There’s a whole terminology of words relating to music recording that you should know before booking studio time, or learning how to record yourself on a Digital Audio Workstation.
Here are some terms you should know:
DAW: A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is an audio production software or platform designed for the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering of digital audio files. Some examples of popular DAWs are: Ableton, Logic Pro, Reason, Cubase, Studio One, Cakewalk.
Track (noun) – a single stream of recorded sound (usually of one instrument) in a song.
Track (verb) – The process of recording an audio track.
Arm – Preparing a track to record audio
Solo – Isolating a track so that you can listen to only the audio on the track
Mute – Silencing a track so you can hear how other tracks sound.
Gain – The amount of amplification for your mic’s signal
Monitor (verb) – Listening to an audio track as it’s being recorded
Phantom Power – Voltage that is sent to specific microphones to power the microphone
Mixing – Editing and putting together multiple tracks of audio into one final master track
Mastering – TPolishing and editing a master track with the intent of making it radio ready quality
Levels – How loud audio in a specific track is
EQ – Equalizer. EQs allow you to turn up or down portions of the audio spectrum higher or lower
Audio effects plugins – Audio effects allow you to alter the sounds of your tracks. You can apply audio effects to just one track or a group of tracks. There are an infinite number plug-ins available, but here are some of the most commonly used ones.
Compressor Plugins – used to “squash” your audio signal. Compressors reduce the dynamics of an audio signal so that loud parts get quieter and quiet sounds get louder.
Reverb Plugins – Reverb is an ambient effect that creates a series of audible reflections (think of the echo effect in an empty auditorium.
Vocal tuning – can slightly shift the pitch of a voice or instrument so that it’s correct.
MIDI Sequencing: MIDI or Music Instrument Digital Interfaces look like keyboards, but they send musical signals to your DAW, to be transmuted into whatever sound you’d like from the DAW library. This allows you to compose melodies, harmonies, and musical arrangements with virtual instruments within the DAW’s library.
Reverb – The audio that lingers around in a space after the source audio has finished. To get a sense of reverb, imagine singing in an empty concert hall vs. a closet.
Automation – Automation is used to create changes in dynamic in your project, like fading out a song at the end.
Audio exporting – when your project files are ready to be heard by others, you can export it – as a .WAV file for mastering or as stem files through .mp3s.
If you’re setting up your home studio, check out this course!
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If you’re starting out on guitar, watching seasoned guitar players shred away can be a little intimidating. However, some guitar techniques that look and sound cool aren’t that difficult to play.
Here are some guitar skills that look more difficult to master than they actually are.
Power chords
If you’re memorizing the basic open chords like C, D, and E, something like a G5 might look funny to you.
Power chords are the building blocks for many punk, grunge, and alternative songs. Power chords are made up of just the root note and the fifth note, sometimes with the octave of the root note included. They’re different from major and minor scales because they’re neither major nor minor, and don’t include any other notes.
The tough part about mastering power chords is to strum only the strings inside the chord. Once you master that, you’ll be able to play many songs – like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with ease.
Fingerpicking gives songs like “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers their distinct textures. When you fingerpick a song, you use your fingers to pluck the strings rather than strumming with your hand or a pick. It can take a little bit of time to get used to the different movement, but often you’ll be playing simple chord progressions, so it takes less brain power than it seems to.
“Bending” is when you play a guitar note and then push the string horizontally across the fretboard, changing the pitch. Eric Clapton uses this often in his playing, and it can be heard prominently in “Sunshine of My Love” by Cream.
Bending sounds high-level, but it’s fairly simple to learn. Check out Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques to learn bending, and other impressive-sounding solo techniques.
Pinch harmonics
Pinch harmonics, aka pick or pitch harmonics, or “squealies”, creates a high pitched tone by silencing the main frequency of a note, allowing the overtones to come through. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons uses this technique frequently to make his solos more memorable – you can hear it used in “La Grange”.
It may take some work to learn how to incorporate pinch harmonics into your work, but to actually learn how to make that sound is not difficult. Check out Metal Essentials Level 1 to learn how to make this technique work.
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Do you want to learn your favorite guitar solos for bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, but get tripped up on imitating their specific techniques? This course will take you step-by-step through the techniques you need to know for playing blues, rock and metal. Learn hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides – and how to put them all together to emulate a certain sound.
This course also delves into using the chromatic scale, arpeggios and sweep picking, and tapping, and includes a play-though to practice what you’ve learned. Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques will help mold you into an excellent soloist.
What We Like
Julian has a remarkable ability to simplify his incredible guitar skill into the basics that every aspiring guitarist is striving to conquer. He also makes heavy use of examples for each technique, so if you are a “learn-by-doing” kind of person, his courses will resonate with you! He also has a selection of atypical learning courses that focus on learning through examples in certain styles, even meditative, that aren’t your standard traditional basics.
Once you’ve complete this course, try it with the following lessons:
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So you’ve gotten comfortable playing guitar in public, maybe even played some open mics – what’s next? It’s time to play your first solo gig.
Here’s what you will need to play a solo gig:
A setlist
Whether you’re playing original songs or covers, a good rule of thumb is to have about 20 songs prepared per hour of performance time. Having enough songs ready gives you some flexibility to play songs that you think your audience will prefer, as well as give you options for encore songs if they want to hear more!
Print your setlist out ahead of time so you can glance at it as needed.
An iPad or lyrics binder (if you need it)
In a perfect world, you’d be able to memorize all the songs you’ll be performing. However, having a binder or iPad with your lyrics and chords is a good backup plan – especially if you’re performing songs you need a little bit of help remembering.
Your instrument and a cable
Self-explanatory! Make sure your guitar is in good condition and doesn’t need a change of strings. Also, it’s a good idea to pack picks, capos, and backup strings just in case. If your guitar requires batteries, pack extra.
Sound equipment
Make sure you communicate with the venue ahead of your gig. Some venues provide sound equipment, and some require you to bring your own.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need if the venue doesn’t provide a sound system:
A microphone (Shure SM-58 is the standard)
Microphone stand
An active PA speaker with at least two inputs
An XLR cable
This is the bare minimum equipment list. It will allow you to plug your instrument directly into the PA speaker as well as your vocal mic, and adjust the levels as you see fit. You may prefer to bring a separate amplifier for your instrument, or get a PA system with a mixing board to plug into to get better control over your sound. It’s also a good idea to get a small monitor so that you can hear yourself.
Extra cables
It never hurts to carry a couple of extra XLR or quarter-inch cables with you, even if your venue provides sound.
