemande was a very popular dance
that had its origins in the German Renaissance era, when it was more often called the almain. The
allemande was played at a moderate tempo and could start on any beat of the bar.
Courante – The courante is a lively, French dance in triple meter. The Italian version is called the
corrente.
Sarabande – The sarabande, a Spanish dance, is one of the slowest of the baroque dances. It is also
in triple meter and can start on any beat of the bar, although there is an emphasis on the second
beat, creating the characteristic 'halting', or iambic rhythm of the sarabande. [14][15]
Gigue – The gigue is an upbeat and lively baroque dance in compound meter, typically the
concluding movement of an instrumental suite. The gigue can start on any beat of the bar and is
easily recognized by its rhythmic feel. The gigue originated in the British Isles. Its counterpart in
folk music is the jig.
These four dance types make up the majority of 17th century suites; later suites interpolate
additional movements between the sarabande and gigue:
Gavotte – The gavotte can be identified by a variety of features; it is in 4/4 time and always starts on
the third beat of the bar, although this may sound like the first beat in some cases, as the first and
third beats are the strong beats in quadruple time. The gavotte is played at a moderate tempo,
although in some cases it may be played faster.[14]
Bourrée – The bourrée is similar to the gavotte as it is in 2/2 time although it starts on the second
half of the last beat of the bar, creating a different feel to the dance. The bourrée is commonly played
at a moderate tempo, although for some composers, such as Handel, it can be taken at a much faster
tempo.
Minuet – The minuet is perhaps the best-known of the baroque dances in triple meter. It can start on
any beat of the bar. In some suites there may be a Minuet I and II, played in succession, with the
Minuet I repeated.
Passepied – The passepied is a fast dance in binary form and triple meter that originated as a court
dance in Brittany. Examples can be found in later suites such as those of Bach and Handel. [14]
Rigaudon – The rigaudon is a lively French dance in duple meter, similar to the bourrée, but
rhythmically simpler. It originated as a family of closely related southern-French folk dances,
traditionally associated with the provinces of Vavarais, Languedoc, Dauphiné, and Provence.
Other features
Basso continuo – a kind of continuous accompaniment notated with a new music notation
system, figured bass, usually for a sustaining bass instrument and a keyboard instrument.
The concerto and concerto grosso
Monody – music for one melodic voice with accompaniment, characteristic of the early 17th century,
especially in Italy
Homophony – music with one melodic voice and rhythmically similar accompaniment (this and
monody are contrasted with the typical Renaissance texture, polyphony)[19]
Dramatic musical forms like opera, dramma per musica
Combined instrumental-vocal forms, such as the oratorio and cantata
New instrumental techniques, like tremolo and pizzicato
Clear and linear melody
Notes inégales – a technique of playing pairs of notes of equal written length (typically eighth notes)
with a "swung" rhythm, alternating longer and shorter values in pairs, the degree of inequality
varying according to context. Particularly characteristic of French performance practice.
The aria
The ritornello aria – repeated short instrumental interruptions of vocal passages.
The concertato style – contrast in sound between orchestra and solo-instruments or small groups of
instruments.
Precise instrumental scoring (in the Renaissance, exact instrumentation for ensemble playing was
rarely indicated)
Virtuosic instrumental and vocal writing, with appreciation for virtuosity as such
Extensive Ornamentation
Development to modern Western tonality (major and minor scales)
Cadenza (an extended virtuosic section for the soloist usually near the end of a movement of a
concerto).
Genres
Vocal
Opera, Zarzuela, Opera seria, Opera comique, Opera-ballet, Masque, Oratorio
Passion (music),Cantata, Mass (music), Anthem,Monody, Chorale
Instrumental
Chorale composition, Concerto grosso, Fugue,Suite, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande,
Gigue,Gavotte, Minuet, Sonata, Sonata da camera,Sonata da chiesa,Trio sonata,Partita, Canzona,
Sinfonia, Fantasia,Ricercar, Toccata,Prelude, Chaconne, Passacaglia,Chorale prelude,Stylus
fantasticus
The Classical Period 1750-1820
Montage of some great classical music composers. From left to right:
Top row – Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van
Beethoven;
second row – Gioachino Rossini, Felix Mendelssohn, Frédéric Chopin,Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi;
third row – Johann Strauss II, Johannes Brahms, Georges Bizet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Antonín Dvořák;
bottom row – Edvard Grieg, Edward Elgar, Sergei Rachmaninoff,George Gershwin, Aram Khachaturian
Classical
music is
the art
music produced
in,
or
rooted
in,
the
traditions
of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century
to present times.[1] The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900,
which is known as the common practice period.
European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms
by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century.[2] Western staff notation is used
by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact
execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices such as improvisation and ad
libitumornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music and popular music.
The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize"
the period from Johann Sebastian Bach toBeethoven as a golden age.[6] The earliest reference to
"classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.
Characteristics of Music
The Classical Period of music differs from the Baroque Age in that is does not value the
fluidity and smoothness of the individual elements of music. There are contrasts of mood; many of
the pieces in classical music will convey numerous moods. The moods may be a gradual change or a
sudden change, depending on the composer, but the composer always has a firm control. Rhythm is
another element that is varied in classical music. Unlike the Baroque Age of fluid rhythm that
rarely changes, classical composers used unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes in
length of the notes. The texture in classical music in mainly homophonic, meaning there is a main
melody backed with a progression of chords, although, like the rhythm, it can also change
unexpectedly. The melodies in classical music have an easy tune to remember. Although they may
be complex compositions, there is usually a basic melody to follow. They are often balanced and
symmetrical with two phrases of the same length. The widespread use of dynamic change comes
from the composer‘s interests in expressing their different layers of
emotions. The crescendo and decrescendo became increasingly used to
get the audience more involved. The gradual shift from using a piano
instead of the harpsichord came from this desire to have more dynamic
changes. Unlike the harpsichord, the piano allows the player to adjust
the dynamic by pressing harder or softer on the keys. Most classical
composers began to want to control their own music, not make music
according to what someone else wanted.
Literature
The most outstanding characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down
in musical notation, creating a musical part or score. This score typically determines details of
rhythm, pitch, and, where two or more musicians (whether singers or instrumentalists) are involved,
how the various parts are coordinated. The written quality of the music has, in addition to
preserving the works, enabled a high level of complexity within them: Bach's fugues, for instance,
achieve a remarkable marriage of boldly distinctive melodic lines weaving in counterpoint yet
creating a coherent harmonic logic that would be impossible in the heat of live improvisation.[9]
[edit]Instrumentation
The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.
The instruments used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century
(often much earlier), and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments
found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as the piano, harpsichord,
and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music. [10] The
orchestra includes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families.
Electric instruments such as the electric guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th
and 21st centuries. Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades
with electronic instrumentssuch as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use
of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such
as thegamelan.
None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are
divided in two categories: loud instruments for use outdoors or in church, and quieter instruments
for indoor use. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with
trumpets and timpani.[10] Many instruments today associated with popular music filled important
roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies, and some woodwind
instruments. On the other hand, instruments such as the acoustic guitar, once associated mainly
with popular music, gained prominence in classical music in the 19th and 20th centuries.
While equal temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during
the 18th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods.
For
instance,
music
of
the English
Renaissance is
often
performed
inmeantone temperament. Keyboards almost all share a common layout (often called the piano
keyboard).
[edit]Form
Whereas most popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music has been noted for its
development of highly sophisticated forms of instrumental music: [11] these include the
concerto, symphony, sonata, suite, étude, symphonic poem, and others.
Classical composers often aspire to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its
affective (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most
esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical
idea or motif is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The sonata form and fugue employ
rigorous forms of musical development.
The other notable form in classical music is opera.
[edit]Technical execution
Along with a desire for composers to attain high technical achievement in writing their music,
performers of classical music are faced with similar goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by
the proportionately high amount of schooling and private study most successful classical musicians
have had when compared to "popular" genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools,
including conservatories, dedicated to the study of classical music. The only other genre in the
Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz.
[edit]Complexity
Professional performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of proficiency
in sight-reading and ensemble playing, thorough understanding of tonal and harmonic principles,
knowledge of performance practice, and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a
given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically
trained musician.
Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use
of thematic development, phrasing, harmonization,modulation (change of key), texture, and, of
course, musical form itself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of thesymphony, concerto,
opera or oratorio, for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting
of phrases, periods,sections, and movements. Musical analysis of a composition aims at achieving
greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful hearing and a greater appreciation of the
composer's style.
Music in Society
During the eighteenth century, the economy began rising and people starting making more
money. The prospering middle class could afford larger homes, nicer clothes and better food. They
also wanted aristocratic luxuries such as theatre, literature, and music. The middle class had a
great impact on music in the Classical Period. The palace concerts were usually closed to the middle
class, so public concerts were held. Many people were not satisfied with always going to concerts to
listen to music; they wanted it in their homes as well. They wanted their children to take music
lessons and play as well as the aristocratic children. Many composers wrote music to appease the
public and their music was often easy enough for amateur musicians to play.
COMPOSERS OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
Carl Philip Stamitz (1745-1801)
The Romantic Period 1820-1900
Romantic music is a term describing a style of Western classical music that began in the
late 18th or early 19th century. It was related to and in Germany dominated Romanticism,
the artistic and literary movement that arose in the second half of the 18th century
in Europe.
Romantic music as a movement evolved from the formats, genres and musical ideas
established in earlier periods, such as the classical period, and went further in the name of
expression and syncretism of different art forms with music. Romanticism does not
necessarily refer to romantic love, though that theme was prevalent in many works
composed during this time period, both in literature, painting, or music. Romanticism
followed a path that led to the expansion of formal structures for a composition set down or
at least created in their general outlines in earlier periods, and the end result is that the
pieces are "understood" to be more passionate and expressive, both by 19th century and
today's audiences. Because of the expansion of form (those elements pertaining to form, key,
instrumentation and the like) within a typical composition, and the growing idiosyncrasies
and expressiveness of the new composers from the new century, it thus became easier to
identify an artist based on his work or style
Romantic music attempted to increase emotional expression and power to describe deeper
truths or human feelings, while preserving but in many cases extending the formal
structures from the classical period, in others, creating new forms that were deemed better
suited to the new subject matter. The subject matter in the new music was now not only
purely abstract, but also frequently drawn from other art-form sources such as literature,
or history (historical figures) or nature itself.
Romanticism
The Romantic movement was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the
second half of the 18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to theIndustrial
Revolution (Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.). In part, it was a revolt against social and political norms
of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientificrationalization of nature (Casey
2008). It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major
impact on historiography (Levin 1967,[page needed]), education (Gutek 1987, ch. 12 on Johann Heinrich
Pestalozzi[page needed]) and natural history (Nichols 2005,
Musical language
The term Romanticism, when applied to music, can be viewed as an artistic response to social,
cultural, economic and political influences that had their beginning in the early nineteenth century
and lasted through the twentieth century
The effects of Romanticism in music
A freedom in form and design; a more intense personal expression of emotion in which fantasy,
imagination and a quest for adventure play an important part.
Emphasis on lyrical, songlike melodies; adventurous modulation; richer harmonies, often chromatic,
with striking use of discords.
Greater sense of ambiguity: especially in tonality or harmonic function, but also in rhythm or meter.
Denser, weightier textures with bold dramatic contrasts, exploring a wider range of pitch, dynamics
and tone-colours.
Expansion of the orchestra, sometimes to gigantic proportions; the invention of the valve system
leads to development of the brass section whose weight and power often dominate the texture.
Rich variety of types of piece, ranging from songs and fairly short piano pieces to huge musical
canvasses with lengthy time-span structures with spectacular, dramatic, and dynamic climaxes.
Closer links with other arts lead to a keener interest in programme music (programme
symphony, symphonic poem, concert overture).
Shape and unity brought to lengthy works by use of recurring themes (sometimes
transformed/developed): idée fixe (Berlioz), thematic transformations (Liszt), Leitmotif (Wagner),
motto theme.
Greater technical virtuosity – especially from pianists, violinists and flautists.
The idea of instrumental music composed without reference to anything other than itself.
The elevation of the performer as genius as demonstrated through the virtuosity of Paganini and
Liszt.
Characteristics of Music
The Romantic Period was a time when emotion was poured into the music. Each composer had
an individual style and expression. Music lovers could quickly decipher the composer of a piece of
music because of its style. Many of the compositions convey nationalism and exoticism. Nationalism
is expressed when a composer writes in the style of their native homeland. Exoticism was a style of
music in which the composer was fascinated with a foreign land and would create music to sound
like it. Composers used exoticism to keep up with their obsessions with remote, picturesque, and
mysterious things. Program music was a huge part of the Romantic Period. This is when the
composer would write music to follow a story, poem, idea, or scene. The instruments would
represent the emotions, characters, and events of a particular story; it would also convey sounds and
motion of nature. One of the greatest program music composers was Hector Berlioz, who wrote the
Symphonie fantastique, a story about an artist who overdoses on opium. Timbre, or tone color, was
used more now than ever before. It was extremely important to the composer to obtain their specific
mood or atmosphere that they wanted the audience to feel. Along with new tone colors, composers
also sought new harmonies for greater emotional intensity. They began using the chromatic
harmony, which uses chords from the twelve tone scale as opposed to the major and minor eight tone
scales. By doing this they could use more tension and release methods. They would play extremely
dissonant chords, and then release it with a more stable consonant chord to create feelings of
yearning, tension, and mystery. To follow the expansion of timbre, and harmonies, dynamics, pitch,
and tempo were also expanded. Composers used extreme dynamics ranging from pppp to ffff, which
is extremely soft to extremely loud. Composers experimented with new instruments, such as the
piccolo and contrabassoon to expand the pitches of the orchestra. The other thing they varied was
tempo. Accelerandos and ritardandos were used more for variety along with the rubato, a hesitation
or pushing of the tempo.
Music in Society
In the earlier periods of music, composers had specific jobs, such as writing for churches or
courts. In the Romantic Period, more composers became freelancers; Beethoven was one of the
first. He inspired many others to freelance and compose for their own pleasure. Much of the music
of this time was written for the middle class because they prospered due to the industrial
revolution. Because of this demand from the middle class, public orchestras and operas became
more popular. Conservatories began forming in the first half of the nineteenth century throughout
Europe. The United States also welcomed conservatories inChicago, Cleveland, Boston, Ohio, and
Philadelphia during the later nineteenth century. Music became a big part of the home; many
families had pianos of their own. Much of the orchestra music was transcribed for the piano for
private use. Many composers did not have financial wealth; only a few had money to support them
in their suffering times.
COMPOSERS OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
Arrigo Boito (1842-1918)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
The Twentieth Century 1900-1945
20th-century music is defined by the sudden emergence of advanced technology for
recording and distributing music as well as dramatic innovations in musical forms and
styles. Because music was no longer limited to concerts, opera-houses, clubs, and domestic
music-making, it became possible for music artists to quickly gain global recognition and
influence.
Twentieth-century music brought new freedom and wide experimentation with new musical
styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of music of earlier periods. Faster
modes of transportation allowed musicians and fans to travel more widely to perform or
listen. Amplification permitted giant concerts to be heard by those with the least expensive
tickets, and the inexpensive reproduction and transmission or broadcast of music gave rich
and poor alike nearly equal access to high-quality music performances.
Characteristics of Music
During the Twentieth Century, tone color became more important than ever before. Many
techniques that were considered uncommon before were being used during this time. Many
composers used noiselike and percussive instruments. The glissando, a rapid slide up or down the
scales, was used more. The percussion instruments became a major part of twentieth century
music. They helped give variety of rhythm and tone colors. The music did not blend as well as it did
during the Romantic times because the composer often wrote for each different section of the
orchestra to have a different tone color. Prior to 1900, chords in music were either considered
consonant of dissonant. Dissonant chords were becoming just as common as consonant chords. The
composer was no longer tied down to using traditional chords; what they did was up to them and
what sound they wanted to achieve. Another key element of the Twentieth Century was the sway
from the traditional tonal system. From the 1600‘s up to the 1900‘s, songs had a central tone, and
were based on a major or minor scale. Many composers now were getting away from the major and
minor scales, and would sometimes have more than one central tone. Just as composers were
expanding their tonal abilities, they expanded their rhythmic patterns. Many emphasized
irregularity and unpredictability. The different rhythmic patterns were drawn from all over the
world. The time signature would often change in the middle of piece. Accents and other rhythmic
irregularities would come unexpectedly. Composers also wrote polyrhythmic music, where more
than one rhythm would be played at the same time by different sections. With all the different tone
colors, tonal systems, and varied rhythms, melodies of the twentieth century became unpredictable.
Music in Society
Music has become an even greater part of society now, because of recordings, radio broadcasts,
and the ability to mass print copies of music for anyone to play in the convenience of their home. At
the beginning of the twentieth century, though, many people did not accept these outrageous new
styles of music, so the composers mostly performed their less dramatic pieces in concerts. Women
became more active in the music world as composers, virtuoso soloists, and educators. During the
wars, women joined the orchestras as players and conductors. During Hitler‘s reign in Europe, many
composers moved to the U.S. to look for work. The United States became a powerful force for
twentieth century music. Jazz, country, and other popular music swept the world. American colleges
and universities have expanded music throughout the nation, educating countless numbers of
students. These colleges and universities now are what the churches and nobility were in the past.
COMPOSERS OF THE 2OTH CENTURY
Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Carlos Chavez (1899-1978)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Composer Igor Stravinsky as drawn by Picasso
Modernism
In the early 20th century, many composers, including Rachmaninoff, Richard
Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, and Edward Elgar, continued to work in forms and in a musical
language that derived from the 19th century. However, modernism in music became
increasingly
prominent
and
important;
among
the
most
important modernists were Alexander
Scriabin, Claude
Debussy,
and
postWagnerian composers such as Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, who experimented with
form, tonality and orchestration.[1] Busoni, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Schreker were
already recognized before 1914 as modernists, and Ives was retrospectively also included in
this category for his challenges to the uses of tonality.[1] Composers such as Ravel, Milhaud,
and Gershwin combined classical and jazz idioms.
Nationalism
Late-Romantic and modernist nationalism was found also in British, American, and LatinAmerican music of the early 20th century. Composers such as Ralph Vaughan
Williams, Aaron Copland,Carlos Chávez, and Heitor Villa-Lobos used folk themes collected
by themselves or others in many of their major compositions.
Microtonal music
In the early decades of the 20th century composers such as Julián Carrillo, Mildred
Couper, Alois Hába, Charles Ives, Erwin Schulhoff,Ivan Wyschnegradsky turned their
attention to quarter tones (24 equal pitches per octave), and other finer divisions. In the
middle of the century composers such as Harry Partch and Ben Johnston explored just
intonation. In the second half of the century, prominent composers employing microtonality
included Easley Blackwood, Jr., Wendy Carlos, Adriaan Fokker, Terry Riley, Ezra
Sims, Karlheinz Stockhausen, La Monte Young, and Iannis Xenakis.
Neoclassicism
A dominant trend in music composed from 1923 to 1950 was neoclassicism, a reaction
against the exaggerated gestures and formlessness of late Romanticism which revived the
balanced forms and clearly perceptible thematic processes of earlier styles. There were
three distinct "schools" of neoclassicism, associated with Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith,
and Arnold Schoenberg. Similar sympathies in the second half of the century are generally
subsumed under the heading "postmodernism"
Experimental music
A compositional tradition arose in the mid-20th century—particularly in North America—
called "experimental music". Its most famous and influential exponent was John
Cage.[3] According to Cage, "an experimental action is one the outcome of which is not
foreseen",[4]and he was specifically interested in completed works that performed an
unpredictable action
Minimalism
Minimalist music, involving a simplification of materials and intensive repetition of motives
began in the late 1950s with the composersTerry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.
Later, minimalism was adapted to a more traditional symphonic setting by composers
including Reich, Glass, and John Adams. Minimalism was practiced heavily throughout the
latter half of the century and has carried over into the 21st century, as well as composers
like Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki and John Tavener working in the holy minimalism variant.
For more examples see List of 20th-century classical composers.
Contemporary classical music
In the broadest sense, contemporary music is any music being written in the present day.
In the context of classical music the term is informally applied to music written in the last
half century or so, particularly works post-1960, though standard reference works do not
consistently follow this definition. Since it is a word that describes a movable time frame,
rather than a particular style or unifying idea, there are no universally agreed on criteria
for making these distinctions.
Many composers working in the early 21st century were prominent figures in the 20th
century. Some younger composers such asOliver Knussen, Thomas Adès, and Michael
Daugherty did not rise to prominence until late in the 20th century.
Electronic music
Karlheinz Stockhausen in the electronic-music studio of WDR, Cologne in 1991
For centuries, instrumental music had either been created by singing, drawing a bow across
or plucking taught gut or metal strings (string instruments), constricting vibrating air
(woodwinds and brass) or hitting or stroking something (percussion). In the early twentieth
century, devices were invented that were capable of generating sound electronically,
without an initial mechanical source of vibration.
As early as the 1930s, composers such as Olivier Messiaen incorporated electronic
instruments into live performance. Recording technology was used to produce art music, as
well. The musique concrète of the late 1940s and 1950s was produced by editing together
natural and industrial sounds.
In the years following World War II, some composers were quick to adopt developing
electronic technology. Electronic music was embraced by composers such as Edgard
Varèse, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Milton Babbitt,Pierre Boulez, Luigi Nono, Herbert Brün,
and Iannis Xenakis.
In the 1950s the film industry also began to make extensive use of electronic soundtracks.
From the late 1960s onward, much popular music was developed on synthesizers by
pioneering groups like Heaven 17, The Human League, Art of Noise, and New Order.
Folk music
Folk music, in the original sense of the term as coined in the 18th century by Johann
Gottfried Herder, is music produced by communal composition and possessing dignity,
though by the late 19th century the concept of ‗folk‘ had become a synonym for ‗nation‘,
usually identified as peasants and rural artisans, as in the Merrie England movement and
the Irish and Scottish Gaelic Revivals of the 1880s.[6]Folk music was normally shared and
performed by the entire community (not by a special class of expert or professional
performers, possibly excluding the idea of amateurs), and was transmitted by word of
mouth (oral tradition).
In addition, folk music was also borrowed by composers in other genres. Some of the work
of Aaron Copland clearly draws on American folk music.
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. Bluegrass was
inspired by the music of Appalachia.[1] It has mixed roots in Scottish, Irishand English[2] traditional
music, and also later influenced by the music of African-Americans[3] through incorporation
of jazz elements.
Immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland arrived in Appalachia in the 18th century, and brought
with them the musical traditions of their homelands. These traditions consisted primarily of English
and Scottish ballads— which were essentially unaccompanied narratives— and dance music, such as
Irish reels, which were accompanied by a fiddle.[4]Many older Bluegrass songs come directly from
the British Isles. Several Appalachian Bluegrass ballads, such as Pretty Saro, Barbara Allen, Cuckoo
Bird and House Carpenter, come from England and preserve the English ballad tradition both
melodically and lyrically.[5] Others such as The Twa Sisters also come from England, however the
lyrics are about Ireland.[6] Some Bluegrass fiddle songs popular in Appalachia, such as "Leather
Britches", and Pretty Polly, have Scottish roots.[7] The dance tune Cumberland Gap may be derived
from the tune that accompanies the Scottish ballad Bonnie George Campbell.[8]Other songs have
different names in different places, for instance in England there is an old ballad known as A Brisk
Young Sailor Courted Me, however exactly the same song in North American Bluegrass is known as
"I Wish My Baby Was Born".[9]
In bluegrass, as in some forms of jazz, one or more instruments each takes its turn playing the
melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment; this is especially
typified in tunes called breakdowns. This is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments
play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide
accompaniment. Breakdowns are often characterized by rapid tempos and unusual instrumental
dexterity and sometimes by complex chord changes.
Bluegrass music has attracted a diverse following worldwide. Bluegrass pioneer Bill
Monroe characterized
the
genre
as:
"Scottishbagpipes and
ole-time
fiddlin'.
It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
Popular music
Popular music, sometimes abbreviated pop music (although the term "pop" is used in some
contexts as a more specific musical genre), is music belonging to any of a number of musical
styles that are broadly popular or intended for mass consumption and wide commercial
distribution—in other words, music that forms part of popular culture.
Popular music includes Broadway tunes, ballads and singers such as Frank Sinatra.
The relationship (particularly, the relative value) of classical music and popular music is a
controversial question. Richard Middletonwrites:
Neat divisions between "folk" and "popular", and "popular" and "art", are impossible to
find... arbitrary criteria [are used] to define the complement of "popular". "Art" music, for
example, is generally regarded as by nature complex, difficult, demanding; "popular" music
then has to be defined as "simple", "accessible", "facile". But many pieces commonly thought
of as "art" (Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, many Schubert songs, many Verdi arias) have
qualities of simplicity; conversely, it is by no means obvious that the Sex Pistols' records
were "accessible", Frank Zappa's work "simple", orBillie Holiday's "facile".[7]
Moreover, composers such as Scott Joplin, George Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd
Webber tried to cater to both popular and high brow tastes.
Blues
Blues singer Bessie Smith
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre[1] that originated inAfricanAmerican communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States around the end of the
19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple
narrative ballads.[2] The blues form, ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll is
characterized by specific chord progressions, of which thetwelve-bar blues chord progression is the
most common. The blue notes that, for expressive purposes are sung or played flattened or gradually
bent (minor 3rd to major 3rd) in relation to the pitch of the major scale, are also an important part of
the sound.
The blues genre is based on the blues form but possesses other characteristics such as specific lyrics,
bass lines and instruments. Blues can be subdivided into several subgenresranging from country to
urban blues that were more or less popular during different periods of the 20th century. Best known
are the Delta, Piedmont, Jump and Chicago blues styles.World War II marked the transition from
acoustic to electric blues and the progressive opening of blues music to a wider audience, especially
white listeners. In the 1960s and 1970s, a hybrid form called blues-rock evolved.
The term "the blues" refers to the "blue devils", meaning melancholy and sadness; an early use of the
term in this sense is found in George Colman's one-act farce Blue Devils(1798).[3] Though the use of
the phrase in African-American music may be older, it has been attested to since 1912, when Hart
Wand's "Dallas Blues" became the first copyrighted blues composition. [4][5] In lyrics the phrase is
often used to describe adepressed mood.
Country music
Country music, once known as Country and Western music, is a popular musical form
developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals,
and the blues.
ROCK
Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in 1950s America and
developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom
and the United States.[1][2][3] It has its roots in 1940s' and 1950s' rock and roll, itself heavily
influenced by rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of
other genres such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other
musical sources.
Musically, rock has centered around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group withbass
guitar and drums. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature utilizing
a verse-chorus form, but the genre has become extremely diverse and common musical
characteristics are difficult to define. Like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also
address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. The
dominance of rock by white, male musicians has been seen as one of the key factors shaping the
themes explored in rock music. Rock places a higher degree of emphasis on musicianship, live
performance, and an ideology of authenticity than pop music.
By the late 1960s, referred to as the "golden age"[1] or "classic rock"[2] period, a number of distinct
rock music sub-genres had emerged, including hybrids like blues rock, folk rock,country rock,
and jazz-rock fusion, many of which contributed to the development ofpsychedelic rock influenced by
the counter-cultural psychedelic scene. New genres that emerged from this scene
included progressive rock, which extended the artistic elements;glam rock, which highlighted
showmanship and visual style; and the diverse and enduring major sub-genre of heavy metal, which
emphasized volume, power and speed. In the second half of the 1970s, punk rock both intensified and
reacted against some of these trends to produce a raw, energetic form of music characterized by overt
political and social critiques. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development
of other sub-genres, including New Wave, post-punk and eventually the alternative rock movement.
