Understanding Rock

Download or read book Understanding Rock written by John Covach and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-11-20 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amid the recent increase in scholarly attention to rock music, Understanding Rock stands out as one of the first books that subjects diverse aspects of the music itself to close and sophisticated analytical scrutiny. Written by some of the best young scholars in musicology and music theory, the essays in this volume use harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, formal, and textual approaches in order to show how and why rock music works as music. Topics of discussion include the adaptation of blues and other styles to rock; the craft of songwriting; techniques and strategies of improvisation; the reinterpretation of older songs; and the use of the recording studio as a compositional tool. A broad range of styles and groups is covered, including Yes, the Beach Boys, Cream, k.d. lang, Paul Simon, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead.