A genre with millions of
listeners and a number of
different bands associated with
it.

Genre Overview
• Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as
"rock and roll" in the United States in the 1950s, and
developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and
later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United
States.
• It has its roots in 1940s' and 1950s' rock and roll, itself
heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music.
Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres
such as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz,
classical and other musical sources.

How rock is formed and heard
• Musically, rock has centred on the electric guitar, usually as
part of a rock group with electric bass guitar and drums.
Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time
signature using a verse-chorus form, but the genre has
become extremely diverse. Like pop music, lyrics often stress
romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes
that are frequently social or political in emphasis.
• Rock places a higher degree of emphasis on musicianship,
live performance, and an ideology of authenticity than pop
music.

Conventions
• Rock has spawned many different conventions that can be
easily associated with it making it easier for people to know
what type/genre of music a certain artist or band is playing.
• The sign of the horns is a hand gesture with a variety of
meanings and uses in various cultures. It is formed by
extending the index and little fingers while holding the
middle and ring fingers down with the thumb. This gesture
however in the rock genre is used as a type of “rocking out” to
the music as introduced by big rock artists such as Sabbath
and Ozzy Osbourne

More Conventions
• “Headbanging” is commonly used and seen by artists and fans, it
consists of the person shaking their head up and down quickly
towards the tempo of the song. Due to the fast pace off traditional rock
music, it is often seen as a way to “dance” to the music.
• Band consisting of a lead singer, guitarists and a drummer. This seems
to be the usual setup for a rock band and is often true as bands like
Kiss, the Beatles, System of a down etc.
• The rock band is usually performing in front of a crowd to show the
hype and presence the genre has. It could be a live performance used
as the premise for the music video. This is used due to rock music
focusing more on the live aspects of performing.

More Conventions
• Rock is widely viewed as wild, loose and carefree which is presented
by the artists through crazy performances, videos or costumes/make
up. This approach is also take on-board by the fans whether it is by
the clothing or way of listening to the music.
• Black is a colour associated with rock and is worn by many different
rock bands either through clothing, nail polish or face paint. This
could be because black is a dark and serious colour which is
represented also through the music
• A guitar solo or drum solo is widely expected within a rock song
which gives focus to other members of the band who are not singing
or primarily the face of the band.

Sub-genres
• Rock is the broad overview of the genre however they are different types
of rock, more specifically sub genres that have different styles and tones.
• Heavy metal is a sub genre which has a more aggressive and fast tone. It
also incorporates much more screaming from the lead singer within the
songs.
• Indie rock is a sub genre within itself as it contains different types of indie
rock(indie pop, c8, lo-fi etc.). The music is much more calm compared to
heavy metal and is recently a way for independent bands to garner
mainstream success.
• Rockabilly is a sub genre with elements of rock, blues and country. This
sub genre has a calm, jazzy tone which is quite synonymous with artists
like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash

More sub-genres
• Psychedelic rock is a sub genre that was hugely popular in the 1960’s
with famous bands and artists linked to it such as the Beatles, Jimmy
Hendrix, Iron butterfly etc. This sub genre was also a way for people who
had taken drugs to have that experience enhanced hence the psyche part
of the genre.
• Arena rock is a sub genre that has the tone and presence of being in a
crowd within a arena. The genre has the ability to get anybody in a more
upbeat mood and is quite popular in modern times.
• Punk rock is a sub genre that is quite focused on the electric instruments
to create that synth type of tone. Bands like the sex pistols are bands who
broaden the reach of punk music and became mainstream for a while in
the 1970’s

The Beatles
• The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in
Liverpool, in 1960.
• With John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison
and Ringo Starr, they became widely regarded as the
greatest and most influential act of the rock era.
• Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, the
Beatles later experimented with several genres, ranging
from pop ballads to psychedelic and hard rock, often
incorporating classical elements in innovative ways.
Subvert or conform the conventions
• The Beatles are perhaps the founder of the convention of having
four members in a group, with each member playing a different
instrument which helps diversify the band.
• The Beatles subvert the image of crazy costumes with eye-catching
make-up or tattoos. However they do conform to the
group style; that every-one in the group has similar costumes or
dress sense(see pictures to the right).

Guns ‘n’ roses
• Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in
Los Angeles, in 1985. The classic line-up as signed to
Geffen Records in 1986 consisted of vocalist Axl Rose,
lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist
Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler.
• Gun ‘N’ Roses were a band of many different sub genres
such as hard rock heavy metal and blues rock.
Subvert or conform the conventions
• Guns ‘N’ Roses definitely conform to the wild and adventurous
side of rock as their dress sense represents the rebellious and
carefree nature of their music and the sub genre they are
associated with(see 1st picture).
• Guns N Roses conforms to the convention of rock songs having
guitar and drum solos (evidenced by songs such as “Sweet child O
Mine, Welcome to the jungle etc.”)
• The band also consists of a lead singer, 2 guitarists, a bassist and a
drummer which is a typical setup for rock bands, which provides
different focuses within their songs.

Elvis Presley
• Elvis Presley was an American singer and actor. Regarded as
one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century,
he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll“ or simply,
"the King".
• Presley was an early populariser of rockabilly, an up-tempo,
backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and
blues.
• Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians
of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres,
including pop, blues and gospel, he is the best-selling solo
artist in the history of recorded music, with estimated album
sales of around 600 million units worldwide.
Subvert or conform the conventions
• Elvis Presley completely subverts the stereotypical image of rock-stars as the
image he shown was one of suave and charm. As seen in the second picture,
Elvis was known for wearing smart clothing whilst performing which shows
how the convention was subverted and actually produced the sub genre,
rockabilly
• Elvis conformed to the convention of rock artist being able to play an
instrument, which in this case was the guitar.

kiss
• KISS is an American hard rock band formed in New York
City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
• The band has sold more than 40 million albums in the
United States, of which 24 million have been certified by
the RIAA. Their worldwide sales exceeds 100 million
records, making them one of the world’s best-selling
bands of all time.
• The original line-up consisted of Paul Stanley ,Gene
Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss .
Subvert or conform the conventions
• KISS definitely conform to the conventions of rock and the
clothing. KISS are renown for their eccentrics which include their
costumes and make up, which is immediately eye-catching and
wild.
• KISS also conform to the convention of a band having four
members who all have a different role to play; whether it be
playing guitars, drums or lead singer.
• The use of the “sign of the horns” gesture is used(see 1st picture),
which is also a convention of rock and is commonly used by the
KISS member Gene Simmons.

queen
• Queen are a British rock band formed in London in
1970, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian
May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor.
• Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive
rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually
ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly
works, incorporating further diverse styles into their
music.
Subvert or conform the conventions
• Queen both conform and subvert the standard imagery associated
with Rock. Majority of the time they are seen wearing more
civilian type of clothing so less eccentric. However they have also
be known to wear some eye catching costumes that are more
suited for a rock band.
• Queen also conform to the convention of a band having four
members who all have a different role to play; whether it be
playing guitars, drums or lead singer.
• Queen conform to the convention of rock bands having high
octane performance and is channelled through their music. This is
evident by songs such as: Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the
Champions, We Will Rock You etc.

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