From the 1990s alternative rock began to dominate rock music and break through into the
mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop, and indie rock. Further fusion sub-genres have since
emerged, including pop punk, rap rock, and rap metal, as well as conscious attempts to revisit rock's
history, including the garage rock/post-punk and synthpop revivals at the beginning of the new
millennium.
Rock music has also embodied and served as the vehicle for cultural and social movements, leading
to major sub-cultures including mods and rockers in the UK and thehippie counterculture that
spread out from San Francisco in the US in the 1960s. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the
visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures. Inheriting the folk tradition of the protest song, rock
music has been associated with political activism as well as changes in social attitudes to race, sex
and drug use, and is often seen as an expression of youth revolt against adult consumerism and
conformity.
Characteristics
Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2006, showing a quartet lineup for a rock band of a lead vocalist, guitarist,
bassist, and drummer
The sound of rock is traditionally centered around the electric guitar, which emerged in its modern
form in the 1950s with the popularization of rock and roll. [4] The sound of an electric guitar in rock
music is typically supported by an electric bass guitar pioneered in jazz music in the same era,[5] and
percussion produced from a drum kit that combines drums and cymbals.[6] This trio of instruments
has often been complemented by the inclusion of others, particularly keyboards such as
the piano, Hammond organand synthesizers.[7] A group of musicians performing rock music is
termed a rock bandor rock group and typically consists of between two and five members.
Classically, a rock band takes the form of a quartet whose members cover one or more roles,
including vocalist, lead guitarist, rhythm guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer and occasionally that
of keyboard player or other instrumentalist.[8]
Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter,
with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four.[9] Melodies are often derived from
older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, as well asmajor and minor modes.
Harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic
progressions.[9]Rock songs from the mid-1960s onwards often used the verse-chorus structure derived
from blues and folk music, but there has been considerable variation from this model. [10] Critics have
stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock. [11] Because of its complex history and tendency
to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that "it is impossible to bind
rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition."[12]
A simple 4/4 drum pattern common in rock music Play (help·info)
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.[9] These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop
tradition, folk music and rhythm and blues.[13] The predominance of white, male and often middle
class musicians in rock music has often been noted [14] and rock has been seen as an appropriation of
black musical forms for a young, white and largely male audience.[15] As a result it has been seen as
articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. [16]
Since the term rock began to be used in preference to rock and roll from the mid 1960s, it has often
been contrasted with pop music, with which it has shared many characteristics, but from which it is
often distanced by an emphasis on musicianship, live performance and a focus on serious and
progressive themes as part of an ideology of authenticity that is frequently combined with an
awareness of the genre's history and development. [17] According to Simon Frith "rock was something
more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill
and technique with the romantic concept of art as artistic expression, original and sincere". [17] In the
new millennium the term rock has sometimes been used as a blanket term including forms such
as pop music,reggae music, soul music, and even hip hop, with which it has been influenced but often
contrasted through much of its history.[18]
Rock and roll
The foundations of rock music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the
late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to much of the rest of the world. Its immediate
origins lay in a mixing together of various black musical genres of the time, including rhythm and
blues and gospel music, with country and western.[19] In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan
Freedbegan playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, and is credited with first
using the phrase "rock and roll" to describe the music.[20]
Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for Jailhouse Rock in 1957
Debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Contenders
include Goree Carter's "Rock Awhile" (1949);[21] Jimmy Preston's "Rock the Joint" (1949), which was
later covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952;[22] and "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his
Delta Cats (in fact, Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm), recorded by Sam Phillips for Sun
Records in 1951.[23] Four years later, Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" (1955) became the first
rock and roll song to top Billboard magazine's main sales and airplay charts, and opened the door
worldwide for this new wave of popular culture.[24]
It has been argued that "That's All Right (Mama)" (1954), Elvis Presley's first single for Sun Records
in Memphis, was the first rock and roll record,[25] but, at the same time, Big Joe Turner's "Shake,
Rattle & Roll", later covered by Haley, was already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. Other
artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little
Richard,Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent.[23] Soon rock and roll was the major force in American
record sales and crooners, such as Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, and Patti Page, who had dominated the
previous decade of popular music, found their access to the pop charts significantly curtailed. [26]
Rock and roll has been seen as leading to a number of distinct sub-genres, including rockabilly,
combining rock and roll with "hillbilly" country music, which was usually played and recorded in the
mid-1950s by white singers such asCarl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and with the
greatest commercial success, Elvis Presley.[27] In contrast doo wop placed an emphasis on multi-part
vocal harmonies and meaningless backing lyrics (from which the genre later gained its name), which
were usually supported with light instrumentation and had its origins in 1930s and '40s African
American vocal groups.[28] Acts like The Crows, The Penguins, The El Dorados and The Turbans all
scored major hits, and groups like The Platters, with songs including "The Great Pretender" (1955),
and The Coasters with humorous songs like "Yakety Yak" (1958), ranked among the most successful
rock and roll acts of the period.[29]
The era also saw the growth in popularity of the electric guitar, and the development of a specifically
rock and roll style of playing through such exponents as Chuck Berry, Link Wray, and Scotty
Moore.[30] The use of distortion, pioneered by electric blues guitarists such as Guitar Slim,[31] Willie
Johnson and Pat Hare in the early 1950s,[32] was popularized by Chuck Berry in the mid1950s.[33] The use of power chords, pioneered by Willie Johnson and Pat Hare in the early
1950s,[32] was popularized by Link Wray in the late 1950s.[34]
In the United Kingdom, the trad jazz and folk movements brought visiting blues music artists to
Britain.[35] Lonnie Donegan's 1955 hit "Rock Island Line" was a major influence and helped to
develop the trend of skiffle music groups throughout the country, many of which, including John
Lennon's The Quarrymen, moved on to play rock and roll.[36]
Commentators have traditionally perceived a decline of rock and roll in the late 1950s and early
1960s. By 1959, the death of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Richie Valens in a plane crash, the
departure of Elvis for the army, the retirement of Little Richard to become a preacher, prosecutions
of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry and the breaking of the payola scandal (which implicated major
figures, including Alan Freed, in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs), gave
a sense that the rock and roll era established up to that point had come to an end. [23]
The "in-between years"
Chubby Checker in 2005
The period of the later 1950s and early 1960s, between the end of the initial period of innovation and
what became known in the US as the "British Invasion", has traditionally been seen as an era of
hiatus for rock and roll. More recently some authors have emphasised important innovations and
trends in this period without which future developments would not have been possible. [37][38] While
early rock and roll, particularly through the advent of rockabilly, saw the greatest commercial
success for male and white performers, in this era the genre was dominated by black and female
artists. Rock and roll had not disappeared at the end of the 1950s and some of its energy can be seen
in the Twistdance craze of the early '60s, mainly benefiting the career of Chubby Checker.[38] Having
died down in the late 1950s, doo wop enjoyed a revival in the same period, with hits for acts like The
Marcels,The Capris, Maurice Williams and Shep and the Limelights.[29] The rise of girl
groups like The Chantels, The Shirelles and The Crystals placed an emphasis on harmonies and
polished production that was in contrast to earlier rock and roll. [39] Some of the most significant girl
group hits were products of the Brill Building Sound, named after the block in New York where
many songwriters were based, which included the number 1 hit for the Shirelles "Will You Love Me
Tomorrow" in 1960, penned by the partnership of Gerry Goffin and Carole King.[40]
Cliff Richard had the first British rock and roll hit with "Move It", effectively ushering in the sound
of British rock.[41] At the start of the 1960s, his backing group The Shadows was the most successful
group recording instrumentals.[42] While rock 'n' roll was fading into lightweight pop and ballads,
British rock groups at clubs and local dances, heavily influenced by blues-rock pioneers like Alexis
Korner, were starting to play with an intensity and drive seldom found in white American acts.[43]
Also significant was the advent of soul music as a major commercial force. Developing out of rhythm
and blues with a re-injection of gospel music and pop, led by pioneers like Ray Charles and Sam
Cooke from the mid-1950s, by the early '60s figures like Marvin Gaye,James Brown, Aretha
Franklin, Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder were dominating the R&B charts and breaking
through into the main pop charts, helping to accelerate their desegregation,
while Motown and Stax/Volt Records were becoming major forces in the record industry. [44] All of
these elements, including the close harmonies of doo wop and girl groups, the carefully crafted songwriting of the Brill Building Sound and the polished production values of soul, have been seen as
influencing the Merseybeat sound, particularly the early work of The Beatles, and through them the
form of later rock music.[45] Some historians of music have also pointed to important and innovative
technical developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including the electronic treatment
of sound by such innovators as Joe Meek, and the elaborate production methods of the
Surf music
The instrumental rock and roll pioneered by performers such as Duane Eddy, Link Wray, and The
Ventures was developed by Dick Dalewho added distinctive "wet" reverb, rapid alternate picking, as
well as Middle Eastern and Mexican influences, producing the regional hit "Let's Go Trippin'" in
1961 and launching the surf music craze, following up with songs like "Misirlou" (1962).[46][47] Like
Dale and hisDel-Tones, most early surf bands were formed in Southern California, including the BelAirs, the Challengers, and Eddie & the Showmen.[47] The Chantays scored a top ten national hit with
"Pipeline" in 1963 and probably the best known surf tune was 1963's "Wipe Out", by the Surfaris,
which hit number 2 and number 10 on the Billboard charts in 1965.[48]
The Beach Boys performing in 1964
The growing popularity of the genre led groups from other areas to try their hand. These
included The Astronauts, from Boulder, Colorado, The Trashmen, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who
had a number 4 hit with "Surfin Bird" in 1964 and The Rivieras from South Bend, Indiana, who
reached number 5 in 1964 with "California Sun".[46] The Atlantics, fromSydney, Australia, made a
significant contribution to the genre, with their hit "Bombora" (1963). [46] European instrumental
bands around this time generally focused more on the more rock and roll style played by The
Shadows, but The Dakotas, who were the British backing band for Merseybeat singer Billy J.
Kramer, gained some attention as surf musicians with "Cruel Sea" (1963), which was later covered
by American instrumental surf bands, including The Ventures. [49]
Surf music achieved its greatest commercial success as vocal music, particularly the work of
the Beach Boys, formed in 1961 in Southern California. Their early albums included both
instrumental surf rock (among them covers of music by Dick Dale) and vocal songs, drawing on rock
and roll and doo wop and the close harmonies of vocal pop acts like the Four Freshmen.[46] Their first
chart hit, "Surfin'" in 1962 reached the Billboard top 100 and helped make the surf music craze a
national phenomenon.[50] From 1963 the group began to leave surfing behind as subject matter
as Brian Wilson became their major composer and producer, moving on to the more general themes
of male adolescence including cars and girls in songs like "Fun, Fun, Fun" (1964) and "California
Girls" (1965).[50] Other vocal surf acts followed, including one-hit wonders likeRonny & the
Daytonas with "G. T. O." (1964) and Rip Chords with "Hey Little Cobra", which both reached the top
ten, but the only other act to achieve sustained success with the formula were Jan & Dean, who had
a number 1 hit with "Surf City" (co-written with Brian Wilson) in 1963.[46] The surf music craze and
the careers of almost all surf acts was effectively ended by the arrival of the British Invasion from
1964.[46] Only the Beach Boys were able to sustain a creative career into the mid-1960s, producing a
string of hit singles and albums, including the highly regarded Pet Sounds in 1966, which made
them, arguably, the only American rock or pop act that could rival The Beatles. [50]
The British Invasion
The Beatles arriving in New York in January 1964 at the beginning of the British Invasion
By the end of 1962, what would become the British rock scene had started with beat groupslike The
Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers and The Searchers from Liverpool and Freddie and the
Dreamers, Herman's Hermits and The Hollies from Manchester. They drew on a wide range of
American influences including soul, rhythm and blues and surf music, [51] initially reinterpreting
standard
American
tunes
and
playing
for
dancers.
