post 12

The subgenre of rock and roll (or just rock) is probably considered to be it's own genre rather than a subgenre by many. There are a few characteristics that make a this subgenre what it is. Things like the use of the electric guitar which was originally for making a guitar more quiet, but ended but ended up being used to amplify it, the small ensembles just as in jazz or bluegrass groups, singing in almost all of the songs, different from the instrumental pieces of previous times, which means the singer always tries to put his/her own individualism into the song. It seems that song lyrics usually consist of love lost, love found, breakup lyrics, etc., usually things about this type of relationship. Also, lyrics tend to repeat themselves many many times. Songs often have 4 beats in a cycle with many strong beats so the rhythm is usually simple and easy to follow. The drum set is responsible for keeping the beat and various rhythms. As technology is getting better, artists of this subgenre are using the many tools coming out to help with their performance. Things like, monitors for live performances, multitrack recording for studio performances, and vocoding for fixes in pitch reference. Unlike those that came before it, this subgenre stresses on being loud and a rebellious statement against the previously very traditional reserved type music. It has a very raw energy. Not only is the rhythm simplified but the chords from which the harmony and melody come from are also very simple. Songs will only use a very standard set of progressions that change rather slowly.

"Suspicious Minds", Elvis Presley listening guide
0:00 instrumental start with guitar
0:06 verse 1 starts, vocals start and instruments become accompaniment, other instruments, like the drums and harmonization, come in
0:23 second part of verse 1 starts, melody of first part of verse 1 starts again
0:41 chorus begins for the first time.
0:48 chorus melody repeats for the second part of the chorus
0:56 verse 2 starts, repeating same melody as in verse 1
1:13 second part of verse 2 starts, repeating the same melody as in verse 1.
1:27 you can hear the back-up singers
1:30 chorus starts again, same as the first time chorus is sung
1:47 music slows down, drum is key to changing the tempo
1:49 bridge part starts
2:15 music speeds up again, drum set is key to changing the tempo
2:17 repeats verse 1
2:48 repeats verse 1 again, you can hear more drums in the background
3:24 repeats verse 1 again
3:37 repeats verse 1 again
3:54 repeats verse 1 again
4:10 repeats verse 1 again
fades out.