Set-up time
Try to arrive at least an hour before your gig to give yourself plenty of time to set-up, warm up your vocals and fingers, and tune your instrument. Not rushing to get ready will ensure that you can be relaxed and give your best performance!
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Are you getting tired of listening to the same thing? Check out these obscure music genres that are sure to give your playlist the refresh it needs.
Pirate Metal
Pirate metal is a genre of heavy metal that incorporates pirate-speak, nautical themes, and traditional sea shanties infused with metal.
Examples: Alestorm, Swashbuckle, Running Wild.
Kawaii metal
Kawaii metal, which was created in Japan in the mid-2010s, combines heavy metal and J-pop. Typical kawaii metal music combines traditional heavy metal instrumentation with J-pop style vocals and J-pop idol aesthetics.
Examples: Babymetal, Ladybaby, Passcode.
Nintendo core
If you love video games, you might love Nintendocore. This genre blends punk or heavy metal music with the electronic chiptune music associated with electronic chiptune music found in classic videogames.
Examples: An Albatross, I See Stars, The Octopus Project.
Lowercase
If you’re looking for something completely different, check out the lowercase music genre. Lowercase is a form of ambient minimalist music that is created by amplifying very quiet sounds, like handling paper.
Examples: Steve Roden, Bug Bus Piano, Roel Meelkop.
Glitchhop
Glitchhop is an EDM subgenre that combines EDM with hip-hop and “glitch” music – using digital artifacts and manipulated sounds and samples to create complex rhythms.
Examples: The Glitch Mob, Tipper, CloZee.
Find tabs for some of these obscure genres in the Fret Zealot app!
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Many successful bands had humble beginnings – so if you’re currently playing in a garage or basement band, you’re in good company!
Here are some bands that started as garage bands:
Nirvana
P.B. Rage from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
One of the most iconic grunge bands of all time, Nirvana got their start in the burgeoning grunge scene in Washington State. They held practice in many unassuming spots, including Cobain’s home and a friend’s barn in Tacoma.
The Ramones
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Ramones Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Considered to be one of the first true punk rock bands, the original members of The Ramones met in the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens. John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi had been members of a garage band in high school called Tangerine Puppets.
The Who
In the 1960s, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle created a band in a West London garage called “The Detours”. The band would later gain drummer Keith Moon and rechristen themselves as The Who – one of the biggest stadium rock bands of all time.
Weezer
David Lee from Redmond, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Weezer’s early days took place in the “Amherst House”, a small rented house in LA. The band rehearsed and even recorded early demos there. They paid tribute to their origins with the song “In the Garage” off of their debut album.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The “Proud Mary” songsters started off as a high school garage band called The Blue Velvets, playing school dances and sock hops in the 1950s in the suburbs of San Francisco.
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Music videos can take a popular song into the stratosphere – whether they introduce a new dance craze, feature cameos from popular actors, or influence fashion trends for years to come.
Here are just a few of the most iconic music videos of all time:
“Thriller” – Michael Jackson
A short film directed by American Werewolf in London director John Landis, the 1983 video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” gave the world an enduring dance craze that still reawakens every Halloween season.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
The music video for “Bohemian Rhapsody” is credited as being one of the first music videos (as we know them) ever. It was released in 1975, seven years before the inception of MTV, to promote the song on BBC’s Top of the Pops.
“Single Ladies” – Beyonce
The simple, yet cinematic black-and-white video for “Single Ladies” introduced a new dance to the world and won Beyonce three 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.
“November Rain” – Guns ‘n Roses
The music video for “November Rain” is based on a short story by writer Del James called “Without You”. The video is a nine-minute rock opera that stars the band and Axl Rose’s girlfriend at the time, model Stephanie Seymour. In 2018, it became the first video created before YouTube to surpass one billion views on the platform.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
The music video for 1991’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” featured the band playing at a high school pep rally that ends in a riot. The music video, the first ever for director Samuel Bayer, was inspired by films like Over the Edge (1979) and the Ramones’ film “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979). A former MTV executive said that the music video changed the entire look of MTV and gave them a new generation to sell to.
“Goodbye, Earl” – The Chicks
The video for “Goodbye, Earl”, The Chicks’ 2000 murder ballad, follows the song’s narrative of best friends Wanda and Mary Ann, who dispose of Wanda’s abusive husband Earl with some poisoned black-eyed peas. The end of the music video features a “Thriller” parody, with zombie Earl joining Mary Ann and Wanda, the band, and the rest of the town in a slightly unhinged dance sequence.
TLC – No Scrubs
In 1999, at the verge of the new millennium and Y2K craze, TLC helped usher in a sleek, futuristic aesthetic which would be echoed in the fashion, technology design, and other music videos of the next few years.
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift played two opposing characters in the 2009 music video for “You Belong With Me” – a nerdy girl and a cheerleader. The video won “Best Female Video” at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards, prompting the famous moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech.
Fell in Love with a Girl – White Stripes
The video for “Fell In Love With a Girl” is made out of Legos – literally. The video was shot frame-by-frame as the bricks were rebuilt to give the illusion of motion. Since The White Stripes weren’t able to strike a deal with the Lego company, they had to buy all of the Legos themselves.
Take On Me – Aha
One-hit wonder Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha achieved huge success with their 1985 hit “Take On Me” – largely thanks to the song’s creative music video, which featured a live-action animation sequence. The video took six months to create and took home six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.
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The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time. They formed in Los Angeles in 1982 by singer Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea, and drummer Jack Irons, who met in high school. Kiedis and Flea are still in the current lineup of the band.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ style of music, which incorporates alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock, has influenced many other genres, including nu metal and rap rock.
You can learn these Red Hot Chili Peppers songs with Fret Zealot.
“Californication” is the title track of the RHCP’s 1999 album. It’s also the name of a popular show on Showtime. The band sued the network in 2007 over the show’s name, but the network pointed out that “Californication” had been printed in a Time magazine article in 1972. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2011.
Producer Rick Rubin found a poem called “Under the Bridge” in Kiedis’ notebook while the band was creating Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). He asked Kiedis to show it to the rest of the band, which he did, even though he felt the poem’s emotional lyrics didn’t fit the vibe of the band.
The video for this 1999 hit featured guitarist John Frusciante driving a car with the band inside down a desert highway, a metaphor for him returning to the band after the first time he quit. But Frusciante doesn’t drive in real life!
The video for this 2003 hit includes Frusciante playing an orange Toronado and a silver Fender Stratocaster, both under five years old – but in real life, he doesn’t own or play any guitars made after 1970.
