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Musical Close-up: Instrumentation in Rock & Roll

Guitar

 

Listen to musical examples with guitar & bass

6-string guitar
  • acoustic
  • electric
  • amplification (common since mid-30s; T-Bone Walker & Muddy Waters)
    • 1954—Leo Fender's solid-body Stratocaster
  • effects

Robert Johnson - Me & the Devil

Robert Johnson - Hell Hound on My Trail

Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode

Van Halen - Eruption

 

Bass Guitar

Listen to musical examples with guitar & bass
  • acoustic bass was used in early rock
  • mid-50s, Fender introduced solid-body electric bass
    • 50s rockers continued to prefer the acoustic, but by the 60s the electric dominated (except folk & country)

acoustic bass:

Miles Davis - So What

electric bass:

Golden Earring - Radar Love

Rickenbacker electric bass:

Rush - Yyz

 

Voice

Listen to musical examples illustrating different vocal styles

Crooners

Nat "King" Cole - Unforgettable

Patti Page - Tennessee Waltz

multi-tracking--harmonizing with herself

Shouters
  • "Big Joe" Turner
  • Wynonie Harris
  • Mama Thornton

"Big Mama" Thornton- Hound Dog
  • James Brown

James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)

 

In-betweeners

Fats Domino - The Fat Man

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire

Beach Boys - Surfin' USA

Barry Manilow - Mandy

Barry Manilow - Nice Boy Like Me

 

Those who could "do it all"

Elvis Presley

Are You Losesome Tonight?

Jailhouse Rock

Heartbreak Hotel

 

Drums

Listen to musical examples incorporating drums
  • acoustic trap set

The Surfaris - Wipe Out

  • late 70s—electronic pads
  • Drum machines

Thompson Twins - In the Name of Love '88

Phil Collins - Sussudio

Keyboards
  • acoustic upright piano & electronic organs (Hammond B-3, Farfisa, & Vox)
  • mid-60s—electric piano (solved portability problem)
    • variations: clavinet (switch between two sounds)
  • turn to electronics
    • Mellotron—used tapes of prerecorded tones (Moody Blues)
    • late 60s/early 70s—synthesizer (MiniMoog)
      • --oscillators produce vibrations
      • --modified & manipulated with filters
    • new digital generation--sampling
    • sequencers/MIDI (Howard Jones)

     

Listen to musical examples incorporating keyboards

    acoustic piano:

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire

organ:

Dave "Baby" Cortez - The Happy Organ

electric piano:

Supertramp - Logical Song

Mellotron:

Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin

various synthesizers:

Rick Wakeman - "Sir Lancelot & the Black Knight"
from Myths & Legends of King Arthur & the Knights of the Roundtable

computer sequencer:

Michael Jackson - Speed Demon

 

Saxophone
  • variety of pitch ranges--soprano, alto, tenor, bari, & bass
  • frequently soloed in early 50s rock (e.g., "Tequila")

Listen to musical examples incorporating saxophone

Little Richard - Long Tall Sally

The Champs - Tequila

Word About Words

music is nonverbal expression, a language of its own … apart from the lyrics

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