Rock band

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Rock group (or rock band) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. Deriving its name from the musical style which was its immediate progenitor, rock and roll, the type of music played by rock groups has its roots deeply steeped in both rock and roll, and its immediate forebear, rhythm and blues. In Britain in the early 1960s, the term rock group was not used; instead, the common term in use was Pop Group, and the individual musicians were known as Pop stars or Pop Singers, who were described as working in the genre of Pop music. However, as psychedelia approached two changes in terminology emerged: first, the name band rather than group came into vogue, typified by The Band; second, the term Pop was dropped in favour of Rock by most musicians working in the popular music field. Various sub-categories were created (such as Folk-Rock, Jazz-Rock, Progressive-Rock) which allowed musicians to distinguish their particular specialty from that of others.

A rock group or band tends to have a heavy focus on certain instruments, principally electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums (prime examples of this are The Kinks, The Who, Cream, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience), with keyboard instruments such as electronic organs being featured from the outset by groups such as Manfred Mann and The Animals. Later in the 1960s, rock bands such as The Who, Pink Floyd and Hawkwind experimented with electric organs and synthesizers. Other instruments deployed within the context of a rock band include the electric violin (as used by Curved Air, Dave Matthews Band or Yellowcard), the kettle drum (as played by Butch Trucks of The Allman Brothers Band), and the flute (as played by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull), among others.

1 Structure
2 Image
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Structure

A rock group or band usually consists of at least four musical roles: lead singer, guitarist, bass guitarist, and drummer, forming a quartet (group of four).

Many rock bands also include a rhythm guitarist and/or a keyboardist, who work with the bassist and the drummer in the rhythm section. The role of these instruments is to identify and play chords and chordal accompaniment for the soloist and to merge with the overall groove of the rhythm section.

The lead singer may also play an instrument while singing, most commonly the guitar, bass guitar, or keyboard. When the lead singer role is taken by one of the other primary musical roles, the group is termed a trio or a power trio (such as The Police, Rush, Cream or more modern examples such as Nirvana, Green Day, Muse, The Living End, Better Than Ezra, Wolfmother, or Alkaline Trio).

Also some bands may have multiple guitarists (such as The Beatles and Pavement with two guitarists each, Molly Hatchet, and Radiohead with three guitarists). One of two or more guitarists in a band may usually play either rhythm or lead exclusively, especially when performing live, however when they are in the studio they may switch roles. Another way band members switch roles in the studio is when none of them play their usual instrument (such as "Back in the U.S.S.R." by The Beatles).

Furthermore, some bands, especially in nu-metal and rapcore, may even have rappers and/or turntablists in the line-up.

If there is an addition of instruments from other areas of music, such as stringed instruments like a violin or cello, or horns like trumpets or trombones, the band is seen as diverging too far from the main four roles, this creates a tendency to classify the group not as a rock band, but with a genre seen as more specific than "rock" (e.g. heavy metal or progressive rock).

While some rock bands may add several additional singers and instrumentalists, they hardly ever lose the four primary roles. Some notable exceptions are The White Stripes, Local H, (who consist of only a drummer and a guitarist/singer) and Ben Folds Five which only consists of drums, bass, piano and vocals.

[edit] Image

Rock bands rely heavily on their image, or appearance both on and off stage. They often dress in a nonconventional or otherwise notable style. In the late 1960's, rock bands would dress in non-conformational fashions, with bright colors and other garb associated with the hippie movement, both on-stage and in everyday life (Jimi Hendrix wore an authentic 1800s British Army Officer's jacket). See Kiss.

Each member of a band typically has an on-stage role; usually, the lead singer is the "frontman," who addresses the audience in between numbers, while the other members take a back-seat role. Another common setup is to have the lead guitarist and lead singer both act as frontmen, or to act as onstage foils (see Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin or Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who).