Blog Post 12

The group I posted is the Talking Heads from the subgenre of the new wave from Rock.
This subgenre developed in the early 1980s.

Music Elements of Rock

The main elements of rock that can be seen from this video are the prominent uses of electric guitar. In the 1940s amps and strings were set up to optimize their sound they could produce, and since the new wave rock was prominent in the 1980s guitars are well adapted for the rock concerts and loud speakers.

Also another element that can be seen from this subgenre is the use of small ensemble which consists of a few performers. In this video there are four performers, one on the drum set, acoustic, one electric, and one base guitar. There is a strong emphasis on singing which is unique to rock music, separating jazz pieces. Another element is the use of strong beats in a four-beat cycle. The rhythm in this piece is not syncopated or complex like jazz and some other styles of music, making it very distinctly rock. Although much is simple in the rock type of music, the use of technology is quite complex in comparison to many other genres of music since this type of music was developed within the last century. Making unique electronic sounds made the new wave subgenre extremely diverse though they only used four instruments, which one would fine much less of in the punk rock music.

The last two elements are the use of simplified harmonic progressions and use of emotion. Although emotion is generally rebellious in rock music, in comparison to the punk rock music, the new wave expression of emotion seemed more mature and robotic. The harmonic progression was relatively the same to many other types of subgenres of rock music.