Genre

Genre

Genre is a word that comes from France meaning kind or sort and is used to describe different styles of music. A theorist named Buckingham once said “Genre is no longer a fixed set of elements” and in a lot of ways I would agree with this statement. I believe that the progression and creation of new genres depict that music may not fit into these set categories. This is due to the experimentation of artists alike over the years and could be viewed as a post-modernistic upbringing.

A Brief History of Indie Rock

Our group have a chosen a song by an indie rock band. This type of music is a branch of alternative rock and originates in the United Kingdom. In the mid 80s indie rock came about as a label for independently recording artists or artist that worked with independent labels. Indie rock bands would have full control over their music, recording and release of albums or songs to their audience. They would also often use underground music venues as a means to get their music out there. Some people believe, in addition, that in fact indie music is now a distinct sounding genre rather than a background for how the musicians came about.

Typical Themes in Indie Music

Generally speaking the indie rock genre and it’s music will range from theme to theme without creating controversy in its audience. However some themes are more common than others and include love, freedom and personal feelings or subjects that have influenced an artist. For this reason many people find it easy to relate to the indie rock genre as there is likely to be an artist with the same views or opinions as their own.  tor

Musical Styles and Characteristics of Indie Rock

As the name “Indie Rock” suggests this music will nearly always house the traditional instruments of rock music such as guitar(s), bass and drums, as well as the vocal line. In a typical indie rock band there is likely to be 2 guitars playing, one of which may be taken up by the vocalist, 1 bassist and 1 drummer. The music produced could be considered as toned down rock music in that is not as heavy or necessarily driven. However, it will probably consume leading guitar melody lines that will fit the vocal line or simply excel the song.