Country Vs. Rock (similarities and Differences)?

Question

Country Vs. Rock (similarities and Differences)?

Answer 1

In today's music scene...not much. While in the early eighties country turned more popish and slick, it went full blown "Rock/Pop" in the nineties. Today, while it has gone a little bit more back to traditional country, I still consider it soft rock with the conglomerates running country radio and cramming drivel like "Rascal Flatts" and other slick, gimmicky, over produced hair and makeup bands/artists down our throats. i.e. Taylor Swift. I like Taylor Swift for what she is: a cute, sweet, teenage girl who writes ditties that all the teeny boppers like. But, she is not country, and I am honestly sick of turning on the radio and hearing her nonstop...but, she and RF sell records so that'll never change.



Now, Rock. Is there an honest rock artist out there? I haven't heard any rock since John Cougar's "Jack and Diane". AC/DC put out a new album last year, and it was a solid Rock 'n Roll CD, but it didn't blow me away.



To answer your question without all my opinions: Their isn't a difference anymore. You'll get an occasional steel guitar in a country song, maybe some fiddle. But, what's on country radio today is "rock". And what is on Rock radio is...I don't know.

Answer 2

Rock began as a blend of country, R&B, and blues. Several country singers are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as "early influences" on the advent of rock and roll. The first "boogie" was performed in a country song.



The major differences:



1. Vocals. There are comparatively few technically good rock singers (Don Henley is a definite exception). You won't hear anyone doing a Robert Plant in country; and, by the same token, you won't hear a Jim Reeves in rock and roll.



2. Instrumentation. Drums were non-existent in country music, with very few exceptions, until the mid-50s. In fact, scholarly dictionaries define country music by the instruments played (e.g., fiddle, steel guitar). You aren't going to hear fiddles on a rock song. Rock also makes use of keyboards, especially synthesizers, that weren't found in country until recently. Rock and roll is more electric, amplified guitars, turned up (as they said in "This is Spinal Tap") to 11. As country began on the front porches and was played in school houses without electricity, the emphasis was on acoustic, not electric, instrumentation.



3. Politics. Many country songs have honored the military and expressed patriotism. Rock, on the other hand, naively sings of "peace" as though repeating the word can cause our enemies to stop hating us (as the Eagles put it in "The Sad Cafe," "We thought we could change this world with words like 'love' and 'freedom'"). Political songs are the exception in country; in rock, it's more the rule.



4. Religion. Most country acts up until the last 15 years put out gospel albums -- even people with decidedly UN-Christian behavior (e.g., Faron Young). You would be hard pressed to find a popular rock song (the Doobie Brothers' "Jesus is Just All Right" or Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky" are noted exceptions) that present God in a positive light.



Both genres, finally, are being seriously injured with marketing and record company saturation of identical-sounding performers being presented as "the" definition of the genre at the expense of really good artists who cannot get played because of the tightly controlled playlists (e.g., John Hiatt in rock, Dale Watson in country).

Answer 3

some rock have same guitar as country and i noticed that a lot of rock songs were later sung by country singers. i love country and rock only kinds of music i listen to

Answer 4

Similarities: Both have country influences of their music Differences: Southern rock is more rock with some "twang" and Country rock is more traditional with distortion

Answer 5

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RE:

Country Vs. Rock (similarities and Differences)?

What are some similarities and differences in theses two type of music.

Answer 6

They both seem to have a lot of artists who think they are of that genre. there are so many artists who think that just because they can scream, they are good rock artists. There are also people who think that because they mention a horse or a cowboy they are a country singer.

Answer 7

Similar Guitar riffs. Some country music has a fiddle in it. Remember:

"If You're Gonna Play In Texas You Gotta have a fiddle in the band"!

Answer 8

Rock and country both take good singing voices(unlike pop) but rock is like ten times better.

Answer 9

First off, both genres have been strongly influenced by blues (so has jazz, for that matter). However, country also has a very strong Celtic influence. Country is also more closely related to jazz in the way it's played where rock is more closely related to jazz (but both country and rock do have blues and jazz influences). Rock was also influenced by country music. To hear that influence, listen to Chet Atkins then listen to some of the Beatles' music. George Harrison's guitar playing was influenced by Chet Atkins' playing quite a bit!



Secondly, rock music in general tends to be more open to more complicated chord progressions. Of course, that's not always true but, for the most part, it is. A lot of country artists tend to stick to nice simple chord progressions. Don't take that the wrong way though--rock artists still often use very simple chord progressions and country artists still often use more complicated chord progressions. Also, in rock, melodies tend to be more complicated than country...once again, a country song still can have a complicated melody. Rock also tends to use a wider variety of scales than country. For instance, rock guitarists will often use pentatonics scales and major scales which are also common in country. However, rock guitarists will also use harmonic minor scales and much more. The only country artist I can honestly think of who has uses harmonic minor scales is Brad Paisley and it was in his surf rock instrumental "Turf's Up."



Another of the main differences between rock and country are the instrumentals most often used. In rock, there's mainly just guitar, bass and drums. Of course, sitar is also used quite a bit (thanks to the Beatles introducing it into rock) by certain artists and banjo has also been used on occasion in rock. Piano and harmonica are also quite common and even more so than sitar and banjo. Some rock artists, including Led Zeppelin and Cinderella, have also used mandolin which is more often associated with country music but it an Italian instrument (it sounds great in Italian music too!). Now, in country, you have more main instruments. Some of those are guitar, bass, drums, pedal steel, fiddle and banjo. Of course, piano, harmonica, mandolin and a lot of other instruments can be used. Honestly, an instrument is not what makes a certain song (or artist) qualify as a genre. In reality, you could take a song like "Okie from Muskogee" by Merle Haggard and add a sitar and it could still stay a country song (if arranged right). And, in rock, well, look up country guitar virtuoso Brad Paisley's rock instrumental "Cliffs of Rock City" to see how fiddle could be used (that song's a tribute to rock guitarist Eric Johnson). Also, look up the rock band Warrant and their song "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for an example of how banjo could be used in a rock song.



In all honesty, country and rock really are more closely related than people tend to think. Of course, with modern country, you usually get artists who sound more like pop while less modern country artists tend to sound more like rock and even less modern country artists actually sound like country.





Some great rock artists to check out:



Badfinger

Tesla

Scorpions

Cinderella

Jackyl [watch out for the bad language with this band though]

The Beatles

Led Zeppelin

Mountain

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Allman Brothers Band

Molly Hatchet

Whitesnake

Chuck Berry

Jerry Lee Lewis

Eric Johnson

Warrant

White Lion





Some great country artists to check out:



Brad Paisley [some of his instrumentals are not country but, for the most part, he stays true to country while sometimes incorporating non-country influences into his guitar playing]

Alan Jackson

Jerry Reed

Hank Williams, Sr.

Chet Atkins

Buck Owens

Katrina Elam [more on the pop side, but a great vocalist nonetheless]

George Strait

Cross Canadian Raweed [labeled as country, but should be labeled as rock...they're a great band though]

Ashton Shepherd

Jamey Johnson

Roy Clark

Redd Volkaert

Merle Haggard

Patsy Cline

Waylon Jennings