Bands
like The
Animals fromNewcastle and Them from Belfast,[52] and particularly those from London like The
Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds, were much more directly influenced by rhythm and blues and
later blues music.[53] Soon these groups were composing their own material, combining US forms of
music and infusing it with a high energy beat. Beat bands tended towards "bouncy, irresistible
melodies", while early British rhythm and blues acts tended towards less sexually innocent, more
aggressive songs, often adopting an anti-establishment stance. There was, however, particularly in
the early stages, considerable musical crossover between the two tendencies. [54] By 1963, led by the
Beatles, beat groups had begun to achieve national success in Britain, soon to be followed into the
charts by the more rhythm and blues focused acts.[55]
In 1964 the Beatles achieved a breakthrough to mainstream popularity in the United States. "I Want
to Hold Your Hand" was the band's first number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, spending 7 weeks at
the top and a total of 15 weeks on the chart. [56][57] Their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on
9 February, drawing an estimated 73 million viewers (at the time a record for an American television
program) often is considered a milestone in American pop culture. The Beatles went on to become
the biggest selling rock band of all time and they were followed into the US charts by numerous
British bands.[54] During the next two years British acts dominated their own and the US charts
with Peter and Gordon, The Animals, Manfred Mann, Petula Clark, Freddie and the
Dreamers,Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Herman's Hermits, The Rolling Stones, The
Troggs, and Donovan all having one or more number 1 singles.[56] Other major acts that were part of
the invasion included The Kinks and The Dave Clark Five.[58][59]
The British Invasion helped internationalize the production of rock and roll, opening the door for
subsequent British (and Irish) performers to achieve international success. [60] In America it arguably
spelled the end of instrumental surf music, vocal girl groups and (for a time) the teen idols, that had
dominated the American charts in the late 1950s and '60s. [61] It dented the careers of established
R&B acts likeFats Domino and Chubby Checker and even temporarily derailed the chart success of
surviving rock and roll acts, including Elvis.[62]The British Invasion also played a major part in the
rise of a distinct genre of rock music, and cemented the primacy of the rock group, based on guitars
and drums and producing their own material as singer-songwriters.[28]
Garage rock
Garage rock was a form of amateurish rock music, particularly prevalent in North America in the
mid-1960s and so called because of the perception that it was rehearsed in a suburban family
garage.[63][64] Garage rock songs revolved around the traumas of high school life, with songs about
"lying girls" being particularly common.[65] The lyrics and delivery were more aggressive than was
common at the time, often with growled or shouted vocals that dissolved into incoherent
screaming.[63] They ranged from crude one-chord music (likethe Seeds) to near-studio musician
quality (including the Knickerbockers, the Remains, and the Fifth Estate). There were also regional
variations in many parts of the country with flourishing scenes particularly in California and
Texas.[65] The Pacific Northwest states of Washington and Oregon had perhaps the most defined
regional sound.[66]
The D-Men (later The Fifth Estate) in 1964
The style had been evolving from regional scenes as early as 1958. "Tall Cool One" (1959) byThe
Wailers and "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen (1963) are mainstream examples of the genre in its
formative stages.[67] By 1963, garage band singles were creeping into the national charts in greater
numbers, including Paul Revere and the Raiders (Boise),[68] the Trashmen (Minneapolis)[69] and the
Rivieras (South Bend, Indiana).[70] Other influential garage bands, such as the Sonics (Tacoma,
Washington), never reached the Billboard Hot 100.[71] In this early period many bands were heavily
influenced by surf rock and there was a cross-pollination between garage rock and frat rock,
sometimes viewed as merely a sub-genre of garage rock.[72]
The British Invasion of 1964–66 greatly influenced garage bands, providing them with a national
audience, leading many (often surf or hot rod groups) to adopt a British Invasion lilt, and
encouraging many more groups to form.[65] Thousands of garage bands were extant in the US and
Canada during the era and hundreds produced regional hits.[65] Examples include: "The Witch" by
Tacoma's The Sonics(1965), "Where You Gonna Go" by Detroit's Unrelated Segments (1967), "Girl I
Got News for You" by Miami's Birdwatchers (1966) and "1–2–5" by Montreal's The Haunted. Despite
scores of bands being signed to major or large regional labels, most were commercial failures. It is
generally agreed that garage rock peaked both commercially and artistically around 1966. [65] By
1968 the style largely disappeared from the national charts and at the local level as amateur
musicians faced college, work or the draft.[65] New styles had evolved to replace garage rock
(including blues rock, progressive rock and country rock).[65] In Detroit garage rock stayed alive until
the early '70s, with bands like the MC5 and The Stooges, who employed a much more aggressive
style. These bands began to be labelledpunk rock and are now often seen as proto-punk or proto-hard
rock.
Pop rock
The Everly Brothers in 2006
The term pop has been used since the early 20th century to refer to popular music in general, but
from the mid-1950s it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often
characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. [74][75] In the aftermath of the British Invasion,
from about 1967, it was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock music, to describe a form
that was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible.[17] In contrast rock music was seen as focusing
on extended works, particularly albums, was often associated with particular sub-cultures (like
the counter-culture), placed an emphasis on artistic values and "authenticity", stressed live
performance and instrumental or vocal virtuosity and was often seen as encapsulating progressive
developments rather than simply reflecting existing trends.[17][74][75][76]
Nevertheless much pop and rock music has been very similar in sound, instrumentation and even
lyrical content. The terms "pop-rock" and "power pop" have been used to describe more commercially
successful music that uses elements from, or the form of, rock music. [77] Pop-rock has been defined as
an "upbeat variety of rock music represented by artists such as Elton John, Paul McCartney, The
Everly Brothers, Rod Stewart, Chicago, andPeter Frampton."[78] In contrast, self-published music
reviewer George Starostin defines it as a subgenre of pop music that uses catchy pop songs that are
mostly guitar-based. Starostin argues that most of what is traditionally called "power pop" falls into
the pop rock subgenre and that the lyrical content of pop rock is "normally secondary to the
music."[79] The term power pop was coined by Pete Townshend of The Who in 1966, but not much
used until it was applied to bands like Badfinger in the 1970s, who proved some of the most
commercially successful of the period.[80] Throughout its history there have been rock acts that have
used elements of pop, and pop artists who have used rock music as a basis for their work, or striven
for rock "authenticity".
Blues rock
Although the first impact of the British Invasion on American popular music was through beat and
R&B based acts, the impetus was soon taken up by a second wave of bands that drew their
inspiration more directly from American blues, including the Rolling Stones and the
Yardbirds.[81] British blues musicians of the late 1950s and early '60s had been inspired by the
acoustic playing of figures such as Lead Belly, who was a major influence on the Skiffle craze,
and Robert Johnson.[82] Increasingly they adopted a loud amplified sound, often centered around the
electric guitar, based on the Chicago blues, particularly after the tour of Britain by Muddy Waters in
1958, which prompted Cyril Davies and guitarist Alexis Korner to form the band Blues
Incorporated.[83] The band involved and inspired many of the figures of the subsequent British
blues boom, including members of the Rolling Stones and Cream, combining blues standards and
forms with rock instrumentation and emphasis.[43]
Eric Clapton performing in Barcelona in 1974
The other key focus for British blues was around John Mayall who formed the Bluesbreakers, whose
members included Eric Clapton (after his departure from The Yardbirds) and laterPeter Green.
Particularly significant was the release of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton(Beano) album (1966),
considered one of the seminal British blues recordings and the sound of which was much emulated in
both Britain and the United States.[84] Eric Clapton went on to form supergroups Cream, Blind
Faith and Derek and the Dominos, followed by an extensive solo career that helped bring blues rock
into
the mainstream.[83] Green,
along
with
the
Bluesbreaker's
rhythm
section Mick
Fleetwood and John McVie, formed Peter Green'sFleetwood Mac, who enjoyed some of the greatest
commercial success in the genre.[83] In the late '60s Jeff Beck, also an alumnus of the Yardbirds,
moved blues rock in the direction of heavy rock with his band, The Jeff Beck Group.[83] The last
Yardbirds guitarist was Jimmy Page, who went on to form The New Yardbirds which rapidly
became Led Zeppelin. Many of the songs on their first three albums, and occasionally later in their
careers, were expansions on traditional blues songs. [83]
In America, blues rock had been pioneered in the early 1960s by guitarist Lonnie Mack,[85] but the
genre began to take off in the mid-'60s as acts developed a sound similar to British blues musicians.
Key acts included Paul Butterfield (whose band acted like Mayall's Bluesbreakers in Britain as a
starting point for many successful musicians), Canned Heat, the early Jefferson Airplane, Janis
Joplin,Johnny Winter, The J. Geils Band and Jimi Hendrix with his power trios, The Jimi Hendrix
Experience and Band of Gypsys, whose guitar virtuosity and showmanship would be among the most
emulated of the decade.[83] Blues rock bands from the southern states, like Allman Brothers
Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and ZZ Top, incorporated country elements into their style to produce
distinctive Southern rock.[86]
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 begun to move away from purely blues-based music into psychedelia.[87] By the
1970s, blues rock had become heavier and more riff-based, exemplified by the work of Led Zeppelin
and Deep Purple, and the lines between blues rock and hard rock "were barely visible",[87] as bands
began recording rock-style albums.[87] The genre was continued in the 1970s by figures such
as George Thorogood and Pat Travers,[83] but, particularly on the British scene (except perhaps for
the advent of groups such as Status Quo and Foghat who moved towards a form of high energy and
repetitiveboogie rock), bands became focused on heavy metal innovation, and blues rock began to slip
out of the mainstream.[88]
Folk rock
Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in 1963
By the 1960s, the scene that had developed out of the American folk music revival had grown to a
major movement, utilising traditional music and new compositions in a traditional style, usually on
acoustic instruments.[89] In America the genre was pioneered by figures such asWoody
Guthrie and Pete Seeger and often identified with progressive or labor politics.[89] In the early sixties
figures such as Joan Baez and Bob Dylan had come to the fore in this movement as singersongwriters.[90] Dylan had begun to reach a mainstream audience with hits including "Blowin' in the
Wind" (1963) and "Masters of War" (1963), which brought "protest songs" to a wider public,[91] but,
although beginning to influence each other, rock and folk music had remained largely separate
genres, often with mutually exclusive audiences.[92]
Early attempts to combine elements of folk and rock included the Animals "House of the Rising Sun"
(1964), which was the first commercially successful folk song to be recorded with rock and roll
instrumentation[93] and the Beatles "I'm a Loser" (1964), arguably the first Beatles song to be
influenced directly by Dylan.[94] The folk rock movement is usually thought to have taken off
with The Byrds' recording of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" which topped the charts in
1965.[92] With members who had been part of the cafe-based folk scene in Los Angeles, the Byrds
adopted rock instrumentation, including drums and 12-stringRickenbacker guitars, which became a
major element in the sound of the genre.[92] Later that year Dylan adopted electric instruments,
much to the outrage of many folk purists, with his "Like a Rolling Stone" becoming a US hit
single.[92] Folk rock particularly took off in California, where it led acts like The Mamas & the
Papas and Crosby, Stills and Nash to move to electric instrumentation, and in New York, where it
spawned performers including The Lovin' Spoonful and Simon and Garfunkel, with the latter's
acoustic "The Sounds of Silence" (1965) being remixed with rock instruments to be the first of many
hits.[92]
These acts directly influenced British performers like Donovan and Fairport Convention.[92] In 1969
Fairport Convention abandoned their mixture of American covers and Dylan-influenced songs to
play traditional English folk music on electric instruments. [95] This electric folk was taken up by
bands including Pentangle, Steeleye Span and The Albion Band, which turn prompted Irish groups
like Horslipsand Scottish acts like the JSD Band, Spencer's Feat and later Five Hand Reel, to use
their traditional music to create a brand of Celtic rock in the early 1970s.[96]
Folk rock reached its peak of commercial popularity in the period 1967–68, before many acts moved
off in a variety of directions, including Dylan and the Byrds, who began to develop country
rock.[97] However, the hybridization of folk and rock has been seen as having a major influence on the
development of rock music, bringing in elements of psychedelia, and helping to develop the ideas of
the singer-songwriter, the protest song and concepts of "authenticity".[92][98]
[edit]Psychedelic rock
Main article: Psychedelic rock
See also: Raga rock
Jimi Hendrix performing on Dutch TV in 1967
Psychedelic music's LSD-inspired vibe began in the folk scene, with the New York-based Holy Modal
Rounders using the term in their 1964 recording of "Hesitation Blues".[99] The first group to advertise
themselves as psychedelic rock were the 13th Floor Elevators from Texas, at the end of 1965;
producing an album that made their direction clear, with The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor
Elevators the following year.[99] The Beatles introduced many of the major elements of the
psychedelic sound to audiences in this period, with "I Feel Fine" using guitar feedback; in late 1965
the Rubber Soul album included the use of a sitar on "Norwegian Wood" and they
employedbackmasking on their 1966 single B-side "Rain" and other tracks that appeared on
their Revolveralbum later that year.[100]
Psychedelic rock particularly took off in California's emerging music scene as groups followed the
Byrds from folk to folk rock from 1965.[100] The psychedelic life style had already developed in San
Francisco and particularly prominent products of the scene were The Grateful Dead, Country Joe
and the Fish, The Great Society and Jefferson Airplane.[100] The Byrds rapidly progressed from
purely folk rock in 1966 with their single "Eight Miles High", widely taken to be a reference to drug
use. In Britain arguably the most influential band in the genre were The Yardbirds, [100] who, with
Jeff Beck as their guitarist, increasingly moved into psychedelic territory, adding up-tempo
improvised "rave ups", Gregorian chant and world music influences to songs including "Still I'm Sad"
(1965) and "Over Under Sideways Down" (1966). [101] From 1966 the UK underground scene based in
North London, supported new acts including Pink Floyd, Traffic and Soft Machine.[102] The same
year saw Donovan's folk-influenced hit album Sunshine Superman, considered one of the first
psychedelic pop records, as well as the débuts of blues rock bands Cream and The Jimi Hendrix
Experience, whose extended guitar-heavy jams became a key feature of psychedelia.[100]
Psychedelic rock reached its apogee in the last years of the decade. 1967 saw the Beatles release
their definitive psychedelic statement in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, including the
controversial track "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and the Rolling Stones responded later that
year with Their Satanic Majesties Request.[100] Pink Floyd produced what is usually seen as their
best psychedelic work The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.[100] In America the Summer of Love was
prefaced by the Human Be-In event and reached its peak at the Monterey Pop Festival, the latter
helping to make major American stars of Jimi Hendrix and The Who, whose single "I Can See for