Want to learn how to play guitar like John Frusciante? Check out this player study course!
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Have you ever wondered how music started being recorded? Today, there are many ways to record music – including simply using the recording feature on your phone.
Music recording has evolved along with technology in waves over the centuries. Here is a brief history of sound recording:
Pre-1877
Ancient Christmas Carol in Galician-Portuguese.
Before Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention of the phonograph, people had no way of recording music except for musical notation. Thanks to musical notation (which dates back as far as 1400 BCE in ancient Babylonia, now Iraq), we have access to musical pieces written before 1877 – from Mozart and Bach to ancient Greek compositions. However, it was impossible to know exactly what they sounded like until..
1877
In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, which could record sound and play it back. Earlier inventions were able to record sound but not play it back, including the phonautograph. The first audio recording Edison made was himself reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Those first recordings were made on tinfoil, and could only be played a couple of times. However, it was revolutionary for the time period. Soon, other inventors including Alexander Graham Bell and Emile Berliner were also experimenting with sound recording. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has about 400 of the earliest recordings ever made, from about 1878 to 1898, using materials like rubber, beeswax, glass, tin foil and brass.
Acoustic Era (1877 to 1925)
Part of a series of pictures depicting Frances Densmore at the Smithsonian Institution in 1916 during a recording session with Blackfoot chief Mountain Chief for the Bureau of American Ethnology.
The first wave of sound recording technology was purely mechanical. Rather than using microphones or other instruments, instrumentalists, singers, and speakers would play/perform into a bell-shaped horn that gathered the soundwaves toward a thin film at the horn’s small end. The soundwaves would cause the film to vibrate, which moved a stylus that etched the soundwaves into a rotating disc of wax. To play back these recordings, a mechanical reproducing machine reversed the process. A needle was attached to a film known as a sound box or reproducer, which was attached to a tube called the tone arm. The needle running over a recorded disc would make the film vibrate and create soundwaves.
Electrical Era (1925 – 1945)
In 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratories lead by Western Electric engineers Henry Harrison and Joseph Maxfield changed the game by inventing an electrical phonograph recording system that used Condenser Microphones to record. The microphone would connect to a tube amplifier which fed the amplified signal to an electromagnetic disc cutting head to produce records. This new recording system expanded the range of frequencies that could be recorded and greatly improved how recordings sounded. Sound could now be captured, amplified, filtered, and balanced electronically. Records began to be mass-produced. Starting in 1927, sound started to be used in film.
Magnetic Era (1945–1975)
The tape recorder aboard Mariner 4 spacecraft, on a mission to Mars, used for data storage.
In 1930s Germany, a new form of recording – magnetic tape recording – was developed. It was used for broadcasting in Germany but was restricted to the country until the end of WWII, when Allied Forces obtained and distributed it. The use of magnetic tape meant that recorded programs were nearly indistinguishable from live ones – the sound quality was that much better. Magnetic tape was used for the development of the first hi-fi recordings for consumers, as well as multitrack tape recording. It made editing sound easier for sound and movie engineers.
Magnetic tape recording made possible a range of new sound recording implements – including 12-inch LP discs and 7-inch singles, cartridge and compact cassette tapes, and cassette tape players.
The Digital Era (1975–present)
Promotional CD single of the radio edit of the 1997 song “Let Down” by English rock band Radiohead./Capitol Records
The Digital Era has transformed the way we listen to music. Compact discs (CDs) were introduced during this timeframe, but by the beginning of the 20th century, they were rendered nearly redundant by the popularity of digital audio files. Commercial innovations like iTunes and Apple’s iPod made it easier to download and take music with you. Unfortunately, this internet-based method of distribution led to unlicensed distribution of audio files, causing headaches for copyright owners. Since the late 2000s, streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora have outpaced the download of digital music.
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When you think of a “band”, you might think of Nirvana, Aerosmith, The Foo Fighters – but people have been playing music together for nearly as long as music has existed! Over time, the purpose and function of musical ensembles has shifted based on social movements and structures, technology, and other factors.
Here’s a brief history of musical ensembles:
Ancient Times (before 4th century CE)
Ancient music was recorded in Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Middle Eastern societies. African music was first recorded by Egyptian musicians in the 3rd millennium BC. The Egyptians used a wide variety of musical instruments, including harps, flutes, drums, and cymbals. Music in ancient Greece and Rome often involved ensembles for religious ceremonies, entertainment, and theatrical performances. Instruments included lyres, aulos (a type of reed instrument), and various percussion instruments.
Medieval Period (500 to 1400 CE)
Much of the recorded music we have from the medieval period is religious music – since religion was one of the most pervasive forces in people’s lives during that period, and most of the record-keeping was done by members of the clergy.
Members of medieval church choirs performed plainchant or plainsongs – chants that were annotated with simple sheet music in books that were up to three feet tall.
Secular music also existed during this time period. Troubadours and minstrels formed small ensembles to play in royal courts or in cities. They often played instruments like the lute, vielle (a precursor to the violin), and various wind and percussion instruments.
Renaissance (1400 to 1600 CE)
The Concert/Gerard van Honthorst
The Renaissance period saw a flourishing of new musical styles and genres, as new instruments were invented and new ideas about harmony, rhythm, and notation were born. Chamber music, developed for small groups of two to eight people, originated in the 15th century. They often played music with accompanying dances. Bands as we know them originated in 15th century Germany and were made up mostly oboes and bassoons. These German musicians joined other groups in France and England before spreading to America.
By H.G. Hine (1811-1895) – Illustrated London News [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18249538
“Waits” were a staple of British towns and cities from the medieval period to the end of the 18th century. They were watchmen who patrolled throughout the night, using instruments to mark the hours. They also woke people up during the dark winter months by playing under their windows and welcomed guests at the city gates. The term “band” was first used in England to refer to King Charles II’s “king’s band” of 24 violins. He reigned from 1660 to 1685.
Charles II/Public domain
1700s to 1800s
Storming of the Bastille/Anonymous. Public domain.
The 1700s and 1800s were marked by upheaval, including the Industrial Revolution, the American and French revolutions, the Haitian Revolution and the Irish Rebellion, and the Age of Enlightenment. Musical groups often served a practical purpose during this period.
“The Turkish Janissary band provided entertainment at the Abide commemoration” by Priceypoos is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
During the Industrial Revolution Near the end of the 18th century, a style of band music called Turkish, or Janissary music became popular. It was inspired by the Turkish occupation of Eastern Europe. Medieval Turks have been credited with developing the first truly military bands. Turkish band music was characterized by shrill flutes and large drums, jangling triangles, cymbals, and Turkish crescents.
