Rock Music

The term rock music is an extremely popular genre of music which has its roots, deeply embedded in rock and roll, country music and blues music. Centered on the guitar, it has many subgenres like the ones mentioned below to name a few.

>> Alternative rock

>> Art rock

>> Baroque pop

>> Beat music

>> Britpop

>> Emo

>> Experimental rock

>> Garage rock

>> Glam rock

>> Grunge

>> Hard rock

>> Heavy metal

>> Instrumental rock

>> Progressive rock

>> Psychedelia

>> Punk rock

>> Soft rock

>> Symphonic rock

Characteristics:

One of the main traits of the rock music is the eternal sound of guitar which may or may not be electric in nature. Apart from guitar, this form of music also has two more elements to it namely the percussion and electric bass guitar. Normally, the rock band consists of 2 to 5 members that include the main vocalist, lead guitarist, guitarist to play the rhythm, the bass guitarist, the drummer and sometimes another person to play any other instrument. The lyrics of the rock form of music deal with varied issues unlike the Blues music which revolves around melancholy and sadness. In fact, it is difficult to define rock music as it has a tendency to absorb a lot from the other form of music and hence does not have a rigid definition to it.

Social effects of this revolution:

Rock music has been associated with rebellion and a desire to break free form of the prevalent customs and norms of the society. This rebellion is not only against the social scene but also the ongoing political scenario during those. Perhaps this was the reason why the rock scene was perceived as a medium to divert youth and encourage non cooperation and disobedience of the prevalent societal norms. This form of music is also associated with the rising awareness of gender bias prompting equality. This was a major source of ideas especially for the world of fashion and cinema where one could clearly see the outright influence of the rock revolution.

Rock culture in the new millennium:

Coming to the new millennium, it is a term that encompasses a lot more than the traditional form of this type of music. In fact, it is used for all genres of music which are even remotely influenced by the rock movement. Popular additions are as follows:

>> Contemporary heavy metal, metal core and retro metal

>> Garage rock/post-punk revival

>> Digital electronic rock

The world famous contributors to this culture are Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix to name a few. Beatles, Eagles, Rolling stones and the Beach boys are the bands that stormed music scenario and were almost a cult movement during their hay days. Even today, very few rock bands or solo artists can claim even half the popularity that those group or solo performers had.