What One Should Know About Scandinavian Prog Rock

By Martha Graham


Prog is one of the subgenres of rock music. In most cases, the short forms prog or prog rock are often used. Others prefer using the term art rock to refer to this genre. The term progressive pop was in wide use before it started being abandoned for progressive rock instead. The United Kingdom is the country of origin of progressive pop and the main reason behind its development was elevating 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.

Development efforts started in the mid 1960s and continued until late 1970s. The main reason for the development of prog pop was to give the music more artistic weight and credibility. Bands started adopting instrumentation and compositional methods similar to those used in classical music and jazz in order to earn this genre a higher level of musical sophistication and critical respect.

The danceable beats that earlier characterized the old version were abandoned or incorporated to a lesser extent. Instead, lyrical content, rhythm, compositional structure, and harmony started being incorporated more. Thus, the listener has to put in more effort in order to understand and enjoy the songs. The subgenre borrows musical styles from a number of other genres such as folk and jazz, making it even more sophisticated.

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, more emphasis is given to the band as a whole than to individuals. The genre does not live by the idea of a single, dominant singer leading while being accompanied by a band. The length of most songs range between three and five minutes, but there are some very long pieces too. For example, one should not be surprised to find a piece that plays for over twenty minutes or more.

The public received this new genre with mixed reaction. From the year of being launched, there was a lot of criticism and critical acclaim at the same time. The genre has been described by many as paralleling classical music by renowned musicians in the industry. The cause of criticism was often the desire held by some artists to expand its boundaries even more.

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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