1 of 26

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 3

off. With widely available electric instruments, a popular and easily learned musical format, and a generation of teens who wanted to express themselves, it was a formula for a cultural craze. Rock bands formed in garages across the country, and droves of pimply teen-age guys learned the guitar. Girls wanted to dance, guys wanted to play, and everyone wanted to listen.

THE ELECTRIC GUITAR

The electric guitar put a LOT of power into a musician's hands. It can be as sweet as a violin or it can have the concussive force of a mortar round. Compared to the piano, sax, or violin, a guitar can be learned rather quickly. And with a twist of a knob on an amp, the guitar puts much of its range of sounds into even a novice's hands.

Musicians took up the instrument right and left. The guitar virtuoso, the much admired masters of the instrument, had heydays in the Led Zepplin years, and then again in the 80's when Stevie Ray Vaughn took the music world by storm, and in the 90's when Slash was recognized for his mastery of the instrument (too much wah-wah, but that's my opinion). By no means were these the only greats in the guitar world, but these musicians were at the forefront in these waves of guitar genius.

No matter what kind of music you played on an electric guitar, if it has a driving beat it becomes rock. Listen to a country station, and you'll hear a lot of rock music. Listen to a funk station, and they play a lot of rock. Listen to a pop station, and they play a lot of rock.

ROCK'S CHILDREN

Rock put down roots in other types of music, spawning pop-rock, jazz-rock, op-rock (opera-rock), progressive rock, art-rock, country-rock, rap-rock, funk-rock, folk-rock, punk rock, goth-rock, grunge, heavy metal, and psychedelic rock. Reggae and Spanish music influences were heard, and unusual instruments (the hurdy-gurdy, Theremin, zither, and dulcimer, among others) were included in rock songs.

The flexibility of the rock style and the electric guitar meant that rock could mate with any other musical style. That's another reason why it's persisted... because skilled musicians continually found new ways to re-energize the music using new influences, creating new styles.

CREATIVE JUICES COME FROM PIMPLES

Novice musicians are the infantry of rock, and there has never been a shortage of them. Bands like The Ramones actually started as novice musicians and never really rose much above that level, but still made lasting impressions in rock's history.

Pimply kids get together in garages

• << previous page
• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about The demise of rock: What happened?
We want to hear your view. Write now!