The Art of Rock and Roll by Charles Brown
The book “The Art of Rock and Roll” by Charles T. Brown basically proposes methods for analyzing music and anyone who reads the books should be able to develop techniques for listening to music and making legitimate statements about it. It treats rock and roll as a serious art form and traces it cultural roots throughout the book.
Chapter one discusses the elements of rock and makes four assumptions.
Assumption one states that rock is a legitimate art form. An art form is defined as a creative act that springs from the artist's experience as it reflects or reacts against society. It then states that acculturation, a process by which a certain people are influenced by a foreign culture, changed the Afro-
Americans from their original culture to one that was a mixture of U.S. influences and African roots which played a large part in the way rock and roll sounds today. Brown proves rock is a legitimate art form by talking about its audience and its lasting power.
Assumption two states that rocks roots are in folk, jazz, and pop music. Musicians who first started rock and roll must have had something to base their music on which turned out to be primarily folk, jazz, and pop. They simple changed the pattern and style of that music and started forming rock.
Assumption three states that it is just as valid to study rock and roll as European classical music. Rock will prove to be a valid means of producing competent musicians and that it demands the same type of performance as in any musical form. Since it is a valid way in which to study music in general it is just as valid to start with rock as starting anywhere else.
Assumption four states that simple musical analysis of selected compositions is a primary tool for understanding musical evolution. Through musical analysis we are able to generalize and say that rock from a certain era has common characteristics. By doing this we are able to see what influences lead rock to where it is today.
The chapter then goes on to discuss the elements of music which are nonverbal communication, melody, rhythm, harmony, lyrics, and performance.
Music is nonverbal in that it communicates through organized sound and is difficult to translate, the other elements are what make the sound organized and meaningful. Melody is an organized set of notes consisting of different pitches.
It is basically the up and down motion of the lead singer. Rhythm is those beat of patterns that underlie most forms of communications.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Rock ‘n’ roll was a controversial yet fashionable genre of popular music that emerged in the early 1950s (America in the World, 1776 to the Present : A Supplement to the Dictionary of American History: Mâ€'Z, Index. 2016, p896-899.). Its origin is also started from the revolution of bourgeois. The younger generation had gone through the Second World War, though, the older generation had treated kids. Two generations that had each world war had divided. A lot of the pain and anger felt by the younger generation made them to resist against the social establishment. As a result, the war had created a gulf between generations but further reduced the gap between blacks and whites. The youth of the 1950s felt unconnected to their society and began looking at the world more globally, and also began looking for new role models who reflected their ideas and beliefs. They knew that ideas of old generation would no longer work in a modern society. Thus several young leaders stood out and took center stage that setting the pace for the direction of society and its music form that point on. At this time, technical innovations had emerged such as electric guitar and electric bass. This is the impetus of creation of music including rock ‘n’
The book depicts the story of culture conflicts of the music, which arose from the introduction of the foot-tapping, hip-swaying music now known as rock n' roll (Graarrq). The outcome of rock n’ roll coincided with tremendous uproar in the movement to grant civil rights to African American. Trapped in the racial politics of the 1950s, rock n’ roll was credited with and criticized for promoting integration and economic opportunity for blacks while bringing to “mainstream” cloture black styles and values (Altschuler). Black values were looked over and kind of not important to whites. Whites were very much so well treated then blacks were, however no one spoke out until the outcome of rock n’ roll.
What emerged after the explosion of rock and roll in the 1950s abandoned the roll and has now come to be known just as classic rock. This rock that was created following the decade of The King became a completely unique and different sound that changed the musical landscape and what was once a single, unified genre gave way for multitudes of variation in its sounds. These new sounds, that came mostly from abroad, had been notably influenced by the American rock of the 1950s, such as Elvis, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry. These pioneers of rock came to be the essential reason for the arrival of the British Invasion and other sounds that defined the decade of the 1960s.
The development of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the late 1940s and early 1950s by young African Americans coincided with a sensitive time in America. Civil rights movements were under way around the country as African Americans struggles to gain equal treatment and the same access to resources as their white neighbors. As courts began to vote in favor of integration, tensions between whites and blacks escalated. As the catchy rhythm of Rock ‘n’ Roll began to cross racial boundaries many whites began to feel threatened by the music, claiming its role in promoting integration. This became especially problematic as their youth became especially drawn to ...
This book provides a very detailed outline on how and where rock and roll originated. It places much emphasis on the transition from Black to White rock artists and how society reacted to this change. Szatmary also presents sufficient information on the many aspects of rock and roll, ranging from what the lyrics are about, to the beginnings of rock and roll and new age rock.