During the French Revolution, large wind bands of as many of 2,000 musicians played at the revolution’s large open air festivals. Each regiment in the British Army maintained its own military band. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. Musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In England at the end of the 18th century, brass (or “silver”) bands began to replace the waits. Throughout the 1800s, groups were formed to represent towns, factories, social clubs, and religious organizations such as the Salvation Army.
Pori Workers’ Society Brass Band/Public domain
In the United States, town bands performed at parades, concerts, balls, and other social events. They often played marches or polkas. Many were original compositions of the band leaders or members and were never published. Bands brought music to the public who might not have had access to orchestras. John Phillip Sousa helped bands present “serious music” by hiring top-notch musicians and writing original works for bands that included suites.
“John Philip Sousa, ca. 1880-1892” by Archives Branch, USMC History Division is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
20th century
During the Jazz Age of the 1920s, bands and band music underwent more changes. Jazz developed in the Black communities of New Orleans, Louisiana during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Its roots were blues and ragtime music. Bands like Kid Ory’s Original Creole Jazz Band played in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. The advent of music recording and radio broadcasting in 1919 made it possible for more people to hear music of all kinds, including jazz. The 1930s belonged to popular swing big bands, with band leaders like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway.
“Duke Ellington Big Band” by Hans Bernhard (Schnobby) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
In the 1930s and 1940s, country music became popular thanks to the romanticization of cowboy culture in films.
1950s
Chuck Berry
The 1950s saw the birth of Rock and Roll Music as electric guitars, designed to be heard over other band instruments, became popular. Chuck Berry, , Little Richard, and Buddy Holly helped pioneer the genre that broke away from the more conservative music of the past.
1960s
Public Domain: Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at 1963 March on Washington by USIA (NARA)
The 1960s saw more musical revolution. Folk music, which used more traditional acoustic instruments, became a major movement with socially-conscious lyrics.
The Supremes/Public Domain
Detroit-based label Motown put out pop-influenced soul music including The Four Tops and The Supremes.
The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Kennedy Airport.
British Invasion: Bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones arrived in America in the 1960s, shaping how pop music sounded.
1970s
“1977 Led Zeppelin – Jimmy Page – Robert Plant #1 70s Rock Concert” by Whiskeygonebad is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Rock groups like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Queen were popular.
“Kool & the Gang – Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-1963 (cropped)” by Foto: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The 1970s also saw the emergence of disco music with groups like The Bee Gees, KC & The Sunshine Band, and Kool and the Gang.
Jackson 5/Public domain
Pop bands like The Carpenters, the Jackson 5, and Hall & Oates were also popular.
“Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five” by Kevin Andre Elliott is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Hip hop/rap music originated in African American communities in New York City in the 1970s (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang).
1980s
Digital recording gained in popularity in the 1980s, and synthesizers started to be used to create synth-pop and electronic music.
Another huge change for music was the advent of MTV. MTV played music videos 24/7. Suddenly, bands rose to fame quicker and became famous for their fashion and personas as well as their music.
Metallica in a press photo dated to 1983/Public domain
Hard rock bands like Guns ‘n Roses, Def Leppard, and Metallica were popular.
Jeff Pinilla, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hip hop/rap music became more mainstream and part of popular culture in the mid to late 1980s, like Run DMC, Public Enemy, and Salt + Pepa.
Billy Idol. From the 1984 yearbook from the Rochester Institute of Technology, titled Techmila. Public domain.
“New wave” artists emerged – creating a new sound using different sounds and textures, thanks to electronic synthesizers and beats. Examples are Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Billy Idol.
1990s
The 1990s saw the emergence of grunge bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. Grunge is a style of alternative rock characterized by distorted guitar and angst-filled lyrics.
Alice in Chains, 1988 promo photo. Public domain.
The Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990s led to a wave of woman-led punk bands like Bikini Kill, Calamity Jane, and Babes in Toyland who sang about topics like sexism and female rage.
Bikini Kill in 1991/jonathan charles, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The “Golden Age of Hip Hop” was happening from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. It was considered to be golden because of the huge innovations happening within the genre. Significant groups of the 1990s included A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, and Wu-Tang Clan.
A Tribe Called Quest/WRBB 104.9 FM, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Teen pop had a huge resurgence in the 1990s with groups like The Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC.
Spice Girls/cw from USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2000s
The early 2000s saw a new interest in pop rock and pop-punk, with bands like Blink-182, Newfound Glory, and Sum 41 rising to popularity.
Blink 182/Sony Music Entertainment Sweden, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
A new form of metal called “nu metal” incorporated electronic sounds and sometimes rap. Examples are Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot.
Korn/Sébastien Paquet, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The subgenre of Southern hip-hop reached the peak of its popularity in the mid-2000s with groups like The East Side Boyz (led by Lil Jon) that started the dance craze movement in hop-hop.
Lil Jon/Gamerscore Blog from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Emo music, defined by confessional lyrics and raw instrumentation, became popular in the 2000s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, and Taking Back Sunday.
My Chemical Romance/Jimack32, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Indie rock bands like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, and Arcade Fire put indie rock on the map in the 2000s.
Death Cab for Cutie/deep ghosh, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2010s
The 2010s saw a huge wave in popularity for electronic music and EDM (electronic dance music), although electronic music got its start in the 1970s/1980s. Groups like Disclosure, Swedish House Mafia, and Daft Punk helped to popularize the genre.
Daft Punk/Minyoung Choi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Folk rock saw a resurgence in popularity with bands like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons coming onto the scene, using traditional instruments like mandolins and banjos.
Mumford and Sons/Roostertopgun, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
K-pop made a splash into Western markets with groups like BTS, Blackpink, and Twice hitting the U.S. airwaves.
BTS/Divine Treasure, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/25153010/the-concert.jpg381639Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2024-06-25 16:31:222024-06-25 16:31:56A brief history of musical ensembles
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Music recording terms you should know
/by Kaley LynchAre you looking to record your own music?
There’s a whole terminology of words relating to music recording that you should know before booking studio time, or learning how to record yourself on a Digital Audio Workstation.
Here are some terms you should know:
DAW: A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is an audio production software or platform designed for the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering of digital audio files. Some examples of popular DAWs are: Ableton, Logic Pro, Reason, Cubase, Studio One, Cakewalk.
Track (noun) – a single stream of recorded sound (usually of one instrument) in a song.
