-1the origins of popular music

pop music as it has become known today is the flagship of the music industry, hence the name
‘pop’ meaning popular. the first ever pop song was the track titled ‘rock around the clock,’ by bill haley
and his comets in 1953. it was the first song to fuse many styles and produce an attractive sound which
drew in a large number of listeners. so where did this come from? pop music origins are of a diverse
nature the following text is what i have found to be the main influences of this genre.

it is obvious that the emergence of pop music was brought about with rock and roll, a genre
which is renowned for historically bringing the younger audience into power. rock and roll is defined
with simple chord sequences which are layered with catchy rhythms, clear melodies and emotional
and/or fun lyrical content. from these definitions we can see why this genre brought about the climb of
‘pop’ music. so where did rock and roll come from? rock and roll evolved from the combination of
folk music, gospels and mainly blues. gospel and folk music gave great influence on the levels of
passion for musical subjects and also the fun that could bring audience and musician alike. the blues
was brought about by the african’s pushed into forced labour and slavery before the days of equal
opportunity as they used it to release themselves of the burdens in their lives. early blues was
extremely simple and down tempo, however the chord sequences and movements in this were
probably the key in developing rock and roll (hence the 12 bar blues).

the ‘good time’ element of pop which brought dancing and such may easily be traced back to
ragtime and it’s own progression into swing and jazz. hence it’s own combination with blues.

pop music since then has evolved much further and in passing one can see why. the impact of
improved technology worldwide is an observation definitely not to be overlooked. because of this
cultures have been able to mix and since them early days equal rights have been enforced. we now
hear a great number of influences and from that much more.

people have come to turn to this genre of music for much more than audio pleasure, role
models and idols have come to be sought out. these have great control on fashion trends and styles. it
would seem elvis presley was one of the first to bring this about. with big audiences, money hungry
business men took great interest in the music industry and used people like elvis too make money. it
was this which meant incorporation of technology on a greater level as music could be brought to
people around the world with the media (radio and television). the radio at one point pretty much had
control over all music the public could listen to yet live performances could never be over looked.

the key influences added to the ‘concoction’ of pop since the early days include country music,
another evolved form of folk which is of the most part an american development. country music is
known for story telling and it’s musical features include heavily emphasised acoustic guitars, intricate
chord patterns which are generally broken down and ‘plucked’ and the use of alternate singing styles. i
believe country has greatly influenced pop songs structures as most other genres of part had guidelines
for structural development that are not often seen in popular music.

when this mainstream form of music found it’s feet in the world it would seem that time
brought it more and more influence along with its own evolution. such a complex task to break down
and point at parts because of its own evolution. this is mostly because of artists and musicians
exploring inside of a genre, the ability to through most guidelines out the window and generate unique
sound. artists then passed their findings onto other artists as influence and then the receivers changed
things and explored other ideas and creations. the beatles come to mind right now. they were a band of
many firsts as the were extremely experimental. take for example the way they where the first band to
have a concept album. it is of course over time we’ve seen new influences of their own evolution
become involved. for example hip-hop a style of music which has developed from african drumming
with western influences and cultural interface. it also takes advantage of technology by using it to
bring about original sounds incorporated with vocal styles inclusive of both harmony and spoken
word.

pop music today seems to have become an umbrella for many musical styles. as technology has
evolved much further it is easer for people to find music and make their own choices on what to listen
to and there are now a lot more musicians in the world wanting people to listen to their music.
my elaboration of this would be to point at various ‘sub genre’s’ of this umbrella. take for example
rock music or dance music. it would seem we’ve developed so far that each sub genre could easily be
split further below that. none if this would be possible however if musicians of pop’s early years had
not of been experimental and open minded of influence. broken down mainstream in pop seems to be a
by-product of our own progression. take for example the end of top of the pops on tv.

in conclusion, i believe the origins of pop music are so diverse in culture, style and progression
both that of itself and that of it’s subcultures that to completely break it down would be similar to
attempting complete understanding of human dna and in possibly quite relative…

by wayne sheppard