What is Progressive Rock?
Main Performers of Progressive Rock
Examples of Progressive Rock
Main Musical Characteristics of Progressive Rock
Queen
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles (1967)
- Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd (1970)
- Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen (1975)
Genesis
Pink Floyd
Muse
- Not the band which only focused on progressive rock.
- Experimented on many genres of rock such as glam rock and rock opera.
- songs of extended length
- thick textures created by multitrack recording
- lyrics which were more poetic than typical 1960s lyrics
- Superior vocals
- More complex Instrumentation
Nirvana
Analysis
What promoted this genre?
Point 1-Songs of extended length
Point 2-More meaningful lyrics
- the song consists of six sections:
- introduction (0:00-0:49)
- ballad (0:49-2:35)
- guitar solo (2:35-3:03)
- opera (3:03-4:07)
- hard rock (4:07-4:56)
- finale (4:56-5:55)
- This format, with abrupt changes in style, tone and tempo, was unusual to rock music.
- Is nearly acyclic; which means that it is not cyclic and does not have chorus parts
- Unlike other rock songs which talk about teenage love; more philosophical
- Has a narrator singing and explaining the situation-The narrator explains to his mother that he has "just killed a man," with "a gun against his head" and in doing so, has thrown his life away in the ballad part.
Progressive Rock
Point 4-Superior vocal
Point 3-Thick textures created by multitrack recording
Point 5-complex instrumentation
- during the song, Freddie Mercury the lead singer was singing in a wide range and he had the ability of singing various genres of music
- Freddie Mercury mixed Opera in the song; which is considered classical, with Heavy Rock and guitar solo and it flowed very naturally
- He also played the piano throughout the song while singing to show off his skill
- The guitarist May's solo part also displays his impressive technique
- Operatic part-not sung by a choir, members of Queen recorded the parts several times
- No synthesisers were used-Queen tried to make their original sound by the basic Rock instruments (Piano, Guitar, Bass and Drums)
- It grew as an extension of the experimental work commenced by the Beatles in the late 1960s
- Many bands wanted to develop complex ideas, not restricted by chords and show off their techniques. These ideas coincided with the interest of albums with one general theme and the establishment of FM radio station which could play longer songs than AM station.
- Prominent progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Genesis, King Crimson and Yes started from psychedelic rock.
- also known as prog rock or prog
- is a rock music subgenre that originated in the United Kingdom
- developed from psychedelic pop
- not identical, but similar to art rock
- Sometimes called as experiment rock
Conclusion
- Progressive rock is important musically because it gave greater artistic weight and credibility to rock.
- Can listen to a wide range of rock/music genres compacted in one song
- Complex instrumentation and superior vocal-which means that the artists of prog rock are very musically skilled
- Biela, L. (n.d.). Prog Rock Guides / What is Progressive Rock ?. Progarchives.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014, from http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive-rock.asp#development
- Charron, A. (n.d.). A Brief History of Progressive Rock • Guitar Noise. Guitar Noise. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://www.guitarnoise.com/lessons/brief-history-of-progressive-rock/
- Dewey, S. (n.d.). Prog-Rock: Pop or Not?. Prog-Rock: Pop or Not?. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://www.stevedewey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/essays/prog-rock.htm
- Prog Rock Guides / What is Progressive Rock ?. (n.d.). Progarchives.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://www.progarchives.com/Progressive-rock.asp
By Sarah Jang