Miles" delved into psychedelic territory.[103] Key recordings included Jefferson Airplane's Surrealistic
Pillow andThe Doors' Strange Days.[104] These trends climaxed in the 1969 Woodstock festival, which
saw performances by most of the major psychedelic acts, but by the end of the decade psychedelic
rock was in retreat. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Peter
Green of Fleetwood Mac and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd were early "acid casualties", the Jimi
Hendrix Experience and Cream broke up before the end of the decade and many surviving acts
moved away from psychedelia into more back-to-basics "roots rock", the wider experimentation of
progressive rock, or riff laden heavy rock.[100]
[edit]Progression (late 1960s to mid-1970s)
[edit]Roots rock
Main article: Roots rock
See also: Country rock and Southern rock
Roots rock is the term now used to describe a move away from what some saw as the excesses of the
psychedelic scene, to a more basic form of rock and roll that incorporated its original influences,
particularly country and folk music, leading to the creation of country rock and Southern rock. [105] In
1966 Bob Dylan went to Nashville to record the album Blonde on Blonde.[106] This, and subsequent
more clearly country-influenced albums, have been seen as creating the genre of country folk, a route
pursued by a number of, largely acoustic, folk musicians. [106] Other acts that followed the back-tobasics trend were the Canadian group The Band and the California-based Creedence Clearwater
Revival, both of which mixed basic rock and roll with folk, country and blues, to be among the most
successful and influential bands of the late 1960s.[107] The same movement saw the beginning of the
recording careers of Californian solo artists like Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt and Lowell George,[108] and
influenced the work of established performers such as the Rolling Stones' Beggar's Banquet (1968)
and the Beatles' Let It Be (1970).[100]
The Eagles during their 2008–2009 Long Road out of Eden Tour
In 1968 Gram Parsons recorded Safe at Home with the International Submarine Band, arguably the
first true country-rock album.[109] Later that year he joined the Byrds for Sweetheart of the
Rodeo (1968), generally considered one of the most influential recordings in the genre. [109] The Byrds
continued in the same vein, but Parsons left to be joined by another ex-Byrds member Chris
Hillman in forming The Flying Burrito Brothers who helped establish the respectability and
parameters of the genre, before Parsons departed to pursue a solo career. [109] Country rock was
particularly popular in the Californian music scene, where it was adopted by bands including Hearts
and Flowers, Poco and New Riders of the Purple Sage,[109] the Beau Brummels[109] and the Nitty
Gritty Dirt Band.[110] Some performers also enjoyed a renaissance by adopting country sounds,
including: the Everly Brothers; one-time teen idol Rick Nelson who became the frontman for the
Stone Canyon Band; former Monkee Mike Nesmith who formed the First National Band; and Neil
Young.[109] The Dillards were, unusually, a country act, who moved towards rock music. [109] The
greatest commercial success for country rock came in the 1970s, with artist including the Doobie
Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles (made up of members of the Burritos,
Poco and Stone Canyon Band), who emerged as one of the most successful rock acts of all time,
producing albums that included Hotel California (1976).[111]
The founders of Southern rock are usually thought to be the Allman Brothers Band, who developed a
distinctive sound, largely derived from blues rock, but incorporating elements of boogie, soul, and
country in the early 1970s.[86] The most successful act to follow them were Lynyrd Skynyrd, who
helped establish the "Good ol' boy" image of the sub-genre and the general shape of 1970s' guitar
rock.[86]Their successors included the fusion/progressive instrumentalists Dixie Dregs, the more
country-influenced Outlaws, jazz-leaning Wet Willie and (incorporating elements of R&B and gospel)
the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.[86] After the loss of original members of the Allmans and Lynyrd
Skynyrd, the genre began to fade in popularity in the late 1970s, but was sustained the 1980s with
acts like .38 Special, Molly Hatchet and The Marshall Tucker Band.[86]
[edit]Progressive rock
Main article: Progressive rock
See also: Art rock, Electronic rock, and Kraut rock
Progressive rock, a term sometimes used interchangeably with art rock, was an attempt to move
beyond established musical formulas by experimenting with different instruments, song types, and
forms.[112] From the mid-1960s The Left Banke, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Beach
Boys, had pioneered the inclusion of harpsichords, wind and string sections on their recordings to
produce a form of Baroque rock and can be heard in singles like Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of
Pale" (1967), with its Bach inspired introduction.[113] The Moody Blues used a full orchestra on their
album Days of Future Passed (1967) and subsequently created orchestral sounds
with synthesisers.[112] Classical orchestration, keyboards and synthesisers were a frequent edition to
the established rock format of guitars, bass and drums in subsequent progressive rock. [114]
Prog-rock band Yes performing in concert inIndianapolis in 1977
Instrumentals were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based
in fantasy and science fiction.[115] The Pretty Things' SF Sorrow(1968), The Who's Tommy (1969) and
The Kinks' Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969) introduced the format
of rock operas and opened the door toconcept albums, often telling an epic story or tackling a grand
overarching theme.[116]King Crimson's 1969 début album, In the Court of the Crimson King, which
mixed powerful guitar riffs and mellotron, with jazz and symphonic music, is often taken as the key
recording in progressive rock, helping the widespread adoption of the genre in the early 1970s among
existing blues-rock and psychedelic bands, as well as newly formed acts.[112]
The vibrant Canterbury scene saw acts following Soft Machine from psychedelia, through jazz
influences, toward more expansive hard rock, including Caravan, Hatfield and the North, Gong,
and National Health.[117] Greater commercial success was enjoyed by Pink Floyd, who also moved
away from psychedelia after the departure of Syd Barrett in 1968, with Dark Side of the Moon(1973),
seen as a masterpiece of the genre, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time.[118] There was
an emphasis on instrumental virtuosity, with Yes showcasing the skills of both guitarist Steve
Howe and keyboard player Rick Wakeman, whileEmerson, Lake & Palmer were a supergroup who
produced some of the genre's most technically demanding work. [112] Jethro Tull andGenesis both
pursued very different, but distinctly English, brands of music.[119] Renaissance, formed in 1969 by
ex-Yardbirds Jim McCarty and Keith Relf, evolved into a high-concept band featuring the threeoctave voice of Annie Haslam.[120] Most British bands depended on a relatively small cult following,
but a handful, including Pink Floyd, Genesis and Jethro Tull, managed to produce top ten singles at
home and break the American market.[121]
The American brand of prog rock varied from the eclectic and innovative Frank Zappa, Captain
Beefheart and Blood,
Sweat
and
Tears,[122] to
more
pop
rock
orientated
bands
like Boston, Foreigner, Kansas, Journey and Styx.[112] These,
beside
British
bandsSupertramp and ELO, all demonstrated a prog rock influence and while ranking among the
most commercially successful acts of the 1970s, issuing in the era of pomp or arena rock, which
would last until the costs of complex shows (often with theatrical staging and special effects), would
be replaced by more economical rock festivals as major live venues in the 1990s.[123]
The instrumental strand of the genre resulted in albums like Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (1973),
the first record, and worldwide hit, for the Virgin Records label, which became a mainstay of the
genre.[112] Instrumental rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands
like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Can and Faust to circumvent the language barrier.[124] Their
synthesiser-heavy "Kraut rock", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player
with Roxy Music), would be a major influence on subsequent synth rock.[112] With the advent of punk
rock and technological changes in the late 1970s, progressive rock was increasingly dismissed as
pretentious and overblown.[125][126] Many bands broke up, but some, including Genesis, ELP, Yes, and
Pink Floyd, regularly scored top ten albums with successful accompanying worldwide tours. [73] Some
bands which emerged in the aftermath of punk, such as Siouxsie and the
Banshees, Ultravox and Simple Minds, showed the influence of prog, as well as their more usually
recognized punk influences.[127]
[edit]Jazz rock
Main article: Jazz rock
Jaco Pastorius of Weather Report in 1980
In the late 1960s jazz rock emerged as a distinct sub-genre out of the blues rock, psychedelic and
progressive rock scenes, mixing the power of rock with the musical complexity and improvisational
elements of jazz. Many early US rock and roll musicians had begun in jazz and carried some of these
elements into the new music. In Britain the sub-genre of blues rock, and many of its leading figures,
likeGinger Baker and Jack Bruce of Cream, had emerged from the British jazz scene. Often
highlighted as the first true jazz-rock recording is the only album by the relatively obscure New
York-based The Free Spirits with Out of Sight and Sound (1966). The first group of bands to selfconsciously use the label were R&B oriented white rock bands that made use of jazzy horn sections,
like Electric Flag, Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago, to become some of the most commercially
successful acts of the later 1960s and early 1970s.[128]
British acts to emerge in the same period from the blues scene, to make use of the tonal and
improvisational aspects of jazz, included Nucleus[129] and the Graham Bond and John Mayall spinoffColosseum. From the psychedelic rock and the Canterbury scenes came Soft Machine, who, it has
been suggested, produced one of the artistically successfully fusions of the two genres. Perhaps the
most critically acclaimed fusion came from the jazz side of the equation, with Miles Davis,
particularly influenced by the work of Hendrix, incorporating rock instrumentation into his sound
for the albumBitches Brew (1970). It was a major influence on subsequent rock-influenced jazz
artists, including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea andWeather Report.[128] The genre began to fade in
the late 1970s, as a mellower form of fusion began to take its audience,[130] but acts like Steely
Dan,[130] Frank Zappa and Joni Mitchell recorded significant jazz-influenced albums in this period,
and it has continued to be a major influence on rock music.[128]
[edit]Glam rock
Main article: Glam rock
David Bowie during the Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders Tour in 1972
Glam rock emerged out of the English psychedelic and art rock scenes of the late 1960s and can be
seen as both an extension of and reaction against those trends. [131] Musically diverse, varying
between the simple rock and roll revivalism of figures like Alvin Stardust to the complex art rock of
Roxy Music, and can be seen as much as a fashion as a musical sub-genre.[131] Visually it was a mesh
of various styles, ranging from 1930s Hollywood glamor, through 1950s pin-up sex appeal, prewar Cabaret theatrics, Victorian literary and symbolist styles, science fiction, to ancient and
occult mysticism and mythology; manifesting itself in outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and
platform-soled boots.[132] Glam is most noted for its sexual and gender ambiguity and representations
of androgyny, beside extensive use of theatrics.[133] It was prefigured by the showmanship and gender
identity manipulation of American acts such as The Cockettes and Alice Cooper.[134]
The origins of glam rock are associated with Marc Bolan, who had renamed his folk duo to T. Rexand
taken up electric instruments by the end of the 1960s. Often cited as the moment of inception is his
appearance on the UK TV programme Top of the Pops in December 1970 wearing glitter, to perform
what would be his first number 1 single "Ride a White Swan".[135] From 1971, already a minor
star, David Bowie developed his Ziggy Stardust persona, incorporating elements of professional
make up, mime and performance into his act.[136] These performers were soon followed in the style by
acts including Roxy Music, Sweet, Slade, Mott the Hoople, Mud and Alvin Stardust.[136] While highly
successful in the single charts in the UK, very few of these musicians were able to make a serious
impact in the United States; Bowie was the major exception becoming an international superstar
and prompting the adoption of glam styles among acts like Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, New York
Dolls and Jobriath, often known as "glitter rock" and with a darker lyrical content than their British
counterparts.[137] In the UK the term glitter rock was most often used to refer to the extreme version
of glam pursued byGary Glitter and his support musicians the Glitter Band, who between them
achieved eighteen top ten singles in the UK between 1972 and 1976.[138] A second wave of glam rock
acts, including Suzi Quatro, Roy Wood's Wizzard and Sparks, dominated the British single charts
from about 1974 to 1976.[136] Existing acts, some not usually considered central to the genre, also
adopted glam styles, including Rod Stewart, Elton John, Queen and, for a time, even the Rolling
Stones.[136] It was also a direct influence on acts that rose to prominence later,
including Kiss and Adam Ant, and less directly on the formation of gothic rock and glam metal as
well as on punk rock, which helped end the fashion for glam from about 1976. [137] Glam has since
enjoyed sporadic modest revivals through bands such as Chainsaw Kittens, The Darkness[139] and in
R n' B crossover act Prince.[140]
[edit]Soft rock, hard rock and early heavy metal
Main articles: Soft rock, Hard rock, and Heavy metal music
Led Zeppelin live at Chicago Stadium in January 1975
From the late 1960s it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock. Soft
rock was often derived from folk rock, using acoustic instruments and putting more emphasis on
melody and harmonies.[141] Major artists included Carole King, Cat Stevensand James Taylor.[141] It
reached its commercial peak in the mid- to late '70s with acts likeBilly Joel, America and the
reformed Fleetwood Mac, whose Rumours (1977) was the best-selling album of the decade.[142] In
contrast, hard rock was more often derived from blues-rock and was played louder and with more
intensity.[143] It often emphasised the electric guitar, both as a rhythm instrument using simple
repetitive riffs and as a solo leadinstrument, and was more likely to be used with distortion and
other effects.[143] Key acts included British Invasion bands like The Who and The Kinks, as well as
psychedelic era performers like Cream, Jimi Hendrix and The Jeff Beck Group.[143] Hard rockinfluenced bands that enjoyed international success in the later 1970s included Queen, [144] Thin
Lizzy,[145] Aerosmith and AC/DC.[143]
From the late 1960s the term heavy metal began to be used to describe some hard rock played with
even more volume and intensity, first as an adjective and by the early 1970s as a noun. [146] The term
was first used in music in Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" (1967) and began to be associated with
pioneer bands like Boston's Blue Cheer and Michigan's Grand Funk Railroad.[147] By 1970 three key
British bands had developed the characteristic sounds and styles which would help shape the subgenre. Led Zeppelin added elements of fantasy to their riff laden blues-rock, Deep Purple brought in
symphonic and medieval interests from their progressive rock phrase andBlack Sabbath introduced
facets of the gothic and modal harmony, helping to produce a "darker" sound. [148] These elements
were taken up by a "second generation" of heavy metal bands into the late 1970s, including: Judas
Priest, UFO, Motörhead and Rainbowfrom Britain; Kiss, Ted Nugent, and Blue Öyster Cult from the
US; Rush from Canada and Scorpions from Germany, all marking the expansion in popularity of the
sub-genre.[148] Despite a lack of airplay and very little presence on the singles charts, late-1970s
heavy metal built a considerable following, particularly among adolescent working-class males in
North America and Europe.[149]
[edit]Christian rock
Main article: Christian rock
Stryper on stage in 1986
Rock has been criticized by some Christian religious leaders, who have condemned it as immoral,
anti-Christian and even demonic.[150] However, Christian rock began to develop in the late 1960s,
particularly out of the Jesus movement beginning in Southern California, and emerged as a subgenre in the 1970s with artists like Larry Norman, usually seen as the first major "star" of Christian
rock.[151] The genre has been particularly popular in the United States.[152] Many Christian rock