Track (verb) – The process of recording an audio track.
Arm – Preparing a track to record audio
Solo – Isolating a track so that you can listen to only the audio on the track
Mute – Silencing a track so you can hear how other tracks sound.
Gain – The amount of amplification for your mic’s signal
Monitor (verb) – Listening to an audio track as it’s being recorded
Phantom Power – Voltage that is sent to specific microphones to power the microphone
Mixing – Editing and putting together multiple tracks of audio into one final master track
Mastering – TPolishing and editing a master track with the intent of making it radio ready quality
Levels – How loud audio in a specific track is
EQ – Equalizer. EQs allow you to turn up or down portions of the audio spectrum higher or lower
Audio effects plugins – Audio effects allow you to alter the sounds of your tracks. You can apply audio effects to just one track or a group of tracks. There are an infinite number plug-ins available, but here are some of the most commonly used ones.
Equalizer Plugins – eliminate digital harshness, removes unwanted resonances, balance sounds
Compressor Plugins – used to “squash” your audio signal. Compressors reduce the dynamics of an audio signal so that loud parts get quieter and quiet sounds get louder.
Reverb Plugins – Reverb is an ambient effect that creates a series of audible reflections (think of the echo effect in an empty auditorium.
Vocal tuning – can slightly shift the pitch of a voice or instrument so that it’s correct.
MIDI Sequencing: MIDI or Music Instrument Digital Interfaces look like keyboards, but they send musical signals to your DAW, to be transmuted into whatever sound you’d like from the DAW library. This allows you to compose melodies, harmonies, and musical arrangements with virtual instruments within the DAW’s library.
Reverb – The audio that lingers around in a space after the source audio has finished. To get a sense of reverb, imagine singing in an empty concert hall vs. a closet.
Automation – Automation is used to create changes in dynamic in your project, like fading out a song at the end.
Audio exporting – when your project files are ready to be heard by others, you can export it – as a .WAV file for mastering or as stem files through .mp3s.
If you’re setting up your home studio, check out this course!
Home Guitar Studio Guide
Guitar techniques that look harder than they are
/by Kaley LynchIf you’re starting out on guitar, watching seasoned guitar players shred away can be a little intimidating. However, some guitar techniques that look and sound cool aren’t that difficult to play.
Here are some guitar skills that look more difficult to master than they actually are.
Power chords
If you’re memorizing the basic open chords like C, D, and E, something like a G5 might look funny to you.
Power chords are the building blocks for many punk, grunge, and alternative songs. Power chords are made up of just the root note and the fifth note, sometimes with the octave of the root note included. They’re different from major and minor scales because they’re neither major nor minor, and don’t include any other notes.
The tough part about mastering power chords is to strum only the strings inside the chord. Once you master that, you’ll be able to play many songs – like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with ease.
Check out this Power Chord Workout for Guitar course to get started.
Fingerpicking
Fingerpicking gives songs like “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers their distinct textures. When you fingerpick a song, you use your fingers to pluck the strings rather than strumming with your hand or a pick. It can take a little bit of time to get used to the different movement, but often you’ll be playing simple chord progressions, so it takes less brain power than it seems to.
Check out our Acoustic Fingerstyle – Level 1 course to get started!
Bending notes
“Bending” is when you play a guitar note and then push the string horizontally across the fretboard, changing the pitch. Eric Clapton uses this often in his playing, and it can be heard prominently in “Sunshine of My Love” by Cream.
Bending sounds high-level, but it’s fairly simple to learn. Check out Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques to learn bending, and other impressive-sounding solo techniques.
Pinch harmonics
Pinch harmonics, aka pick or pitch harmonics, or “squealies”, creates a high pitched tone by silencing the main frequency of a note, allowing the overtones to come through. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons uses this technique frequently to make his solos more memorable – you can hear it used in “La Grange”.
It may take some work to learn how to incorporate pinch harmonics into your work, but to actually learn how to make that sound is not difficult. Check out Metal Essentials Level 1 to learn how to make this technique work.
Fret Zealot course of the month – August 2024
/by Kaley LynchEach month, we’re putting the spotlight on one of our favorite Fret Zealot courses!
Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques
Instructor: Julian Cooper
Do you want to learn your favorite guitar solos for bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, but get tripped up on imitating their specific techniques? This course will take you step-by-step through the techniques you need to know for playing blues, rock and metal. Learn hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides – and how to put them all together to emulate a certain sound.
This course also delves into using the chromatic scale, arpeggios and sweep picking, and tapping, and includes a play-though to practice what you’ve learned. Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques will help mold you into an excellent soloist.
What We Like
Julian has a remarkable ability to simplify his incredible guitar skill into the basics that every aspiring guitarist is striving to conquer. He also makes heavy use of examples for each technique, so if you are a “learn-by-doing” kind of person, his courses will resonate with you! He also has a selection of atypical learning courses that focus on learning through examples in certain styles, even meditative, that aren’t your standard traditional basics.
Once you’ve complete this course, try it with the following lessons:
Am I Evil
Be Yourself
You Give Love A Bad Name
What you need for your first solo gig
/by Kaley LynchSo you’ve gotten comfortable playing guitar in public, maybe even played some open mics – what’s next? It’s time to play your first solo gig.
Here’s what you will need to play a solo gig:
A setlist
Whether you’re playing original songs or covers, a good rule of thumb is to have about 20 songs prepared per hour of performance time. Having enough songs ready gives you some flexibility to play songs that you think your audience will prefer, as well as give you options for encore songs if they want to hear more!
Print your setlist out ahead of time so you can glance at it as needed.
An iPad or lyrics binder (if you need it)
In a perfect world, you’d be able to memorize all the songs you’ll be performing. However, having a binder or iPad with your lyrics and chords is a good backup plan – especially if you’re performing songs you need a little bit of help remembering.
Your instrument and a cable
Self-explanatory! Make sure your guitar is in good condition and doesn’t need a change of strings. Also, it’s a good idea to pack picks, capos, and backup strings just in case. If your guitar requires batteries, pack extra.
Sound equipment
Make sure you communicate with the venue ahead of your gig. Some venues provide sound equipment, and some require you to bring your own.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need if the venue doesn’t provide a sound system:
This is the bare minimum equipment list. It will allow you to plug your instrument directly into the PA speaker as well as your vocal mic, and adjust the levels as you see fit. You may prefer to bring a separate amplifier for your instrument, or get a PA system with a mixing board to plug into to get better control over your sound. It’s also a good idea to get a small monitor so that you can hear yourself.
