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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Information About Scandinavian Prog Rock

By Martha Graham


Progressive pop is a subgenre within the rock music. The term is often shortened to prog rock or simply as prog and at times people refer to the subgenre as art rock. Before the term progressive rock came into existence, the subgenre was referred to as progressive pop. The main country of origin of progressive pop was the United Kingdom and the subgenre was developed in an attempt to elevate the genre.

Although the main country of development was the United Kingdom, several other countries also took part in developing the subgenre even further. Some of the most notable countries are Italy, France, and Germany. Scandinavian prog rock is just one of the many versions that later emerged based on the country of origin. The parent genre of music from which progressive pop emerged was psychedelic rock.

Efforts to develop the subgenre began in mid 1960s and progressed into late 1970s. Prog pop was primarily developed to give this music credibility and more artistic weight. Instrumentation and compositional techniques that bands started to adopt were borrowed from jazz and classical music. The intention was to earn the genre more critical respect and raise it to a higher level of musical sophistication.

The danceable beats that characterized the traditional version initially were incorporated less or dropped completely. Instead, musicians started incorporating harmony, rhythm, compositional structure, and lyrical content instead. This makes listeners to pay attention and put in more effort in order to enjoy or understand songs. The subgenre is more complex because it borrows musical styles from various genres including jazz and folk.

Prog does not stick to the traditional song structure of verse/chorus form, which tends to remain dominant in popular music. Classical-style suites are generated by artists by playing with sections of songs in a way that popular genres fail to accomplish. Harmony is attained through thematic unity among sections. Dynamic contrast results from transitions between acoustic sections and electric sections. Additionally, bands utilize the technique of group improvisation more often.

In progressive pop, more emphasis is given to the band as a whole than to individuals. The genre does not live by the idea of a single, dominant singer leading while being accompanied by a band. The length of most songs range between three and five minutes, but there are some very long pieces too. For example, one should not be surprised to find a piece that plays for over twenty minutes or more.

The public received this new genre with mixed reaction. From the year of being launched, there was a lot of criticism and critical acclaim at the same time. The genre has been described by many as paralleling classical music by renowned musicians in the industry. The cause of criticism was often the desire held by some artists to expand its boundaries even more.

As musicians worked to expand the boundaries of the genre, they also started to dismiss mainstream pop music in preference for the new version. This dismissiveness was taken as elitism. European adolescents, especially British ones also failed to identify with the exotic themes incorporated in songs.




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