How to Appreciate Progressive Rock

Progressive rock (or prog) is a musical genre that grew out of acid rock's experimentation in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Its first and best-known wave peaked around 1975. That wave drew on classical music's forms and methods (themes, colors and suites rather than verses and choruses) and instrumentation (the rock band as a chamber orchestra). Longer songs featured lyrics on cosmic or mythic subjects. Like classical, prog invited virtuoso performances and seemed more popular among Europeans. British bands associated with this genre include Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. North American bands include Kansas, Rush, Styx and Utopia.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Set aside time to listen. Be in a receptive frame of mind. Progressive rock can be dense with musical ideas or unusual contrasts and changes. If you lack patience for this challenge, it will seem like a waste.

2. Approach it like a puzzle, because prog is usually composed and recorded as an intellectual experience. If the rhythm isn't in standard four-four, count the beats per measure. Listen to how similar melodies are treated by different voices or instruments. Notice how certain tone colors or special effects underline the words or ideas you hear in the lyrics.

3. Listen for familiar elements. Progressive rock borrows shamelessly from many 19th and 20th century classical composers. For example, Genesis tips its hat to Debussy and Mascagni, ELP draws heavily on Copland and Stravinsky, and Renaissance built its early reputation on the backs of Rachmaninoff and Rimsky-Korsakov. Prog might be called a gateway to classical music for rock audiences.

4. Listen to it again. There's a lot going on, and you might not catch everything the first time around. For those who favor rich musical experiences, this can be quite rewarding.

5. Invite, don't advocate. Once you're convinced that progressive rock speaks to your own sense of intellectual or artistic pleasure, understand that you won't make many converts. This style of music isn't for everyone, and that's okay.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't expect to dance. Even when the bass and drums carry a strong rhythm, they might also be serving melodic purposes or playing roles not usually associated with rock dynamics. Rather than being built on top of a rhythm section, prog compositions often originate from uneven melodic lines or chord progressions.
• As a genre that's much broader than discussed here, prog spills over the boundaries of other genres, such as jazz, jazz fusion, world fusion, electronic, electronica and avant-garde. The theatrical pomp of vintage ELP has very little to do with the grating experimental punk of Fred Frith or the spacey global groove of Dead Can Dance, yet in some ways each could be called prog.
• Men shouldn't expect to pick up women at prog events. For some reason, this genre appeals to mostly male audiences, and the women in attendance are generally someone's partner or date.
• Prog loyalists can be rabidly opinionated. They feel persecuted by "the critics" and ignored by "the mainstream." (For Gentle Giant fans, increase by a factor of ten.) Tread with caution!

Resources

• Wikipedia on prog
• Progarchives.com
• guide to prog 1967-79