Extra cables
It never hurts to carry a couple of extra XLR or quarter-inch cables with you, even if your venue provides sound.
Set-up time
Try to arrive at least an hour before your gig to give yourself plenty of time to set-up, warm up your vocals and fingers, and tune your instrument. Not rushing to get ready will ensure that you can be relaxed and give your best performance!
Check out these other tips to make sure your gig is a success!
Obscure music genres to check out
/by Kaley LynchAre you getting tired of listening to the same thing? Check out these obscure music genres that are sure to give your playlist the refresh it needs.
Pirate Metal
Pirate metal is a genre of heavy metal that incorporates pirate-speak, nautical themes, and traditional sea shanties infused with metal.
Examples: Alestorm, Swashbuckle, Running Wild.
Kawaii metal
Kawaii metal, which was created in Japan in the mid-2010s, combines heavy metal and J-pop. Typical kawaii metal music combines traditional heavy metal instrumentation with J-pop style vocals and J-pop idol aesthetics.
Examples: Babymetal, Ladybaby, Passcode.
Nintendo core
If you love video games, you might love Nintendocore. This genre blends punk or heavy metal music with the electronic chiptune music associated with electronic chiptune music found in classic videogames.
Examples: An Albatross, I See Stars, The Octopus Project.
Lowercase
If you’re looking for something completely different, check out the lowercase music genre. Lowercase is a form of ambient minimalist music that is created by amplifying very quiet sounds, like handling paper.
Examples: Steve Roden, Bug Bus Piano, Roel Meelkop.
Glitchhop
Glitchhop is an EDM subgenre that combines EDM with hip-hop and “glitch” music – using digital artifacts and manipulated sounds and samples to create complex rhythms.
Examples: The Glitch Mob, Tipper, CloZee.
Find tabs for some of these obscure genres in the Fret Zealot app!
Bands that started off in a garage
/by Kaley LynchMany successful bands had humble beginnings – so if you’re currently playing in a garage or basement band, you’re in good company!
Here are some bands that started as garage bands:
Nirvana
P.B. Rage from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
One of the most iconic grunge bands of all time, Nirvana got their start in the burgeoning grunge scene in Washington State. They held practice in many unassuming spots, including Cobain’s home and a friend’s barn in Tacoma.
The Ramones
UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Ramones Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Considered to be one of the first true punk rock bands, the original members of The Ramones met in the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens. John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi had been members of a garage band in high school called Tangerine Puppets.
The Who
In the 1960s, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle created a band in a West London garage called “The Detours”. The band would later gain drummer Keith Moon and rechristen themselves as The Who – one of the biggest stadium rock bands of all time.
Weezer
David Lee from Redmond, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Weezer’s early days took place in the “Amherst House”, a small rented house in LA. The band rehearsed and even recorded early demos there. They paid tribute to their origins with the song “In the Garage” off of their debut album.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The “Proud Mary” songsters started off as a high school garage band called The Blue Velvets, playing school dances and sock hops in the 1950s in the suburbs of San Francisco.
These are some of the most iconic music videos of all time
/by Kaley LynchMusic videos can take a popular song into the stratosphere – whether they introduce a new dance craze, feature cameos from popular actors, or influence fashion trends for years to come.
Here are just a few of the most iconic music videos of all time:
“Thriller” – Michael Jackson
A short film directed by American Werewolf in London director John Landis, the 1983 video for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” gave the world an enduring dance craze that still reawakens every Halloween season.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
The music video for “Bohemian Rhapsody” is credited as being one of the first music videos (as we know them) ever. It was released in 1975, seven years before the inception of MTV, to promote the song on BBC’s Top of the Pops.
“Single Ladies” – Beyonce
The simple, yet cinematic black-and-white video for “Single Ladies” introduced a new dance to the world and won Beyonce three 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.
“November Rain” – Guns ‘n Roses
The music video for “November Rain” is based on a short story by writer Del James called “Without You”. The video is a nine-minute rock opera that stars the band and Axl Rose’s girlfriend at the time, model Stephanie Seymour. In 2018, it became the first video created before YouTube to surpass one billion views on the platform.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
The music video for 1991’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” featured the band playing at a high school pep rally that ends in a riot. The music video, the first ever for director Samuel Bayer, was inspired by films like Over the Edge (1979) and the Ramones’ film “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979). A former MTV executive said that the music video changed the entire look of MTV and gave them a new generation to sell to.
“Goodbye, Earl” – The Chicks
The video for “Goodbye, Earl”, The Chicks’ 2000 murder ballad, follows the song’s narrative of best friends Wanda and Mary Ann, who dispose of Wanda’s abusive husband Earl with some poisoned black-eyed peas. The end of the music video features a “Thriller” parody, with zombie Earl joining Mary Ann and Wanda, the band, and the rest of the town in a slightly unhinged dance sequence.
TLC – No Scrubs
In 1999, at the verge of the new millennium and Y2K craze, TLC helped usher in a sleek, futuristic aesthetic which would be echoed in the fashion, technology design, and other music videos of the next few years.
You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift played two opposing characters in the 2009 music video for “You Belong With Me” – a nerdy girl and a cheerleader. The video won “Best Female Video” at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards, prompting the famous moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech.
Fell in Love with a Girl – White Stripes
The video for “Fell In Love With a Girl” is made out of Legos – literally. The video was shot frame-by-frame as the bricks were rebuilt to give the illusion of motion. Since The White Stripes weren’t able to strike a deal with the Lego company, they had to buy all of the Legos themselves.
Take On Me – Aha
One-hit wonder Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha achieved huge success with their 1985 hit “Take On Me” – largely thanks to the song’s creative music video, which featured a live-action animation sequence. The video took six months to create and took home six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.
Learn these Red Hot Chili Peppers songs with Fret Zealot
/by Kaley LynchThe Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the top-selling bands of all time. They formed in Los Angeles in 1982 by singer Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea, and drummer Jack Irons, who met in high school. Kiedis and Flea are still in the current lineup of the band.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ style of music, which incorporates alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock, has influenced many other genres, including nu metal and rap rock.
You can learn these Red Hot Chili Peppers songs with Fret Zealot.
Californication
“Californication” is the title track of the RHCP’s 1999 album. It’s also the name of a popular show on Showtime. The band sued the network in 2007 over the show’s name, but the network pointed out that “Californication” had been printed in a Time magazine article in 1972. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2011.
