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Information About Scandinavian Prog Rock

By Martha Graham


Prog is a subgenre of rock music. Mostly, the short forms prog rock or simply prog are used. Other people prefer the term art rock. The term progressive rock started being adopted as people moved away from using the term progressive pop. Progressive pop was birthed in the UK and the reason of its birthing was to elevate the genre to higher levels.

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.

The subgenre started being developed in mid 1960s and continued throughout 1970s. The primary reason for development was to give credibility and higher artistic weight to the music of the time. Compositional methods and instrumentation was now being borrowed from classical music and jazz. This was done so that the genre could earn more critical respect and be more sophisticated like other genres.

The danceable beats that were typical in the early version were dropped completely or incorporated less. Instead, artists started preferring incorporating harmony, rhythm, lyrical content, and compositional structure instead. Thus, to enjoy the music, listeners have to put in some effort. This subgenre is a collection of styles because it borrows musical styles from several genres such as jazz. This makes it more sophisticated than any one genre or music.

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, individuals receive less emphasis compared to the band. The traditional idea of a band accompanying a single, soloist does not exist. Typically, most songs run for 3-5 minutes, but there are also longer songs. There are artists who record songs that play for over 20 minutes. Such songs have often been recorded in response to too much criticism.

The public had mixed reaction towards this new genre. A lot of critical acclaim and criticism continue to be experienced along the years. This genre has been considered to be parallel to the works of some of the most renowned classical music artists. Criticism often stemmed from the overzealousness of some artists to further the boundaries of the genre.

The desire to expand boundaries was often accompanied by dismissal of mainstream pop music by some musicians. Such dismissiveness was viewed as a sign of elitism. The subgenre also presented exotic themes in songs that most adolescents in Britain could not identify with because of bad economic situation at the time.




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