Rock & roll

Rock and Roll evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to the rest of the world.

The typical rock and roll band consisted of a rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, and a drummer, with the piano or saxophone as a fifth instrument or a replacement for the lead guitar. Rock and roll, due to its worldwide popularity had far reaching influences, affecting the lifestyle, fashion, attitudes, and language of generations from the late 1940s to the present.

Rock & Roll started in the late ’40s and early ‘50s as a fusion of the music genre popular for the era; gospel, folk, blues, country and western, and jazz.

“A jazz musician is a juggler

w ho uses harmonies instead of oranges.”

Benny Green (1963)

JAZZ

Jazz is an American music style which originated around the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the south from a mix of African and European music traditions.

Jazz has branched out into a variety of styles, from Dixieland from the early 1910s, big band swing in the ‘30s and ‘40s, be-bop in the mid ‘40s, a variety of Latin jazz fusion such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz from the ‘50s and ‘60s, jazz-rock fusion from the ‘70s and later developments such as acid jazz, and it continues, (like all forms of music), to be in a constant state of evolution.

The brass and reed instruments used in marching bands and dance bands became the basic instruments of jazz.

New York is a wonderful city for jazz. You can hear the best jazz at the Blue Note at 131 West Third Street, or at Birdland at 2745 Broadway. Sometimes you can hear a rock concert at Madison Square Garden, at Eighth Avenue and 33rd Street.

In London you can listen to some of the best jazz musicians at Ronnie Scott’s Club in Frith Street, or at 100 Club, Oxford Street.

PUNK

The term “Punk Rock” was coined to give a name to the unpolished and sometimes unskilled garage bands of the ‘60s, as they burst onto the scene. Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It was a rebellion against the seemingly stagnant content that Rock and Roll appeared to be suffering from at the time.

R eggae

Reggae had its birth in Jamaica in the ‘60s and is a mix of Caribbean style with strong African overtones and influenced by early Rhythm and Blues.

Bob Marley, who brought Reggae into the mainstream is probably the most known of all the Reggae artists. The music style is similar to Folk, Blues and Country only in that it deals with the same issues of poverty, politics, love, and the shortfalls of society in general. The songs are a cry for the poor who grew up in the shanty towns and are struggling for survival.

The simple musical structure, and sincerity of the lyrics has helped increase the popularity of Reggae, and its worldwide spread is evidence of that, despite a humble beginning on a small island with limited resources.

HEAVY METAL

Heavy Metal is rock having aggressive, driving rhythms, and highly amplified guitars using distortion and overdrive, and frequently having a dark theme. It evolved from traditional Rock and Roll, and blues, with a twinge of classical in the mix.

Starting in the late ‘60s early ‘70s it became a powerful driving force in the music scene. The advent of more complex electronic effects was well put to use by the Heavy Metal musicians. The heavy approach to the traditional blues sound gave rise to much experimentation with the guitar to produce a louder, more discordant sound. The Guitar is probably the most important instrument in Heavy Metal, not only driving the music along, but at times becoming the focal point around which all else is focused.

The style of drumming began to change dramatically to produce a heavier, more aggressive sound that was needed to keep up with the highly charged music, and of course to be heard above the amplified guitars. 

HIP HOP

Hip Hop began as a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans. Hip Hop's four main elements are Rapping, DJing, graffiti writing, and break dancing. Other elements include beat boxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world. When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around DJs who created rhythmic beats. This was later accompanied by “rapping” (a rhythmic style of chanting). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music.