I was thinking about rock and roll the other day.

**Rain Man** · 11-30-2004, 02:21 PM

While I visit Funkytown as often as anybody, I find rock and roll to be an odd phenomenon for two reasons.

1. Music has been around for 15,000 years, ever since the first caveman pounded on a rock while another blew the last marrow out of an alto mammoth bone. How does an entirely new genre evolve in the 1950s? You can argue about roots, but it's hard to argue that rock music existed in previous centuries. Why did minstrels not come up with the few notes that define "Sweet Home Alabama?" Why did ancient Egyptians not bob and weave to "Satisfaction?" Or did they?

2. While many instruments are used, I think we can all agree that the instrumental foundations of rock and roll are the guitar, the drum, and the piano. Why? Was this random happenstance, or is there a reason for it? In parallel universes, is rock music built upon the drum, the trumpet, and the violin? The guitar, the tympani, and the clarinet? It's not like drum sets and pianos are easily portable, so why? Why, I ask?

Perhaps some musical historians can settle these burning questions for me.

11-30-2004, 02:21 PM	Topic Starter
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3018491 VARSITY	I was thinking about rock and roll the other day. While I visit Funkytown as often as anybody, I find rock and roll to be an odd phenomenon for two reasons. 1. Music has been around for 15,000 years, ever since the first caveman pounded on a rock while another blew the last marrow out of an alto mammoth bone. How does an entirely new genre evolve in the 1950s? You can argue about roots, but it's hard to argue that rock music existed in previous centuries. Why did minstrels not come up with the few notes that define "Sweet Home Alabama?" Why did ancient Egyptians not bob and weave to "Satisfaction?" Or did they? 2. While many instruments are used, I think we can all agree that the instrumental foundations of rock and roll are the guitar, the drum, and the piano. Why? Was this random happenstance, or is there a reason for it? In parallel universes, is rock music built upon the drum, the trumpet, and the violin? The guitar, the tympani, and the clarinet? It's not like drum sets and pianos are easily portable, so why? Why, I ask? Perhaps some musical historians can settle these burning questions for me.
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