performers have ties to the contemporary Christian musicscene, while other bands and artists are
closely linked to independent music. Since the 1980s Christian rock performers have gained
mainstream success, including figures such as the American gospel-to-pop crossover artist Amy
Grant and the British singer Cliff Richard.[153] While these artists were largely acceptable in
Christian communities the adoption of heavy rock and glam metal styles by bands
like Petra and Stryper, who achieved considerable mainstream success in the 1980s, was more
controversial.[154][155] From the 1990s there were increasing numbers of acts who attempted to avoid
the Christian band label, preferring to be seen as groups who were also Christians,
including P.O.D andCollective Soul.[156]
[edit]Punk and its aftermath (mid-1970s to the 1980s)
[edit]Punk rock
Main article: Punk rock
See also: Protopunk and Hardcore punk
Patti Smith, performing in 1976
Punk rock was developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands
eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock.[157] They created fast, hard-edged music,
typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment
lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY (do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings
and distributing them through informal channels.[158]
By late 1976, acts such as the Ramones and Patti Smith, in New York City, and the Sex
Pistols and The Clash, in London, were recognized as the vanguard of a new musical
movement.[157] The following year saw punk rock spreading around the world. Punk quickly, though
briefly, became a major cultural phenomenon in the United Kingdom. For the most part, punk took
root in local scenes that tended to reject association with the mainstream. An associated punk
subculture emerged, expressing youthful rebellion and characterized by distinctive clothing
styles and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies.[159]
By the beginning of the 1980s, faster, more aggressive styles such as hardcore and Oi! had become
the predominant mode of punk rock.[160] Since punk rock's initial popularity in the 1970s and the
renewed interest created by the punk revival of the 1990s, punk rock continues to have a strong
underground following.[161] This has resulted in several evolved strains of hardcore punk, such as Dbeat (a distortion-heavy subgenre influenced by the UK band Discharge), anarcho-punk (such
as Crass), grindcore(such as Napalm Death), and crust punk.[162] Musicians identifying with or
inspired by punk also pursued a broad range of other variations, giving rise to New Wave, postpunk and the alternative rock movement.[157]
[edit]New Wave
Main articles: New Wave music and Synthpop
See also: New Romantics and Electronic rock
Deborah Harry from the band Blondie, performing at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto in 1977
Although punk rock was a significant social and musical phenomenon, it achieved less in the way of
record sales (being distributed by small specialty labels such as Stiff Records),[163]or American radio
airplay (as the radio scene continued to be dominated by mainstream formats such
as disco and album-oriented rock).[164] Punk rock had attracted devotees from the art and collegiate
world and soon bands sporting a more literate, arty approach, such asTalking Heads,
and Devo began to infiltrate the punk scene; in some quarters the description "New Wave" began to
be used to differentiate these less overtly punk bands. [165] Record executives, who had been mostly
mystified by the punk movement, recognized the potential of the more accessible New Wave acts and
began aggressively signing and marketing any band that could claim a remote connection to punk or
New Wave.[166] Many of these bands, such as The Cars, and The Go-Go's can be seen as pop bands
marketed as New Wave;[167]other existing acts, including The Police, The Pretenders and Elvis
Costello, used the New Wave movement as the springboard for relatively long and critically
successful careers,[168] while "skinny tie" bands exemplified by The Knack,[169] or the
photogenic Blondie, began as punk acts and moved into more commercial territory. [170]
Between 1979 and 1985, influenced by Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, David Bowie, and Gary
Numan, British New Wave went in the direction of such New Romantics as Spandau
Ballet, Ultravox, Japan, Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Culture Club, Talk Talk and
the Eurythmics, sometimes using the synthesizer to replace all other instruments. [171] This period
coincided with the rise of MTV and led to a great deal of exposure for this brand of synthpop,
creating what has been characterised as a second British Invasion.[172] Some more traditional rock
bands adapted to the video age and profited from MTV's airplay, most obviously Dire Straits', whose
"Money for Nothing" gently poked fun at the station, despite the fact that it had helped make them
international stars,[173] but in general guitar-oriented rock was commercially eclipsed.[174]
[edit]Post-punk
Main article: Post-punk
See also: Gothic rock and Industrial music
U2 performing at Madison Square Garden in November 2005
If hardcore most directly pursued the stripped down aesthetic of punk, and New Wave came to
represent its commercial wing, post-punk emerged in the later 1970s and early '80s as its more
artistic and challenging side. Major influences beside punk bands were The Velvet Underground,
The Who, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart, and the New York based no wave scene which placed
an emphasis on performance, including bands such as James Chance and the
Contortions, DNA and Sonic Youth.[175] Early contributors to the genre included the US bands Pere
Ubu, Devo, The Residents and Talking Heads.[175]
The first wave of British post-punk included Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees andJoy
Division, who placed less emphasis on art than their US counterparts and more on the dark
emotional qualities of their music.[175] Bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees,Bauhaus, The Cure,
and The Sisters of Mercy, moved increasingly in this direction to found Gothic rock, which had
become the basis of a major sub-culture by the early 1980s.[176]Similar emotional territory was
pursued by Australian acts like The Birthday Party and Nick Cave.[175] Members of Bauhaus and Joy
Division
explored
new
stylistic
territory
as Love
and
Rockets and New
Order respectively.[175] Another early post-punk movement was the industrial music[177] developed by
British bands Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire, and New York-based Suicide, using a variety
of electronic and sampling techniques that emulated the sound of industrial production and which
would develop into a variety of forms of post-industrial music in the 1980s.[178]
The second generation of British post-punk bands that broke through in the early 1980s,
including The Fall, The Pop Group, The Mekons, Echo and the Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes,
tended to move away from dark sonic landscapes. [175] Arguably the most successful band to emerge
from post-punk was Ireland's U2, who incorporated elements of religious imagery together with
political commentary into their often anthemic music, and by the late 1980s had become one of the
biggest bands in the world.[179] Although many post-punk bands continued to record and perform, it
declined as a movement in the mid-1980s as acts disbanded or moved off to explore other musical
areas, but it has continued to influence the development of rock music and has been seen as a major
element in the creation of the alternative rock movement.[180]
[edit]New waves and genres in heavy metal
Main article: Heavy metal music
See also: NWOBHM, Glam metal, and Extreme metal
Although many established bands continued to perform and record, heavy metal suffered a hiatus in
the face of the punk movement in the mid-1970s. Part of the reaction saw the popularity of bands
like Motörhead, who had adopted a punk sensibility, and Judas Priest, who created a stripped down
sound, largely removing the remaining elements of blues music, from their 1978 album Stained
Class.[181]This change of direction was compared to punk and in the late 1970s became known as the
New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). [182] These bands were soon followed by acts
including Iron Maiden, Vardis, Diamond Head, Saxon, Def Leppard andVenom, many of which began
to enjoy considerable success in the US.[183] In the same period Eddie Van Halen established himself
as a metal guitar virtuoso after his band's self-titled 1978 album.[184] Randy Rhoads and Yngwie
Malmsteen also became established virtuosos, associated with what would be known as
the neoclassical metal style.[185]
Iron Maiden, one of the central bands in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, performing in
Barcelona in 2006
Inspired by NWOBHM and Van Halen's success, a metal scene began to develop in Southern
California from the late 1970s, based on the clubs of L.A.'s Sunset Strip and including such bands
as Quiet Riot, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, and W.A.S.P., who, along with similarly styled acts such as New
York's Twisted Sister, incorporated the theatrics (and sometimes makeup) of glam rock acts like
Alice Cooper and Kiss.[184] The lyrics of these glam metal bands characteristically
emphasized hedonism and wild behavior and musically were distinguished by rapid-fire shred
guitar solos, anthemic choruses, and a relatively melodic, pop-oriented approach.[184] By the mid1980s bands were beginning to emerge from the L.A. scene that pursued a less glam image and a
rawer sound, particularly Guns N' Roses, breaking through with the chart-topping Appetite for
Destruction (1987), and Jane's Addiction, who emerged with their major label debut Nothing's
Shocking, the following year.[186]
In the late 1980s metal fragmented into several subgenres, including thrash metal, which developed
in the US from the style known as speed metal, under the influence of hardcore punk, with lowregister guitar riffs typically overlaid by shredding leads.[187] Lyrics often expressed nihilistic views
or deal with social issues using visceral, gory language. It was popularised by the "Big Four of
Thrash": Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer.[183]Death metal developed out of thrash,
particularly influenced by the bands Venom and Slayer. Florida's Death and the Bay
Area'sPossessed emphasized lyrical elements of blasphemy, diabolism and millenarianism, with
vocals usually delivered as guttural "death growls," high-pitched screaming, complemented by
downtuned, highly distorted guitars and extremely fast double bass percussion.[188]Black metal,
again
influenced
by
Venom
and
pioneered
by
Denmark's Mercyful
Fate,
Switzerland's Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and Sweden's Bathory, had many similarities in sound
to death metal, but was often intentionally lo-fi in production and placed greater emphasis
on satanic and pagan themes.[189][190] Bathory were particularly important in inspiring the further
sub-genres of Viking metaland folk metal.[191] Power metal emerged in Europe in the late 1980s as a
reaction to the harshness of death and black metal and was established by Germany's Helloween,
who combined a melodic approach with thrash's speed and energy. [192] England'sDragonForce[193] and
Florida's Iced Earth[194] have a sound indebted to NWOBHM, while acts such as Florida's Kamelot,
Finland'sNightwish, Italy's Rhapsody of Fire, and Russia's Catharsis feature a keyboardbased "symphonic" sound, sometimes employing orchestras and opera singers. In contrast to other
sub-genres doom metal, influenced by Gothic rock, slowed down the music, with bands like
England's Pagan Altar and Witchfinder General and the United States' Pentagram, Saint
Vitus and Trouble, emphasizing melody, down-tuned guitars, a 'thicker' or 'heavier' sound and a
sepulchral mood.[195][196] American bands such as Queensrÿche andDream Theater pioneered an often
instrumentally challenging fusion of NWOBHM and progressive rock called progressive
metal,[197]with bands such as Symphony X combining aspects of power metal and classical music with
the style, while Sweden's Opethdeveloped a unique style indebted to both death metal and
atmospheric 70s prog rock.[198]
[edit]Heartland rock
Main article: Heartland rock
Bruce Springsteen in East Berlin in 1988
American working-class oriented heartland rock, characterized by a straightforward musical style,
and a concern with the lives of ordinary, blue collar American people, developed in the second half of
the 1970s. The term heartland rock was first used to describe Midwestern arena rock groups
likeKansas, REO Speedwagon and Styx, but which came to be associated with a more socially
concerned form of roots rock more directly influenced by folk, country and rock and roll. [199] It has
been seen as an American Midwest and Rust Belt counterpart to West Coast country rock and the
Southern rock of the American South.[200] Led by figures who had initially been identified with punk
and New Wave, it was most strongly influenced by acts such as Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Creedence
Clearwater Revival and Van Morrison, and the basic rock of '60s garage and the Rolling Stones.[201]
Exemplified by the commercial success of singer songwriters Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, andTom
Petty, along with less widely known acts such as Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes andJoe
Grushecky and the Houserockers, it was partly a reaction to post-industrial urban decline in the
East and Mid-West, often dwelling on issues of social disintegration and isolation, beside a form of
good-time rock and roll revivalism.[201] The genre reached its commercial, artistic and influential
peak in the mid-1980s, with Springsteen's Born in the USA (1984), topping the charts worldwide and
spawning a series of top ten singles, together with the arrival of artists including John
Mellencamp,Steve Earle and more gentle singer/songwriters such as Bruce Hornsby.[201] It can also
be heard as an influence on artists as diverse as Billy Joel,[202] Kid Rock[203] and The Killers.[204]
Heartland rock faded away as a recognized genre by the early 1990s, as rock music in general, and
blue collar and white working class themes in particular, lost influence with younger audiences, and
as heartland's artists turned to more personal works.[201] Many heartland rock artists continue to
record today with critical and commercial success, most notably Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and
John Mellencamp, although their works have become more personal and experimental and no longer
fit easily into a single genre. Newer artists whose music would perhaps have been labelled heartland
rock had it been released in the 1970s or 1980s, such as Missouri'sBottle Rockets and Illinois' Uncle
Tupelo, often find themselves labeled alt-country.[205]
[edit]The emergence of alternative rock
Main article: Alternative rock
See also: Jangle pop, College rock, Indie pop, Dream pop, and Shoegaze
R.E.M. was a successful alternative rockband in the 1980s
The term alternative rock was coined in the early 1980s to describe rock artists who did not fit into
the mainstream genres of the time. Bands dubbed "alternative" had no unified style, but were all
seen as distinct from mainstream music. Alternative bands were linked by their collective debt to
punk rock, through hardcore, New Wave or the post-punk movements.[206]Important alternative rock
bands of the 1980s in the US included R.E.M., Hüsker Dü, Jane's Addiction, Sonic Youth, and
the Pixies,[206] and in the UK The Cure, New Order, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The
Smiths.[207] Artists were largely confined to independent record labels, building an extensive
underground music scene based on college radio, fanzines, touring, and word-of-mouth.[208] They
rejected the dominant synthpop of the early 1980s, marking a return to group-based guitar
rock.[209][210][211]
Few of these early bands, with the exceptions of R.E.M. and The Smiths, achieved mainstream
success, but despite a lack of spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on the
generation of musicians who came of age in the 1980s and ended up breaking through to mainstream
success in the 1990s. Styles of alternative rock in the U.S. during the 1980s included jangle pop,
associated with the early recordings of R.E.M., which incorporated the ringing guitars of mid-1960s
pop and rock, and college rock, used to describe alternative bands that began in the college circuit
and college radio, including acts such as 10,000 Maniacs and The Feelies.[206] In the UK Gothic rock
was dominant in the early 1980s, but by the end of the decade indie or dream pop [212] like Primal
Scream, Bogshed, Half Man Half Biscuitand The Wedding Present, and what were
dubbed shoegaze bands like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Lush, Chapterhouse, and the Boo
Radleys.[213] Particularly vibrant was the Madchester scene, produced such bands as Happy
Mondays, the Inspiral Carpets, and Stone Roses.[207][214] The next decade would see the success
of grunge in the United States and Britpop in the United Kingdom, bringing alternative rock into the
mainstream.
[edit]Alternative goes mainstream (the 1990s)
[edit]Grunge
Main article: Grunge
Nirvana (pictured here in 1992) popularized grunge worldwide.