Under the Bridge
Producer Rick Rubin found a poem called “Under the Bridge” in Kiedis’ notebook while the band was creating Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991). He asked Kiedis to show it to the rest of the band, which he did, even though he felt the poem’s emotional lyrics didn’t fit the vibe of the band.
Scar Tissue
The video for this 1999 hit featured guitarist John Frusciante driving a car with the band inside down a desert highway, a metaphor for him returning to the band after the first time he quit. But Frusciante doesn’t drive in real life!
Can’t Stop
The video for this 2003 hit includes Frusciante playing an orange Toronado and a silver Fender Stratocaster, both under five years old – but in real life, he doesn’t own or play any guitars made after 1970.
Want to learn how to play guitar like John Frusciante? Check out this player study course!
History of recorded music
/by Kaley LynchHave you ever wondered how music started being recorded? Today, there are many ways to record music – including simply using the recording feature on your phone.
Music recording has evolved along with technology in waves over the centuries. Here is a brief history of sound recording:
Pre-1877
Ancient Christmas Carol in Galician-Portuguese.
Before Thomas Edison’s 1877 invention of the phonograph, people had no way of recording music except for musical notation. Thanks to musical notation (which dates back as far as 1400 BCE in ancient Babylonia, now Iraq), we have access to musical pieces written before 1877 – from Mozart and Bach to ancient Greek compositions. However, it was impossible to know exactly what they sounded like until..
1877
In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, which could record sound and play it back. Earlier inventions were able to record sound but not play it back, including the phonautograph. The first audio recording Edison made was himself reciting “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Those first recordings were made on tinfoil, and could only be played a couple of times. However, it was revolutionary for the time period. Soon, other inventors including Alexander Graham Bell and Emile Berliner were also experimenting with sound recording. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has about 400 of the earliest recordings ever made, from about 1878 to 1898, using materials like rubber, beeswax, glass, tin foil and brass.
Acoustic Era (1877 to 1925)
Part of a series of pictures depicting Frances Densmore at the Smithsonian Institution in 1916 during a recording session with Blackfoot chief Mountain Chief for the Bureau of American Ethnology.
The first wave of sound recording technology was purely mechanical. Rather than using microphones or other instruments, instrumentalists, singers, and speakers would play/perform into a bell-shaped horn that gathered the soundwaves toward a thin film at the horn’s small end. The soundwaves would cause the film to vibrate, which moved a stylus that etched the soundwaves into a rotating disc of wax. To play back these recordings, a mechanical reproducing machine reversed the process. A needle was attached to a film known as a sound box or reproducer, which was attached to a tube called the tone arm. The needle running over a recorded disc would make the film vibrate and create soundwaves.
Electrical Era (1925 – 1945)
In 1925, Bell Telephone Laboratories lead by Western Electric engineers Henry Harrison and Joseph Maxfield changed the game by inventing an electrical phonograph recording system that used Condenser Microphones to record. The microphone would connect to a tube amplifier which fed the amplified signal to an electromagnetic disc cutting head to produce records. This new recording system expanded the range of frequencies that could be recorded and greatly improved how recordings sounded. Sound could now be captured, amplified, filtered, and balanced electronically. Records began to be mass-produced. Starting in 1927, sound started to be used in film.
Magnetic Era (1945–1975)
The tape recorder aboard Mariner 4 spacecraft, on a mission to Mars, used for data storage.
In 1930s Germany, a new form of recording – magnetic tape recording – was developed. It was used for broadcasting in Germany but was restricted to the country until the end of WWII, when Allied Forces obtained and distributed it. The use of magnetic tape meant that recorded programs were nearly indistinguishable from live ones – the sound quality was that much better. Magnetic tape was used for the development of the first hi-fi recordings for consumers, as well as multitrack tape recording. It made editing sound easier for sound and movie engineers.
Magnetic tape recording made possible a range of new sound recording implements – including 12-inch LP discs and 7-inch singles, cartridge and compact cassette tapes, and cassette tape players.
The Digital Era (1975–present)
Promotional CD single of the radio edit of the 1997 song “Let Down” by English rock band Radiohead./Capitol Records
The Digital Era has transformed the way we listen to music. Compact discs (CDs) were introduced during this timeframe, but by the beginning of the 20th century, they were rendered nearly redundant by the popularity of digital audio files. Commercial innovations like iTunes and Apple’s iPod made it easier to download and take music with you. Unfortunately, this internet-based method of distribution led to unlicensed distribution of audio files, causing headaches for copyright owners. Since the late 2000s, streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora have outpaced the download of digital music.
A brief history of musical ensembles
/by Kaley LynchWhen you think of a “band”, you might think of Nirvana, Aerosmith, The Foo Fighters – but people have been playing music together for nearly as long as music has existed! Over time, the purpose and function of musical ensembles has shifted based on social movements and structures, technology, and other factors.
Here’s a brief history of musical ensembles:
Ancient Times (before 4th century CE)
Ancient music was recorded in Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Persian, Mesopotamian, and Middle Eastern societies. African music was first recorded by Egyptian musicians in the 3rd millennium BC. The Egyptians used a wide variety of musical instruments, including harps, flutes, drums, and cymbals. Music in ancient Greece and Rome often involved ensembles for religious ceremonies, entertainment, and theatrical performances. Instruments included lyres, aulos (a type of reed instrument), and various percussion instruments.
Medieval Period (500 to 1400 CE)
Much of the recorded music we have from the medieval period is religious music – since religion was one of the most pervasive forces in people’s lives during that period, and most of the record-keeping was done by members of the clergy.
Members of medieval church choirs performed plainchant or plainsongs – chants that were annotated with simple sheet music in books that were up to three feet tall.
Secular music also existed during this time period. Troubadours and minstrels formed small ensembles to play in royal courts or in cities. They often played instruments like the lute, vielle (a precursor to the violin), and various wind and percussion instruments.
Renaissance (1400 to 1600 CE)
The Concert/Gerard van Honthorst
The Renaissance period saw a flourishing of new musical styles and genres, as new instruments were invented and new ideas about harmony, rhythm, and notation were born. Chamber music, developed for small groups of two to eight people, originated in the 15th century. They often played music with accompanying dances. Bands as we know them originated in 15th century Germany and were made up mostly oboes and bassoons. These German musicians joined other groups in France and England before spreading to America.
By H.G. Hine (1811-1895) – Illustrated London News [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18249538
Charles II/Public domain
1700s to 1800s
Storming of the Bastille/Anonymous. Public domain.
