Progressive rock emerged in Britain in the late 1960s and peaked in the early 1970s. It was characterized by extended musical arrangements that drew on classical structures and included elements like quoting classical excerpts. The six main bands of the first wave of progressive rock were Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, and Pink Floyd. Progressive rock shows became grand multimedia spectacles by the mid-1970s with huge screens, costumes, and light shows. Though the genre declined by 1980, it had a resurgence in the 2000s led by artists like Steven Wilson who carried on its legacy of fusing rock and classical music into concept albums and elaborate live performances.

1. Progressive Rock
musicstudentinfo.com
Tutor Christopher Baker

2. Ground Zero – Sgt. Pepper
The Beatles ‘the best album of all time’ Rolling Stone Magazine

3. Sgt.
Pepper
The
Beatles
I remember vividly Sergeant Pepper
coming out—there was this incredible
buzz of sheer disbelief.
Wherever you went people would be
playing it.
Suddenly, with this astonishing music
anything seemed possible. David
Jackson (Van der Graaf Generator)
It changed many artists way of
thinking about making music.

4. Sgt. Pepper.

5. Progressive
ROCK
Background
The ‘progressive rock era’ can be
delineated, emerging in Britain around
1967– 1969, peaking in terms of
commercial and aesthetic success from
1972 to 1974, and disappearing altogether
(or at least returning to the musical
underground) between 1977 and 1980
A second wave subsequently appeared in
the 00’s with the work of Steven Wilson

6. Progressive Rock 1st
wave THE BIG 6
1. Yes
2. Genesis
3. Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP)
4. Jethro Tull
5. King Crimson
6. Pink Floyd

7. Emerson Lake & Palmer

8. Defining
Factors
1.
Quote a classical excerpt in the midst of a song.
Quote
Use a classical melody as the basis of a rock song.
Use
Create a series of rock songs conceived as units in a
larger form – suites.
Create
Adopt a full classical work to a rock style performance
(classical work transformed by rock instrumentation)
Adopt

9. King Crimson - Discipline

10. Defining Factors 2.
Create a work for rock
group and classical
ensemble (rock group
partners with orchestra;
blend of both forms)
Using the musical language
of rock, create an extended
work modelled on classical
form (difficult to achieve;
development and structure;
classical music in the
language of rock)

11. Yes - Wonderous Stories

12. Criticism
• Artists who try to ‘to dignify their work, to make it acceptable for
upper-‐class approval’ Miller, 1980

13. Common Themes
• Arrangements, harmonies and forms that drew on classical models,
specifically those of the Roman Composers of the nineteenth century and
the “nationalist” composers such as Bartok, Delius, Copland and Dvorak. -‐-‐
Aoon, 2001: 30 18

14. Peter Gabriel –
Solsbury Hill

15. Other Elements
Extended arrangements.
Blending of acoustic, electric and electronic instruments.
Mix of soft and loud musical passages.
Extended instrumental sections and solos.
Use of musical styles other than the American blues/rock.
format common to much commercially popular music in
Britain, Europe and the USA in the mid=1960s

16. Key
Ethos
Progressive rock was intended to be
both popular (‘meant for a wide
audience’ and long lasting (of ‘more
permanent value than the six weeks in
the chart and then forget it’) Dawbarn,
Melody Maker 1969.
‘a scale and grandeur unparalleled in
rock, and its inner complexities to rival
those of the greatest classical
composers’ Williams, Melody Maker,
1970

17. Psychedelic
Origins
heavy-rock
metal
jazz‐rock
glam‐rock
southern rock
post‐rock

18. Key Points
Middle-class
Became a multi-
media
experience
By the mid
1970s shows
became more
extravagant
Huge projections
screens
Strange
costumes
Light shows Huge tours

19. Legacy
ELEMENTS OF
SYMPHONIC
MUSIC TODAY? •
CONCEPT
ALBUMS TODAY?
HUGE TOURS ELABORATE TOUR
PRODUCTION

20. New Era in Progressive Rock 00’s
Steven Wilson

21. Performance
Track
Pink Floyd
Money