Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [rock]

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.

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How do rock singers avoid ruining their voice?

Take Dave Grohl for instance... it seems like he's really putting his voice out there in terms of singing volume, and on a lot of songs is on the edge of screaming. I don't think I could manage for a whole song without my throat being raw but he…
Mr. Boy
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Stucturing Rock Band Practices

Background I recently took over as lead singer of an alt rock band. Around the same time, we lost our guitarist due to a move, and our bassist and keyboardist decided to leave at the same time. We filled these three positions, and it's essentially…
Greg Jackson
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How to translate rock guitar style to keyboards?

The particular property of the guitar, at least to my ear, is that it can easily "fill the room", as it were, even when playing simple chords or patterns. The keyboard seems to want... more complexity. But this doesn't work so well for, say, amusing…
Brian H
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Theoretical Question about "Smoke On The Water"

This popular riff is often one of the first an aspiring guitarist learns, as it is easy to play and distinctive. But when I am trying to understand it in terms of music theory, it makes me wonder. Just the plain tones are…
StefanH
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History of screaming in music throughout the world

Screaming is a common technique in metal and other music genres but according to Wikipedia it has also been used in blues music and very few times in more classical Western works. Are there other early examples of music (Western or not) that make…
Christian Bueno
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Weird light instead of pick?

I've been on post rock concert (God is an Astronaut if it helps) and during one song artist were not using something looking like tiny laptop power supply with little light (pickup side). He was still using his left hand (fretboard side) like…
teodozjan
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What characterises Irish drumming?

A bunch of my friends are into Irish music, including irish punk/rock (like the Pogues), as well as more folky stuff. I play (kit) drums, and would like to be able join in. I've tried, but I'm not really familiar with the style, and I end up just…
naught101
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Do classical and rock musicians train with different goals?

I expect most musicians aim to master the instrument they play. But articles & interviews I've read suggest that: Classical musicians: Place importance on precision and theoretical knowledge Should master many styles/techniques. This way, the…
Amber Jade Fontana
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Why does rock music use higher fret alternatives on guitar?

A recurring pattern that I see in rock music is that it will often opt for higher frets while lower frets are available. For example, in this tutorial for Alice in Chains - Them Bones, the guitarist chooses to start the solo on fret 8 on the A…
JoJo
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How does one set up a guitar amplifier to produce a rock sound/feel?

I have trouble figuring out my guitar amplifier's equalizer settings, how does one know what the different knobs (bass, treble, mid, overdrive) do to derive a desired rock sound/feel?
Nick
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Harmonic analysis of "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith

I'm trying to do harmonic analysis of "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith. Verses and choruses uses I to IV progression, but I wonder about the riff in the bridge. It seem to be played in the E key. Joe Perry, the guitarist and composer, said: "I didn't…
arek
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Does Phish base their improvisational style on any predetermined techniques?

I have heard of the phrase "The Circle Game" used in reference to Phish and their style of improvisation and extended jams. How does this work, and is it evident in their live performance?
empty
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Soloing on Scales

I've been playing guitar for about 5 years now. When I improvise solos, I tend to do it only in major and minor pentatonic scales. Therefore, my solos are quite restricted. Could someone enlighten me on some other scales I could use to enhance my…
Dhruv Erry
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Using flatted third in 12 bar blues

I've found that when playing the last four bars of the 12 bar blues (V IV I I) with triads (in a typical 70s rock fashion) that inserting a major triad on the flatted third sounds really good as a kind of a fill (playing it for one beat, is that the…
Alexei Averchenko
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How to create guitar tabs with similar notation to Japanese Band Scores?

In Japan, so called バンドスコア (Band Scores) are widely available, showing multiple parts for vocals, guitar, bass and drums. An example can be found in the image on this question or see below: As you can see in this image, repeated strumming of chords…
user21634
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