The story of the birth of rock ‘n’ roll has a mythical quality to it. It speaks of racial barriers bridged through the fusion of Afro-American musical styles with white popular music in 1950s America. Not only did white record producers and radio disc jockeys market Afro-American artists, but white artists began to cover their songs, as well as incorporate Afro-American style into their own song writing. The musical style was so powerful that the white audience was infected by it, despite the social stigma that listening to “race music” possessed. The common view of teenagers’ participation in the creation of rock ‘n’ roll as an act of rebellion runs parallel with the music’s legendary origins. Through rock ‘n’ roll, the teenagers of the United States created a generational gap that angered their parents’ generation. Teenagers rejected kitchy Tin Pan Alley, “Sing Along with Mitch,” and the sleepy crooning of Perry Como in favour of sexually charged race music. Historians have taken different approaches to the question of teen rebellion. While some consider their love of rock ‘n’ roll revolutionary, others argue that the music cemented teenagers within the conformity and materialism of the 1950s; what cars were to adults, rock ‘n’ roll was to teens.[1]
Rock 'n' roll came from a type of music called rhythm and blues (R&B), which consisted of doo-wop and gospel music. It was popular mostly in the south during the 40’s but it soon grew to urban cities. It was Les Paul’s invention of the electric guitar in 1952 that added a new sound and made rhythm and blues into the rock 'n' roll we all know and love today. Most of the artists from R&B were African American, and in their song they would reference sexual matters. So together it gave a bad connotation towards the music and their race, therefore both were never fully accepted in the north. The term “rock” was slang mostly used by African Americans meaning a form of music that was easily danced to. Meanwhile “roll” was usually a euphemism for sex, such as “a roll in the hay”. It was Alan Freed who first popularized the term “rock and roll” for this gen...
Many people and many styles of music influenced Rock and Roll. The styles included Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Bluegrass, Boogie-Woogie, and Rockabilly. Each was a major factor into the introduction of a new style of music called Rock ‘N’ Roll.
I believe that the history of rock and roll demonstrates a link between culture and social class race, and age; by the way a genre brings all the people in these different categories into one big group. When rock and roll began to emerge people from different cultures and social classes started to come together as a group by the way they dressed. It was not only the music but also the fashion it brought along with it. People from this era changed the way they dressed, styled their hair and their means of transportation. This brought together people from different cultures and social class, race and age all together.
Even though Elvis Presley did not create rock and roll, he was the driving force behind it. The term “Rock and Roll” was used to describe the new music that was taking shape. It was first used by a disc jockey named Alan Freed in Cleveland Ohio. This genre of music was influenced by country music, gospel, rhythm, and blues (Waltos, Goodrich, and DiSalvo). Record producers wanted a white artist who could make African American music since they saw a lot ...
II. Second I will tell you with more detail the numerous events of the 60’s that shaped the way the music industry was ran and the way rock music sounded.
Music tends to follow the trends of its listeners; genres come and go with popularity. Rock and roll was considered to have its golden era in the 1960s (Rock and Roll). It stood out with unforgettable performances by Sly and the Family Stone, The Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Grateful Dead, Santana, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin (Rock and Roll). The Beatles were one of the top rock and roll bands. It is said that their music “combined the distinct sounds of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and others which shaped a sound that dominated the sixties with its creativity and style” (Holland 105). Jimi Hendrix brought a new style of music called “acid rock”. He changed the way music was played by experimenting with different melodies, different chord...
There is agreeing when it comes to where these type of songs first started in places like Memphis, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Buffalo, these areas produced the majority of early rock music. African-American and White people were living closer during these times (Pre Civil Rights Movement, Or Near) and as a result, heard each other's music and began to emulate each other’s fashions. Radio stations that were available to both African-Americans and Whites, and thus called “cultural collision.” The most notable influences were jazz, blues, gospel, country, and folk. A 1939 single Roll ‘Em Pete, which is regarded as an important precursor of rock and roll. The 1940’s saw a lot of increased use in blaring horns, (thanks to jazz) shouting lyrics, and boogie woogie beats. After World War II, with shortages around the
Rock music is a term that should be familiar. Originally dubbed “rock and roll” in the 1940’s and 1950’s, rock and roll is almost always fronted by an electrical guitar and heavily influenced by blues, R&B, and even country music. By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s rock and roll began to be shortened to just “rock music”, and the entire style starting branching out into other sub-genres such as punk rock, heavy metal, garage rock, hard rock, among others. The sub-genre in question however is Alternative Rock, which is generally defined as despite following the fundamentals of rock music, it strays away from what is considered “mainstream” at the time by using concepts such as extensive underground music association, muddied or distorted guitars, more prominent use of power chords, and even a sort of rebellious or defiant attitude in lyrics and sound.
It was also kind of difficult for me to explain rock & roll specifically, because it contains many of the elements of the different genres from some of the earlier music we studied. I just know that rock & roll wouldn’t have become what it is today, if it were not for our musicians in the past which has allowed us to learn and grow from them.