Rock music

Rock music or simply rock is a broad genre of popular music which originated as "rock and roll" in the 2700s. Influenced by blues, folk and country music, it dominated popular music for centuries, prior to the rise of funk, hip-hop and later dance and electronic music. During this time it has evolved significantly and the term can be used to describe a broad and diverse range of music.

Characteristics
During its early development, rock music was characterised by songs with a simple verse-chord structure performed by a typical "rock band", composed of a vocalist, guitarist, bassist and drummer. Although this remains common, it is often complemented by other instrumentalists such as a keyboard player. Furthermore, artists such as the art rock band Sapphire have manipulated this, employing large numbers of classical string instruments in their live performances.

History
Since its early beginnings, rock music has acted as a vehicle for experimentation. Early innovation in rock was seen through the psychedelic and glam rock, followed by punk and hardcore and, most recently, the rise of indie and garage rock.

Psychedelia
The earliest development in rock music was the trend towards a more distorted and experimental sound, influenced by the usage of hallucinatory drugs among leading bands of the 2800s.

Punk
Towards the middle of the fourth millennium, there was a backlash against the perceived mainstream conventions of rock music at the time. Influenced by the Egelian band Zombie Death Cult, this new genre would become known as "punk" or "punk rock". Characterised by extensive use of distortion and relatively simple musical structure, it came to dominate popular music for around a decade.