The 1700s and 1800s were marked by upheaval, including the Industrial Revolution, the American and French revolutions, the Haitian Revolution and the Irish Rebellion, and the Age of Enlightenment. Musical groups often served a practical purpose during this period.
“The Turkish Janissary band provided entertainment at the Abide commemoration” by Priceypoos is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
During the Industrial Revolution Near the end of the 18th century, a style of band music called Turkish, or Janissary music became popular. It was inspired by the Turkish occupation of Eastern Europe. Medieval Turks have been credited with developing the first truly military bands. Turkish band music was characterized by shrill flutes and large drums, jangling triangles, cymbals, and Turkish crescents.
During the French Revolution, large wind bands of as many of 2,000 musicians played at the revolution’s large open air festivals. Each regiment in the British Army maintained its own military band. Drummers summoned men from their farms and ranches to muster for duty. Musical instruments were the only means of commanding the men to advance, stand or retire. In England at the end of the 18th century, brass (or “silver”) bands began to replace the waits. Throughout the 1800s, groups were formed to represent towns, factories, social clubs, and religious organizations such as the Salvation Army.
Pori Workers’ Society Brass Band/Public domain
In the United States, town bands performed at parades, concerts, balls, and other social events. They often played marches or polkas. Many were original compositions of the band leaders or members and were never published. Bands brought music to the public who might not have had access to orchestras. John Phillip Sousa helped bands present “serious music” by hiring top-notch musicians and writing original works for bands that included suites.
“John Philip Sousa, ca. 1880-1892” by Archives Branch, USMC History Division is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
20th century
During the Jazz Age of the 1920s, bands and band music underwent more changes. Jazz developed in the Black communities of New Orleans, Louisiana during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Its roots were blues and ragtime music. Bands like Kid Ory’s Original Creole Jazz Band played in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. The advent of music recording and radio broadcasting in 1919 made it possible for more people to hear music of all kinds, including jazz. The 1930s belonged to popular swing big bands, with band leaders like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway.
“Duke Ellington Big Band” by Hans Bernhard (Schnobby) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
In the 1930s and 1940s, country music became popular thanks to the romanticization of cowboy culture in films.
1950s
Chuck Berry
The 1950s saw the birth of Rock and Roll Music as electric guitars, designed to be heard over other band instruments, became popular. Chuck Berry, , Little Richard, and Buddy Holly helped pioneer the genre that broke away from the more conservative music of the past.
1960s
Public Domain: Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at 1963 March on Washington by USIA (NARA)
The 1960s saw more musical revolution. Folk music, which used more traditional acoustic instruments, became a major movement with socially-conscious lyrics.
The Supremes/Public Domain
Detroit-based label Motown put out pop-influenced soul music including The Four Tops and The Supremes.
The Beatles wave to fans after arriving at Kennedy Airport.
British Invasion: Bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones arrived in America in the 1960s, shaping how pop music sounded.
1970s
“1977 Led Zeppelin – Jimmy Page – Robert Plant #1 70s Rock Concert” by Whiskeygonebad is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Rock groups like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Queen were popular.
“Kool & the Gang – Leverkusener Jazztage 2017-1963 (cropped)” by Foto: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The 1970s also saw the emergence of disco music with groups like The Bee Gees, KC & The Sunshine Band, and Kool and the Gang.
Jackson 5/Public domain
Pop bands like The Carpenters, the Jackson 5, and Hall & Oates were also popular.
“Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five” by Kevin Andre Elliott is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Hip hop/rap music originated in African American communities in New York City in the 1970s (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang).
1980s
Digital recording gained in popularity in the 1980s, and synthesizers started to be used to create synth-pop and electronic music.
Another huge change for music was the advent of MTV. MTV played music videos 24/7. Suddenly, bands rose to fame quicker and became famous for their fashion and personas as well as their music.
Metallica in a press photo dated to 1983/Public domain
Hard rock bands like Guns ‘n Roses, Def Leppard, and Metallica were popular.
Jeff Pinilla, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Hip hop/rap music became more mainstream and part of popular culture in the mid to late 1980s, like Run DMC, Public Enemy, and Salt + Pepa.
Billy Idol. From the 1984 yearbook from the Rochester Institute of Technology, titled Techmila. Public domain.
“New wave” artists emerged – creating a new sound using different sounds and textures, thanks to electronic synthesizers and beats. Examples are Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Billy Idol.
1990s
The 1990s saw the emergence of grunge bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. Grunge is a style of alternative rock characterized by distorted guitar and angst-filled lyrics.
Alice in Chains, 1988 promo photo. Public domain.
The Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990s led to a wave of woman-led punk bands like Bikini Kill, Calamity Jane, and Babes in Toyland who sang about topics like sexism and female rage.
Bikini Kill in 1991/jonathan charles, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The “Golden Age of Hip Hop” was happening from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. It was considered to be golden because of the huge innovations happening within the genre. Significant groups of the 1990s included A Tribe Called Quest, Outkast, and Wu-Tang Clan.
A Tribe Called Quest/WRBB 104.9 FM, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Teen pop had a huge resurgence in the 1990s with groups like The Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, and NSYNC.
Spice Girls/cw from USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2000s
The early 2000s saw a new interest in pop rock and pop-punk, with bands like Blink-182, Newfound Glory, and Sum 41 rising to popularity.
Blink 182/Sony Music Entertainment Sweden, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
A new form of metal called “nu metal” incorporated electronic sounds and sometimes rap. Examples are Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot.
Korn/Sébastien Paquet, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The subgenre of Southern hip-hop reached the peak of its popularity in the mid-2000s with groups like The East Side Boyz (led by Lil Jon) that started the dance craze movement in hop-hop.
Lil Jon/Gamerscore Blog from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Emo music, defined by confessional lyrics and raw instrumentation, became popular in the 2000s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, and Taking Back Sunday.
My Chemical Romance/Jimack32, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Indie rock bands like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, and Arcade Fire put indie rock on the map in the 2000s.
Death Cab for Cutie/deep ghosh, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2010s
The 2010s saw a huge wave in popularity for electronic music and EDM (electronic dance music), although electronic music got its start in the 1970s/1980s. Groups like Disclosure, Swedish House Mafia, and Daft Punk helped to popularize the genre.
Daft Punk/Minyoung Choi, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Folk rock saw a resurgence in popularity with bands like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons coming onto the scene, using traditional instruments like mandolins and banjos.
Mumford and Sons/Roostertopgun, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
K-pop made a splash into Western markets with groups like BTS, Blackpink, and Twice hitting the U.S. airwaves.
BTS/Divine Treasure, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons