Punk
Punk Rock
Punk rock is a sub-genre of rock music, thought to have been developed in London and New York in the early seventies. The origins of punk rock can be traced back to New York and to London, where bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones emerged. In the 1990s and early 2000s, pop punk arrived, a sub-genre of punk, with bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and Sum 41. Punk has warped into a variety of different genres; some of the most popular ones nowadays would be hardcore punk, and emo music.
In the early seventies, punk was seen by a large majority of the public as “bad”, or “unruly”, because of the teenage rebellion and the anti-establishment tied to the subculture. Lyrics often involved swearing, anti-government and confrontational phrases shouted at the microphone. Issues like not wanting to grow up, not liking the government and sex often came up as well. Punk was, in the words of The Ramones drummer, Tommy Ramone, “pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll”. And it was. A lack of being able to play your instrument properly was present in most bands, but that didn’t stop them, all they wanted to do was play their music. Within a year or so, punk had become both a cultural and musical phenomenon.
It dominated the charts in the mid/late 70s, with songs like “God save the queen” by The Sex Pistols and “Career Opportunities” by The Clash.
The musical elements of punk are actually really simple. Fast paced guitar playing, partnered with fast drumming and shouting down a microphone, similar to hardcore music. The songs usually consist of Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus. Often, the Chorus uses the same chords as the Verse, just played in a different order or at a different speed. A simple 3 or 4 chord progression is usually present, and these chords will probably be power chords. Drums will use hi hats more than other genres, and a simple beat throughout the song. Songs will be quite short, about 2 minutes
Punk rock is a sub-genre of rock music, thought to have been developed in London and New York in the early seventies. The origins of punk rock can be traced back to New York and to London, where bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Ramones emerged. In the 1990s and early 2000s, pop punk arrived, a sub-genre of punk, with bands like Green Day, Blink 182 and Sum 41. Punk has warped into a variety of different genres; some of the most popular ones nowadays would be hardcore punk, and emo music.
In the early seventies, punk was seen by a large majority of the public as “bad”, or “unruly”, because of the teenage rebellion and the anti-establishment tied to the subculture. Lyrics often involved swearing, anti-government and confrontational phrases shouted at the microphone. Issues like not wanting to grow up, not liking the government and sex often came up as well. Punk was, in the words of The Ramones drummer, Tommy Ramone, “pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll”. And it was. A lack of being able to play your instrument properly was present in most bands, but that didn’t stop them, all they wanted to do was play their music. Within a year or so, punk had become both a cultural and musical phenomenon.
It dominated the charts in the mid/late 70s, with songs like “God save the queen” by The Sex Pistols and “Career Opportunities” by The Clash.
The musical elements of punk are actually really simple. Fast paced guitar playing, partnered with fast drumming and shouting down a microphone, similar to hardcore music. The songs usually consist of Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus. Often, the Chorus uses the same chords as the Verse, just played in a different order or at a different speed. A simple 3 or 4 chord progression is usually present, and these chords will probably be power chords. Drums will use hi hats more than other genres, and a simple beat throughout the song. Songs will be quite short, about 2 minutes