Disaffected by commercialized and highly produced pop and rock in the mid-1980s, bands
inWashington state (particularly in the Seattle area) formed a new style of rock which sharply
contrasted with the mainstream music of the time.[215] The developing genre came to be known as
"grunge", a term descriptive of the dirty sound of the music and the unkempt appearance of most
musicians, who actively rebelled against the over-groomed images of popular artists.[215] Grunge
fused elements of hardcore punk and heavy metal into a single sound, and made heavy use of
guitar distortion, fuzz and feedback.[215] The lyrics were typically apathetic and angst-filled, and
often concerned themes such as social alienation and entrapment, although it was also known for its
dark humor and parodies of commercial rock.[215]
Bands such as Green River, Soundgarden, the Melvins and Skin Yard pioneered the genre,
with Mudhoney becoming the most successful by the end of the decade. However, grunge remained
largely a local phenomenon until 1991, when Nirvana‗s Nevermind became a huge success thanks to
the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit".[216] Nevermind was more melodic than its predecessors, but
the band refused to employ traditional corporate promotion and marketing mechanisms. During
1991
and
1992,
other
grunge
albums
such
as Pearl
Jam's Ten,
Soundgarden'sBadmotorfinger and Alice in Chains' Dirt, along with the Temple of the Dog album
featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, became among the 100 top selling
albums.[217] The popular breakthrough of these grunge bands prompted Rolling Stone to nickname
Seattle "the new Liverpool."[218] Major record labels signed most of the remaining grunge bands in
Seattle, while a second influx of acts moved to the city in the hope of success. [219] However, with
the death of Kurt Cobain and the subsequent break-up of Nirvana in 1994, touring problems for
Pearl Jam and the departure of Alice in Chains' lead singer Layne Staley in 1996, the genre began to
decline, partly to be overshadowed by Britpop and more commercial sounding post-grunge.[220]
[edit]Britpop
Main article: Britpop
Oasis performing in 2005
Britpop emerged from the British alternative rock scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by
bands particularly influenced by British guitar music of the 1960s and 1970s. [207] The Smiths were a
major influence, as were bands of the Madchester scene, which had dissolved in the early
1990s.[60] The movement has been seen partly as a reaction against various U.S. based, musical and
cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon and as a
reassertion of a British rock identity.[207]Britpop was varied in style, but often used catchy tunes and
hooks, beside lyrics with particularly British concerns and the adoption of the iconography of the
1960s British Invasion, including the symbols of British identity previously utilised by the
mods.[221] It was launched around 1992 with releases by groups such as Suede and Blur, who were
soon joined by others including Oasis, Pulp, Supergrass and Elastica, who produced a series of top
ten albums and singles.[207] For a while the contest between Blur and Oasis was built by the popular
press into "The Battle of Britpop", initially won by Blur, but with Oasis achieving greater long-term
and international success, directly influencing a third generation of Britpop bands, including The
Boo Radleys, Ocean Colour Scene and Cast.[222] Britpop groups brought British alternative rock into
the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British cultural movement known as Cool
Britannia.[223] Although its more popular bands, particularly Blur and Oasis, were able to spread
their commercial success overseas, especially to the United States, the movement had largely fallen
apart by the end of the decade.[207]
[edit]Post-grunge
Main article: Post-grunge
Foo Fighters performing an acoustic show in 2007
The term post-grunge was coined for the generation of bands that followed the emergence into the
mainstream and subsequent hiatus, of the Seattle grunge bands. Post-grunge bands emulated their
attitudes and music, but with a more radio-friendly commercially oriented sound.[220] Often they
worked through the major labels and came to incorporate diverse influences from jangle pop, poppunk, alternative metal or hard rock.[220] The term post-grunge was meant to be pejorative,
suggesting that they were simply musically derivative, or a cynical response to an "authentic" rock
movement.[224] From 1994, former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl's new band, the Foo Fighters,
helped popularize the genre and define its parameters.[225]
Some post-grunge bands, like Candlebox, were from Seattle, but the sub-genre was marked by a
broadening of the geographical base of grunge, with bands like Los Angeles' Audioslave, and
Georgia's Collective Soul and beyond the US to Australia's Silverchair and Britain's Bush, who all
cemented post-grunge as one of the most commercially viable sub-genres of the late
1990s.[206][220] Although male bands predominated, female solo artist Alanis Morissette's 1995
album Jagged Little Pill, labelled as post-grunge, also became a multi-platinum hit.[226] Bands
like Creed andNickelback took post-grunge into the 21st century with considerable commercial
success, abandoning most of the angst and anger of the original movement for more conventional
anthems, narratives and romantic songs, and were followed in this vein by new acts
including Shinedown, Seether, 3 Doors Down and Puddle of Mudd.[224]
[edit]Pop punk
Main article: Pop punk
Green Day performing in 2010
The origins of 1990s pop punk can be seen in the more song-oriented bands of the 1970s punk
movement like The Buzzcocks and The Clash, commercially successful New Wave acts such as The
Jam and The Undertones, and the more hardcore-influenced elements of alternative rock in the
1980s.[227] Pop-punk tends to use power-pop melodies and chord changes with speedy punk tempos
and loud guitars.[228] Punk music provided the inspiration for some California-based bands on
independent labels in the early 1990s, including Rancid,Pennywise, Weezer and Green Day.[227] In
1994 Green Day moved to a major label and produced the album Dookie, which found a new, largely
teenage, audience and proved a surprise diamond-selling success, leading to a series of hit singles,
including two number ones in the US.[206] They were soon followed by the eponymous début from
Weezer, which spawned three top ten singles in the US. [229] This success opened the door for the
multi-platinum sales of metallic punk band The Offspring with Smash (1994).[206] This first wave of
pop punk reached its commercial peak with Green Day's Nimrod (1997) and The
Offspring's Americana (1998).[230]
A second wave of pop punk was spearheaded by Blink-182, with their breakthrough album Enema of
the State (1999), followed by bands such as Good Charlotte, Bowling for Soup and Sum 41, who made
use of humour in their videos and had a more radio-friendly tone to their music, while retaining the
speed, some of the attitude and even the look of 1970s punk. [227] Later pop-punk bands,
including Simple Plan, The All-American Rejects and Fall Out Boy, had a sound that has been
described as closer to 1980s hardcore, while still achieving considerable commercial success. [227]
[edit]Indie rock
Main article: Indie rock
See also: Riot Grrrl, Lo-fi music, Post rock, Math rock, Space rock, Sadcore, and Baroque pop
Lo-fi indie rock band Pavement
In the 1980s the terms indie rock and alternative rock were used interchangeably.[231] By the mid1990s, as elements of the movement began to attract mainstream interest, particularly grunge and
then Britpop, post-grunge and pop-punk, the term alternative began to lose its meaning.[231] Those
bands following the less commercial contours of the scene were increasingly referred to by the label
indie.[231] They characteristically attempted to retain control of their careers by releasing albums on
their own or small independent labels, while relying on touring, word-of-mouth, and airplay on
independent or college radio stations for promotion. [231] Linked by an ethos more than a musical
approach, the indie rock movement encompassed a wide range of styles, from hard-edged, grungeinfluenced bands like The Cranberries and Superchunk, through do-it-yourself experimental bands
like Pavement, to punk-folk singers such as Ani DiFranco.[206][207] It has been noted that indie rock
has a relatively high proportion of female artists compared with preceding rock genres, a tendency
exemplified by the development of feminist-informed Riot Grrrl music.[232] Many countries have
developed an extensive local indie scene, flourishing with bands with enough popularity to survive
inside the respective country, but virtually unknown outside them. [233]
By the end of the 1990s many recognisable sub-genres, most with their origins in the late '80s
alternative movement, were included under the umbrella of indie. Lo-fi eschewed polished recording
techniques for a D.I.Y. ethos and was spearheaded by Beck, Sebadohand Pavement.[206] The work
of Talk Talk and Slint helped inspire both post rock, an experimental style influenced
by jazz andelectronic music, pioneered by Bark Psychosis and taken up by acts such
as Tortoise, Stereolab, and Laika,[234][235] as well as leading to more dense and complex, guitar-based
math rock, developed by acts like Polvo and Chavez.[236] Space rock looked back to progressive roots,
with drone heavy and minimalist acts like Spacemen 3, the two bands created out of its
split, Spectrum andSpiritualized, and later groups including Flying Saucer Attack, Godspeed You
Black Emperor! and Quickspace.[237] In contrast,Sadcore emphasised pain and suffering through
melodic use of acoustic and electronic instrumentation in the music of bands likeAmerican Music
Club and Red House Painters,[238] while the revival of Baroque pop reacted against lo-fi and
experimental music by placing an emphasis on melody and classical instrumentation, with artists
like Arcade Fire, Belle and Sebastian and Rufus Wainright.[239]
[edit]Alternative metal, rap rock and nu metal
Main article: Heavy metal music
See also: Alternative metal, Rap rock, Rap metal, and Nu metal
Alternative metal emerged from the hardcore scene of alternative rock in the US in the later 1980s,
but gained a wider audience after grunge broke into the mainstream in the early 1990s. [240] Early
alternative metal bands mixed a wide variety of genres with hardcore and heavy metal sensibilities,
with acts like Jane's Addiction and Primus utilizing prog-rock, Soundgarden and Corrosion of
Conformityusing garage punk, The Jesus Lizard and Helmet mixing noise-rock, Ministry and Nine
Inch
Nails influenced
by industrial
music,Monster
Magnet moving
into psychedelia, Pantera, Sepultura and White
Zombie creating groove
metal,
while Biohazard and Faith No More turned to hip hop and rap.[240]
Linkin Park performing in 2009
Hip hop had gained attention from rock acts in the early 1980s, including The Clash with "The
Magnificent Seven" (1981) and Blondie with "Rapture" (1981).[241][242]Early crossover acts
included Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.[243] Detroit rapperEsham became known for his "acid rap"
style, which fused rapping with a sound that was often based in rock and heavy
metal.[244][245] Rappers who sampled rock songs included Ice-T, The Fat Boys, LL Cool J, Public
Enemy and Whodini.[246]The mixing of thrash metal and rap was pioneered by Anthrax on their 1987
comedy-influenced single "I'm the Man".[246]
In 1990, Faith No More broke into the mainstream with their single "Epic", often seen as the first
truly successful combination of heavy metal with rap. [247] This paved the way for the success of
existing bands like 24-7 Spyz and Living Colour, and new acts including Rage Against the
Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers, who all fused rock and hip hop among other
influences.[224][246] Among the first wave of performers to gain mainstream success as rap rock
were 311,[248] Bloodhound Gang,[249] and Kid Rock.[250] A more metallic sound - nu metal - was
pursued by bands including Limp Bizkit, Korn and Slipknot.[246]Later in the decade this style, which
contained a mix of grunge, punk, metal, rap and turntable scratching, spawned a wave of successful
bands like Linkin Park, P.O.D. and Staind, who were often classified as rap metal or nu metal, the
first of which are the best-selling band of the genre.[251]
In 2001, nu metal reached its peak with albums like Staind's Break the Cycle, P.O.D's Satellite,
Slipknot's Iowa and Linkin Park'sHybrid Theory. New bands also emerged like Disturbed, postgrunge/hard rock band Godsmack and Papa Roach, whose major label début Infest became a
platinum hit.[252] However, by 2002 there were signs that nu metal's mainstream popularity was
weakening.[224]Korn's long awaited fifth album Untouchables, and Papa Roach's second
album Lovehatetragedy, did not sell as well as their previous releases, while nu metal bands were
played more infrequently on rock radio stations and MTV began focusing on pop
punk andemo.[253] Since then, many bands have changed to a more conventional hard rock, heavy
metal, or electronic music sound.[253]
[edit]Post-Britpop
Main article: Post-Britpop
Coldplay in 2008
From about 1997, as dissatisfaction grew with the concept of Cool Britannia, and Britpop as a
movement began to dissolve, emerging bands began to avoid the Britpop label while still producing
music derived from it.[254][255] Many of these bands tended to mix elements of British traditional rock
(or British trad rock),[256]particularly the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Small Faces,[257] with American
influences, including post-grunge.[258][259] Drawn from across the United Kingdom (with several
important bands emerging from the north of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the
themes of their music tended to be less parochially centered on British, English and London life and
more introspective than had been the case with Britpop at its height.[260][261] This, beside a greater
willingness to engage with the American press and fans, may have helped some of them in achieving
international success.[262]
Post-Britpop bands have been seen as presenting the image of the rock star as an ordinary person
and their increasingly melodic music was criticised for being bland or derivative. [263] Post-Britpop
bands
like The
Verve with Urban
Hymns (1997), Radiohead from OK
Computer (1997), Travis from The
Man
Who (1999), Stereophonics from Performance
and
Cocktails (1999), Feeder from Echo Park(2001) and particularly Coldplay from their debut
album Parachutes (2000), achieved much wider international success than most of the Britpop
groups that had preceded them, and were some of the most commercially successful acts of the late
1990s and early 2000s, arguably providing a launchpad for the subsequent garage rock or post-punk
revival, which has also been seen as a reaction to their introspective brand of rock. [259][264][265][266]
[edit]The new millennium (the 2000s)
[edit]Post-hardcore and emo
Main articles: Post-hardcore and Emo
See also: Screamo
Post-hardcore developed in the US, particularly in the Chicago and Washington, D.C areas, in the
early-to-mid 1980s, with bands that were inspired by the do-it-yourself ethics and guitar-heavy
music of hardcore punk, but influenced by post-punk, adopting longer song formats, more complex
musical structures and sometimes more melodic lyrics. Existing bands that moved on from hardcore
includedFugazi.[267] From the late 1980s they were followed by bands including Quicksand,[268] Girls
Against
Boys[269] and The
Jesus
Lizard.[270] Bands
that
formed
in
the
1990s
included Thursday,[271] Thrice,[272] Finch,[273] and Poison the Well.[274]
Members of Fugazi performing in 2002
Emo also emerged from the hardcore scene in 1980s Washington, D.C., initially as "emocore", used as
a term to describe bands who favored expressive vocals over the more common abrasive, barking
style.[275] The style was pioneered by bands Rites of Spring andEmbrace, the last formed by Ian
MacKaye, whose Dischord Records became a major centre for the emerging D.C. emo scene, releasing
work by Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, Nation of Ulysses and Fugazi.[275] Fugazi emerged as the
definitive early emo band, gaining a fanbase among alternative rock followers, not least for their
overtly anti-commercial stance.[275] The early emo scene operated as an underground, with shortlived bands releasing small-run vinyl records on tiny independent labels.[275] The mid-'90s sound of
emo was defined by bands like Jawbreaker and Sunny Day Real Estate who incorporated elements of
grunge and more melodic rock.[276] Only after the breakthrough of grunge and pop punk into the
mainstream did emo come to wider attention with the success of Weezer's Pinkerton (1996) album,
which utilised pop punk.[275] Late 1990s bands drew on the work of Fugazi, SDRE, Jawbreaker and
Weezer, including The Promise Ring, The Get Up Kids, Braid, Texas Is the Reason, Joan of Arc, Jets
to Brazil and most successfully Jimmy Eat World, and by the end of the millennium it was one of the
more popular indie styles in the US.[275]
Emo broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000s with the platinum-selling success of Jimmy
Eat World's Bleed American (2001) and Dashboard Confessional's The Places You Have Come to
Fear the Most (2003).[277] The new emo had a much more mainstream sound than in the 90s and a
far greater appeal amongst adolescents than its earlier incarnations. [277] At the same time, use of the
term emo expanded beyond the musical genre, becoming associated with fashion, a hairstyle and any
music that expressed emotion.[278]The term emo has been applied by critics and journalists to a
variety of artists, including multi-platinum acts such as Fall Out Boy[279]and My Chemical
Romance[280] and disparate groups such as Paramore[279] and Panic at the Disco,[281] even when they
protest the label. By 2003 post-hardcore bands had also caught the attention of major labels and
began to enjoy mainstream success in the album charts. [271][272] A number of these bands were seen
as a more aggressive offshoot of emo and given the often vague label ofscreamo.[282] Around this time,
a new wave of post-hardcore bands began to emerge onto the scene that incorporated more pop punk
and alternative rock styles into their music, including The Used,[283] Hawthorne Heights,[284] Senses
Fail,[285] From
First
to
Last[286]and Emery[287] and
Canadian
[288]
[289]
bands Silverstein
and Alexisonfire.
