How Was Rock Music Made?
Posted by Mike Schumacher
What is popular music? Is it songs that have lyrics, melody, and rhythm? Does it use instruments to create an atmosphere or understand how they are used to tell a story? And what about genre-music? Some people may not agree with this last one, but we will leave that for another day!
Many people seem to think of rock as being “hard” music. It was described as such due to its heavy bass line, strong vocals, and guitar riffs. While those things make up part of what defines rock music, it is actually all three together that makes it so unique.
Rock is often defined by its musicians, their stories of how they found success in the industry, and what influenced them. When you listen to some of the greatest bands, you can find similarities in instrumentation, style, and tone. This article will discuss the five main ingredients that made up the early rock music era, and why they matter today.
Disclaimer: The following paragraphs will talk about artists who did not necessarily mean to be considered part of the rock genre, but still contributed to the evolution of music and influence others. These writers and musicians should not be given credit for starting the rock genre, but instead for helping build the foundations of what we call rock now.
This article will also touch upon artists outside the mainstream genres like punk, metal, and hard rock.
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Recording technology
Technology has always played an integral part in how music is made. Starting with people banging rocks together to make noise, recording technology has evolved through different stages.
Early sound recordings were done via mechanical means; someone would have a source of loud noises (like a fire or cow being slaughtered) and they would use special equipment to record it onto a medium such as paper or tape.
This is what we refer to as a direct-to-media recording process. Direct-to-medium records are very limited in what you can do with them later on because once you play back the media, the sounds will not be clear due to the nature of the recording device.
For example, if you recorded a car engine using a direct-to-medium recording method, then when you listen to the song years down the road, you may notice some interference and hiss – this is caused by leftover vibrations from the vehicle that was used to create the recording.
Photos and videos taken with a smartphone camera are another popular type of media for creating songs. These things constantly change so there is no consistency in quality between one shot and the next, which makes editing the pictures or moving up the settings more difficult.
Digital audio files are also dependent upon having enough memory to store all of the information.
Event planning
As we know, music is a medium that offers us so many different ways to express ourselves. It helps shape culture and it shapes discourse. When you listen to enough rock songs, you will find yourself talking about themes and concepts of power, individuality, love, life, death, hope and more.
Rock musicians spend their time exploring these ideas and incorporating them into their songs and performances. They do this not only for themselves, but also for other people to enjoy.
As they are always looking to learn something new, they attend events all around the world to meet like-minded individuals or to soak up some inspiration. These experiences help fuel their creativity and self-expression.
Event planners are very familiar with how event marketing works, but what most don’t realize is that event production starts with setting up an event space and then moving onto event staging and decorations.
These three components make up the basic framework of any event, and too often they get overlooked. Luckily, though, there are plenty of free resources available online and through social media sites like Instagram where anyone can pick up some tips.
Record labels
As we have seen, music is a powerful medium that people use to express themselves. It is very versatile as it can be used for many things; from making sounds together to telling stories.
It is interesting to note that most of this music comes either directly or indirectly from one thing: the record label.
A record label is an organization that helps artists produce their songs and/or covers. They do this by producing the recording equipment, helping with songwriting, and financing part or all of the production costs for the artist.
Some examples of how record labels help artists are: paying for studio time, buying needed materials such as instruments, giving the artist enough money to make appearances after the album is recorded, etc.
Trends in music
Another major factor in the success of rock is trends. There have been many shifts in what people consider to be “rock”. If you listen to enough rock, you will eventually run into something new!
A good example of this is when artists start incorporating musical styles that are not typically categorized as rock. An artist may experiment with other genres and it can quickly become popularized as part of the genre of rock. This happened with grunge which became very popular before breaking off into its own genre.
Another trend that has seen some return is the use of lyrics that do not necessarily follow a narrative structure. Artists such as The Strokes or Twenty One Pilots create songs that are mostly made up of sounds, melodies and rhythms alone.
These types of songs are considered rhythmic noise, tone poems or even instrumental tracks if they lack vocals. But they all contain an element that touches upon emotions and/or narratives, making them qualify as song.
Popular musicians and singers
As we know, music has always inspired people to create new tunes or make new sounds of its own. It also inspires people to use it as a tool to express themselves, whether for an audience or for yourself.
Many artists started their careers very early in music’s history, which is how most people are familiar with it now. An artist that began his career later than 1950 is probably known to you.
Some famous names include Elvis, Madonna, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift — all of whom have been surrounded by lots of rumors and stories about what they got into and why they made certain choices. Some say they struggled with mental health, while others claim everything was just one big ego trip.
No matter who they are or what they do, everyone seems to agree that these artists were talented. They knew how to write lyrics, play instruments, and perform well.
But what makes someone consider them as successful today as they were years ago? What qualities does it take to be rich off of music? To define success through this lens takes away some of the mystique that surrounds popular musicians.
It can also give us insight into our own lives and what we want to achieve with ours and other people’s help. This article will go more in depth on these points and others.
The influence of TV
As we know, music has always been around in some form or another. Since humans made their first sounds and melodies for self-expression, they have needed to put those songs together into something organized and structured.
We can trace the origins of music from musical instruments to orchestras to songbooks that people would memorize and perform as part of music education. In more recent history, musicians have gathered in studios with recording equipment to make new songs or albums.
However, it was not until television that true mass media emerged. A medium that most people have access to, even if only for few minutes at a time every day is enough to fuel continuous exposure to music.
Television is a tool used to tell stories, so naturally, there are lots of examples where music plays an integral role in developing the plot or emphasizing a theme. These instances give off a sense of familiarity – you recognize the music, so you subconsciously associate it with this story element. This association then helps solidify the connections between these two elements.
As such, when watching a show, you may be listening to an episode’s soundtrack while also finding yourself humming or singing along to one or several tracks.
The influence of the internet
With the explosion of technology, how people access music has changed dramatically. You no longer need to be surrounded by other musicians in order to learn how to sing or play an instrument! Technology makes it easy to access almost any type of music you want to listen to, from anywhere at any time.
Music is a form of expression that comes naturally to most humans. It allows us to connect with each other, work off each other’s rhythms, and celebrate the beauty of nature through songs. Plus, we all have different musical tastes, which are unique ways of expressing yourself.
It can feel like there’s never a good song when you’re struggling under the weight of self-doubt and fear. Releasing tension through music is a totally natural thing to do, so why not use your music as help?
There are many ways to get into playing guitar. This article will go over some basics for beginners, along with tips and tricks to improve your skills.

The Jam Addict team is a revolving door of writers who care about music, its effects on culture, and giving aspiring artists tools and knowledge to be inspired and keep on creating.
If you have any questions or concerns or just want to drop us a line, don’t hesitate to contact us! We always appreciate the feedback.