Wiki How: Rock Music
Posted by Mike Schumacher
When people ask me what genre of music I like, it can sometimes be difficult to give them an exact answer. There are so many different types of songs out there, it is hard to know where to begin!
As a kid, I listened to everything from classical music to hip hop to jazz.
I also loved songs that made you connect with other people, or inspire you to do things yourself. A perfect example of this is The Who’s song My Generation. Even though it is about a generation gap, it still makes you feel young.
When I was in high school, punk rock became popular. This included bands such as The Pixies, Nirvana, and Radiohead. These artists not only influenced my musical taste, but they inspired me to pursue music as a career.
Many musicians mix together elements of various styles and genres to make their own music.
History of rock music
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Many people associate the term ‘rock’ with hard, heavy metal songs or even some pop music that has drum beats and guitars. However, before those styles of music there was something much different!
Music historians refer to this type of music as early rock. The word ‘rock’ comes from the British language and means “a large boulder lying in the way.” This is an interesting connection for musicians because they see their genre as a big barrier to be overcome!
Early forms of rock are not well defined though, making it difficult to determine when bands fit into the category. Some say classic rock begins with the 1960s while others say 1970 or earlier! Whichever time frame you choose to include them in, just make sure they belong!
Many consider Jimi Hendrix to be one of the main creators of what we now call alternative rock, so including his works in this article will do that. His style mixed many things together such as blues, jazz, funk, and psychedelic elements.
We can also add rap to the list of important ingredients in creating alternative rock. Artists like Eminem, Drake, and Jay-Z have made huge waves by mixing these two genres together.
And lastly, I would put punk under alternative rock.
Styles of rock music
There are many different styles of rock music, with each style having its own set of rules or guidelines. These include genre, lyrics, instrumentation, and how the song is structured.
Rock genres can get very confusing as there are so many variations. Some people may use “rock” to refer to anything that has heavy bass lines and drums, which would make any type of music fall under that category.
Other people may use “rock” to refer to songs with hard-hitting beats and vocals, which would make alternative music like punk or indie rock examples of it.
And some people may only know of one specific kind of rock music, such as classic rock (also known as just “classic”) or something related to hip hop like grunge or metal.
Notable rock bands
Most people know what kind of music they like, but few are able to describe how it all came together. What songs mean to them and why they love them!
That’s where musicians come in. They create music for a reason – to express themselves or something that has stuck with them throughout their lives.
And we can learn a lot from looking into those reasons.
If you ever feel like there is no inspiration, just look up some old songs and see what makes them beautiful.
Notable rock songs
Many people consider music to be a form of expression that allows us to explore different emotions, themes and stories. What genre of music you are listening to can depend on what kind of emotion you want to convey or what story you need told. For example, if you wanted to learn more about strong leadership, then listen to some hard rock songs about being brave and courageous leaders. If you like storytelling, then listen to songs with lyrics that tell a tale!
There have been an endless amount of great bands coming out every year. Bands that get famous for making one song that everyone knows but no one understands how they fit into the whole album. Or bands that remain unknown because people just know their most well-known song. The number one reason why people don’t recognize the genius of an artist is because they are only familiar with the very surface level elements of their work.
Music has many components to it. It is not simply something that comes down from the gods and does its job without ever speaking openly to anyone. Artists add words to certain songs, musicians play instruments, producers create environments, and others contribute to the overall sound. A lot of these individuals who make up the musical puzzle do so as strangers until they meet somewhere along the way.
Luckily, there are resources available to us all — blogs, YouTube videos, magazines, and other sites where artists share information and insights into their craft.
Popular rock genres
Many people get confused when it comes to defining what kind of music is considered “rock”. They believe that anything with lyrics, a guitar solo, and drums is automatically categorized as rock, which isn’t always the case! Technically any type of music containing these three elements are called instrumental songs, but they may include some additional components (such as bass or vocals) to be labeled as rock.
Many popular rock genres contain one or more of these core ingredients, such as classic rock, alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, punk, new wave, etc. These types of music were not only influential in their own time, but also now many artists outside of these sub-genres use them as sources for inspiration.
We will discuss each of these major rock genre categories in greater detail below, along with some important points about how they differ.
Early influences on rock music
Many people credit musicians with creating their favorite songs or genres, but not all of these artists are well known. Some have gone unrecognized, while others have built upon what made other bands popular to create new styles that now bear their name.
Many musicians credit early inspirations for their craft, though some may feel that these influencers got away with stealing from someone else’s style and rebranding it as their own.
In this article, we will take a look at five influential figures in the world of rock music who did not receive the respect they were due. These individuals had unique approaches to songwriting, guitar playing, and vocals that helped shape the genre we know today as rock.
Here you will find The Beatles, Metallica, Nickelback, Pink Floyd, and Jay Z! All of whom received their initial exposure through one of these artistic geniuses. Let’s take a closer look at each one of them and how their musical career was fueled by the work of the others.
Early musicians and singers
Many people may not realize it, but early artists were not totally performing as we know them today. Technically speaking, they weren’t even musicians! They wrote or composed what later generations would recognize as songs, and then someone else (usually another musician) performed those lyrics to music that we now refer to as singing.
Early writers of tunes did not themselves sing their songs, nor do most of us have a clear picture in our heads of how they sang theirs. But we can say with certainty that they didn’t hit high notes and/or use complex vocabulary!
In fact, some linguists believe that the word “song” is actually an abbreviation for «-et», which means chanted — perhaps even something like The sun will rise every day? Or maybe just Ode To Joy?
It was only much later that individuals started writing down or recording their own experiences and thoughts, thus giving birth to the concept of the songwriter. Some of these self-styled poets contributed short pieces they called poems, which are really just stories told in rhyme.
Early bands
While early rock music is not considered folk or classical, some songs fit into this category. For example, many consider The Beatles’ song Let It Be (1973) to be a piece of folk music due to its use of poetry and singing as integral parts. Some also describe Led Zeppelin’s hit song Stairway To Heaven (1977) as being in the genre because it uses an extended metaphor with lyrics that refer to climbing mountains, escaping death, and going beyond limits.
However, these types of songs are very rare. Early musicians did not label themselves as such, nor were their songs written about concepts like limit breaking and inspiration.
Instead, they used metaphors related to nature or everyday life. For instance, the word “rock” comes from the term for thunderstorms, so people associated heavy rumbling sounds with powerful flashes of lightning and rolling waves of water.

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