British bands like Funeral For A Friend,[290] The
Blackout[291]and Enter Shikari also made headway.[292]
[edit]Garage rock/post-punk revival
Main articles: Garage rock revival and Post-punk revival
The Strokes performing in 2006
In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of
guitar rock, emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterised as part of a garage
rock, post-punk or New Wave revival.[293][294][295][296] Because the bands came from across the globe,
cited diverse influences (from traditional blues, through New Wave to grunge), and adopted differing
styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed.[297]There had been attempts to revive garage
rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2000 scenes had grown up in several
countries.[298] The Detroit rock scene included The Von Bondies, Electric Six, The Dirtbombs and The
Detroit Cobras[299] and that of New York Radio 4, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Rapture.[300] Elsewhere,
other lesser-known acts such as Billy Childish and The Buff Medways from Britain,[301]The
(International)
Noise
Conspiracy from
Sweden,[302] The
5.6.7.8's from
Japan,[303] and
[304]
the Oblivians from Memphis enjoyed underground, regional or national success.
The commercial breakthrough from these scenes was led by four bands: The Strokes, who emerged
from the New York club scene with their début album Is This It (2001); The White Stripes, from
Detroit, with their third album White Blood Cells (2001); The Hives from Sweden after their
compilation album Your New Favourite Band (2001); and The Vines from Australia with Highly
Evolved (2002).[305]They were christened by the media as the "The" bands, and dubbed "The saviours
of rock 'n' roll", leading to accusations of hype.[306] A second wave of bands that managed to gain
international recognition as a result of the movement included Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The
Killers, Interpol and Kings of Leon from the US,[307] The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc
Party, Editors, Franz Ferdinand andPlacebo from the UK,[308] Jet from Australia[309] and The
Datsuns and The D4 from New Zealand.[310]
[edit]Contemporary heavy metal, metalcore and retro-metal
Main article: Heavy metal music
See also: Metalcore and New Wave of American Heavy Metal
Metal remained popular in the 2000s, particularly in continental Europe. By the new millennium
Scandinavia had emerged as one of the areas producing innovative and successful bands, while
Belgium, Holland and especially Germany were the most significant markets. [311] Established
continental metal bands that placed multiple albums in the top 20 of the German charts between
2003 and 2008, including Finnish band Children of Bodom,[312] Norwegian act Dimmu
Borgir,[313] Germany's Blind Guardian[314] and Sweden'sHammerFall.[315]
Children of Bodom, performing at the 2007 Masters of Rock festival
Metalcore, originally an American hybrid of thrash metal and hardcore punk, emerged as a
commercial force in the mid-2000s.[316][317] It was rooted in the crossover thrash style developed two
decades earlier by bands such as Suicidal Tendencies, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, and Stormtroopers of
Death and remained an underground phenomenon through the 1990s; [318] early bands include Earth
Crisis,[319][320] Converge,[321] Hatebreed[322] andShai Hulud.[323][324] By 2004, melodic metalcore,
influenced by melodic death metal, was sufficiently popular for Killswitch Engage's The End of
Heartache and Shadows Fall's The War Within to debut at number 21 and number 20, respectively,
on the Billboard album chart.[325][326] Bullet for My Valentine, from Wales, broke into the top 5 in
both the U.S. and British charts with Scream Aim Fire (2008).[327] Metalcore bands have received
prominent slots at Ozzfest and the Download Festival.[328] Lamb of God, with a related blend of metal
styles, reached number 2 on the Billboard charts in 2009 with Wrath.[329]
The success of these bands and others such as Trivium, who have released both metalcore and
straight-ahead thrash albums, andMastodon, who played in a progressive/sludge style, inspired
claims of a metal revival in the United States, dubbed by some critics the "New Wave of American
Heavy Metal".[330][331] Its roots have been traced to the music of acts like Pantera, Biohazard and
Machine Head, drawing on New York hardcore, thrash metal and punk, helping to inspire a move
away from the nu metal of the early 2000s and a return to riffs and guitar solos. [332][333]
The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as Texas-based The Sword, California's High
on Fire, Sweden's Witchcraft, and Australia's Wolfmother.[334] The Sword's Age of Winters (2006)
drew heavily on the work of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, [335] while Witchcraft added elements of
folk rock and psychedelic rock,[336] and Wolfmother's self-titled 2005 debut album combined elements
of the sounds of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. [337]
[edit]Digital electronic rock
Main article: Electronic rock
See also: Laptronica, Indie electronic, Electroclash, Dance-punk, New rave, and Synthpop
In the 2000s, as computer technology became more accessible and music software advanced, it
became possible to create high quality music using little more than a single laptop computer.[338] This
resulted in a massive increase in the amount of home-produced electronic music available to the
general public via the expanding internet,[339] and new forms of performance such as
laptronica[338]and live coding.[340] These techniques also began to be used by existing bands, as
with industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' album Year Zero (2007),[341] and by developing genres that
mixed rock with digital techniques and sounds, including indie electronic, electroclash, dance-punk
and new rave.
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay ofJustice in 2001
Indie electronic, which had begun in the early 1990s with bands like Stereolab and Disco Inferno,
took off in the new millennium as the new digital technology developed, with acts
including Broadcast from the UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany and The Postal
Service, and Ratatat from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely
produced on small independent labels.[342][343] The electroclash sub-genre began in New York at the
end of the 1990s, combining synth pop, techno, punk and performance art. It was pioneered by IF with their track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1998), [344] and pursued by artists
including Felix da Housecat,[345] Peaches, Chicks on Speed,[346] and Ladytron.[347] It gained
international attention at the beginning of the new millennium and spread to scenes in London and
Berlin, but rapidly faded as a recognisable genre.[348] Dance-punk, mixing post-punk sounds
with disco and funk, had developed in the 1980s, but it was revived among some bands of the garage
rock/post-punk revival in the early years of the new millennium, particularly among New York acts
such as Liars, The Rapture and Radio 4, joined by dance-oriented acts who adopted rock sounds such
as Out Hud.[349] In Britain the combination of indie with dance-punk was dubbed new rave in
publicity forKlaxons and the term was picked up and applied by the NME to
bands[350] including Trash Fashion,[351] New Young Pony Club,[352]Hadouken!, Late of the Pier, Test
Icicles[353] and Shitdisco,[350] forming a scene with a similar visual aesthetic to earlier rave
music.[350][354]
Renewed interest in electronic music and nostalgia for the 1980s led to the beginnings of a synthpop
revival, with acts including Adultand Fischerspooner. In 2003-4 it began to move into the
mainstream with Ladytron, the Postal Service, Cut Copy, the Bravery and, with most commercial
success, The Killers all producing records that incorporated vintage synthesizer sounds and styles
which contrasted with the dominant sounds of post-grunge and nu-metal.[355] The style was picked
up by a large number of performers, particularly female solo artists, leading the British and other
media to proclaim a new era of the female electropop star. Artists named included British acts Little
Boots, La Roux and Ladyhawke.[356][357] Male acts that emerged in the same period included Calvin
Harris,[358]Frankmusik,[359] Hurts,[360] Kaskade,[361] LMFAO,[362] and Owl
City,
whose
single
"Fireflies" (2009) reached the top of the Billboard chart.[363][364]
[edit]Social impact
Main article: Social effects of rock music
The worldwide popularity of rock music meant that it became a major influence on culture, fashion
and social attitudes. Different sub-genres of rock were adopted by, and became central to, the
identity of a large number of sub-cultures. In the 1950s and 1960s, respectively, British youths
adopted the Teddy Boy and Rockers subcultures, which revolved around US rock and
roll.[365] The counter-culture of the 1960s was closely associated with psychedelic rock.[365] The mid1970s punk subculture began in the US, but it was given a distinctive look by British
designer Vivian Westwood, a look which spread worldwide.[366] Out of the punk scene, the Goth and
Emo subcultures grew, both of which presented distinctive visual styles. [367]
The 1969 Woodstock Festival was seen as a celebration of the counter-cultural lifestyle
When an international rock culture developed, it was able to supplant cinema as the major sources of
fashion influence.[368] Paradoxically, followers of rock music have often mistrusted the world of
fashion, which has been seen as elevating image above substance. [368] Rock fashions have been seen
as combining elements of different cultures and periods, as well as expressing divergent views on
sexuality and gender, and rock music in general has been noted and criticised for facilitating greater
sexual freedom.[368][369] Rock has also been associated with various forms of drug use, including
the stimulants taken by some mods in the early to mid-1960s, through the LSD linked with
psychedelic rock in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and sometimes to cannabis, cocaine and heroin,
all of which have been eulogised in song.[370][371]
Rock has been credited with changing attitudes to race by opening up African-American culture to
white audiences; but at the same time, rock has been accused of appropriating and exploiting that
culture.[372][373] While rock music has absorbed many influences and introduced Western audiences to
different musical traditions,[374] the global spread of rock music has been interpreted as a form
of cultural imperialism.[375] Rock music inherited the folk tradition of protest song, making political
statements on subjects such as war, religion, poverty, civil rights, justice and the
environment.[376] Political activism reached a mainstream peak with the "Do They Know It's
Christmas?" single (1984) and Live Aidconcert for Ethiopia in 1985, which, while successfully raising
awareness of world poverty and funds for aid, have also been criticised (along with similar events),
for providing a stage for self-aggrandisement and increased profits for the rock stars involved. [377]
Since its early development rock music has been associated with rebellion against social and political
norms, most obviously in early rock and roll's rejection of an adult-dominated culture, the counterculture's rejection of consumerism and conformity and punk's rejection of all forms of social
convention,[378] however, it can also be seen as providing a means of commercial exploitation of such
ideas and of diverting youth away from political action.[379]
Disco
Disco is an up-tempo style of dance music that originated in the early 1970s, mainly
from funk, salsa, and soul music, popular originally with gay and black audiences in large U.S. cities,
and derives its name from the French word discothèque.
Hip hop
Subgenres/periods of history in hip hop include: Old school hip hop, New school hip hop, Gangsta
rap, Underground hip hop, Alternative hip hop and Crunk/Snap music.
Jazz
Trumpeter, bandleader and singer Louis Armstrong, known internationally as the "Ambassador of
Jazz," was a much-imitated innovator of early jazz.
Jazz has evolved into many sometimes contrasting subgenres including smooth jazz and free jazz
New Age music
There are new-age compositions which sit equally comfortably in the world music category.
Polka
The polka, which first appeared in Prague in 1837, continued to be a popular form of dance music
through the 20th century, especially in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and areas of the United States with
a large population of central-European descent. A particularly well-known 20th-century example
isJaromír Vejvoda‘s Modřanská polka (1927), which became popular during World War II in
Czechoslovakia as "Škoda lásky" ("A Waste of Love"), in Germany as the Rosamunde-Polka, and
among the allied armies as the Beer Barrel Polka (as a song, known as "Roll out the Barrel"). In the
United States, the "Eastern style" Polish urban polka remained popular until about 1965. Polka
music rose in popularity in Chicago in the late 1940s after Walter ‗Li‘l Wally‘ Wallace
Jagiello created "honky" polka by combining the Polish-American rural polka with elements of Polish
folksong and krakowiak. A later, rock-influenced form is called "dyno" polka.[8]
Salsa
Salsa music is a diverse and predominantlyCaribbean rhythm that is popular in many Latin
countries.
World music
The term is usually used for all music made in a traditional way and outside of the Anglo-Saxon
world, thus encompassing music from Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe, and music by nonnative English speakers in Anglo-Saxon countries, like Native Americans or Indigenous Australians.