If not the guitar, what musical instrument for 1955-1995?

Which instrument would be most likely and/or best to center popular music for 1955-1995?

  • Piano

    Votes: 10 27.8%
  • Banjo

    Votes: 6 16.7%
  • Mandolin

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Trumpet/Saxophone/Trombone - i.e. Something brassy

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • Violin/Viola/Cello/Bass - i.e. string(s)

    Votes: 4 11.1%
  • Harp, Plucked Bass or Fiddle - i.e. something picked/plucked

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • Something Indian (not otherwise listed in this poll)

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • Something Japanese or Chinese (not otherwise listed in this poll)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Drums or other percussion (as the center of a more rhythmic approach to music)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Straight Vocals (a capella), plus maybe human rhythms (fingersnaps, hand claps, footstomp, beatbox)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Harmonica

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • Accordion

    Votes: 5 13.9%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Flute

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other woodwind

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    36
The guitar was, IIUC, a Spanish instrument that had been around for a while. It had been used in the Delta Blues, but either not much or not at all in other American/British settings (classical symphony, jazz, etc.)

It seems likely that with the advent of cheap records, continuing rollout of radio, and post WW2 prosperity, plus a youth movement, that new music forms, sometimes relying on previously less popular instruments, would arise. While we broadly call much of the post 1955 music "rock" or maybe "pop", of course that embraces a lot of styles, some of which became dominant for a while, some mostly stayed on the sidelines. But, for the most part, they featured guitar as the lead instrument (with one or more singers in addition, plus other instruments).

Whether it was called "rock" or something else, whether structured similar to rock or in a different way, if, for some reason the guitar was NOT so popular during this era, what would the next best alternative be?

(Ending this era at 1995, because by then natural instruments in some decline due to computer-based production techniques, synthesizers, etc.)
 
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One reason guitar works so well is that a guitarist can also sing at the same time, and move around the stage. Many of the alternatives prevent the musician from singing while playing (i.e. brass instruments) and/or root the player into one position on stage (piano, drums). You can of course, separate the role of vocalist from the musical players, and many rock/pop bands to, but it's nice to have the option for the lead musician to also sing.
 
It needs to be something a poor person can have out and ready, pick it up and practice.

It needs to be at least slightly durable, and also not need any special equipment.

Guitar became so widespread because poor folks could get it quite cheap and practice for days, weeks, months, etc and it didn't cost much in maintenance. Brass instruments are nice, but they are expensive.
 
Unlikely but possible:

Jaw harp (The Who, "Join Together")
Kazoo (Jimi Hendrix, "Crosstown Traffic")
Police whistle (Donna Summer, "Bad Girls")
Slide whistle (Deee-Lite, "Groove Is In The Heart")
Theremin (Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations")
Xylophone (Violent Femmes, "Gone Daddy Gone")
 

badfishy40

Banned
Early electronic music starting from 1955.... synthesizers were around in some form since then and could make endless sounds and music. After 1967 then Moog is on the scene and after that Daft punk. On my synth I recreated van Halen guitar solo on jump since I can't play a guitar to save my life. It took a few weeks since I can't read music but can play it by ear like a BO$$.
 

marathag

Banned
I love the idea of the Electric Banjo being what makes it big.
Grandpa Jones, then 24 years old at the Grand Ole Opry in 1937, shows of his take on the Electric Rickenbacker Frying pan, a steel guitar, modified to his Banjo, and the amplified Banjo with his new Clawhammer style becomes all the rage.
 
Believe it or not, the accordion was a popular instrument in the 40s and 50s. Most amps had inputs not only for guitar, but for the accordion. With the right circumstances, I could see the accordion replacing the guitar in popular music (she winces as she writes this - I've been a guitar player for 43 years [including times playing in bands]).
 
I love the idea of the Electric Banjo being what makes it big.
Grandpa Jones, then 24 years old at the Grand Ole Opry in 1937, shows of his take on the Electric Rickenbacker Frying pan, a steel guitar, modified to his Banjo, and the amplified Banjo with his new Clawhammer style becomes all the rage.

[ TL where we get Hendrix cover of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" ]
 
Would it be possible to play a violin as if it were a guitar, maybe even with the aid of a shoulder strap?

I mean, I've seen online ads for a small bow meant to be played with a guitar, and the resulting sound is almost identical to that of a violin; I've also seen plenty violin-centric covers of rock and metal tracks - and, of course, symphonic metal's been a thing for decades.
 
The key is affordability and portability. Anything large, expensive and difficult to master will remain the domain of those with a space for it and the ability to spend money on a frippery.

Another key issue is versatility and intuitive use. A guitar, be it acoustic, electric, rhythm or bass can be essentially any part of a band. Many of the other options above are designed as part of an ensemble, and useful in a narrower range.

I voted saxophone as it was an important part of jazz, big band and other 1940s genres but on reflection I can actually see mouth organs taking on a "star" role. They're cheap, intuitive, portable- but not as versatile as a guitar admittedly. The earlier suggestion of accordion is also plausible, as it has the advantages of the above but is more versatile, though also more expensive.

You might see music head more in a European folk inspired direction than a blues and gospel inflected rock direction. So one vocalist playing an accordion or hurry gurdy, backed by a flute and drums, singing songs influenced by folk tales, ballads, history and rural superstitions.

Think The Unthanks, perhaps.


Perhaps a Romantic Pastoralism takes root among the young, supplanting the hippie movement- maypole dancing, cod paganism, learning Anglo Saxon or old norse, clothing modelled on the lady of shallot in a pre raphaelite painting, drinking mead in a haystack and rejecting the modern mores of capitalism.
 
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Oooh. Not too sure about anything featuring Rolf these days.... that's our childhoods ruined.
True, and a segment on the Stylophone in I Love the 1970's is narrated by Jimmy Saville. Talk about getting cold shivers, Saville always did give me the creeps. I actually liked Rolf and looked forward to his show on Saturday nights.

 
True, and a segment on the Stylophone in I Love the 1970's is narrated by Jimmy Saville. Talk about getting cold shivers, Saville always did give me the creeps. I actually liked Rolf and looked forward to his show on Saturday nights.

As a child I remember remarking that saville seemed very keen to have girls on his lap. For me it was rolfs documentary a few years ago where he painted models as Titania that made me realise he was a creep...
 
Early electronic music starting from 1955.... synthesizers were around in some form since then and could make endless sounds and music. After 1967 then Moog is on the scene and after that Daft punk. On my synth I recreated van Halen guitar solo on jump since I can't play a guitar to save my life. It took a few weeks since I can't read music but can play it by ear like a BO$$.
1950s synths were incredibly expensive and often limited in their capabilities. There's a good reason electronic music was limited to experimental modernist music like (most famously) Karlheinz Stockhausen. It wasn't until the mid-late 60s the technology really came of age, and maybe even a little later (just compare early Tangerine Dream to their mid-70s output where it's clear they were pushing what technology they had to the limit).
Would it be possible to play a violin as if it were a guitar, maybe even with the aid of a shoulder strap?
That's the usual method to play the double bass (in the violin family) in jazz and the reason the bass guitar became popular was because it was cheaper and more transportable. Just looking it up, it seems playing the violin as a guitar has a long history since some classical pieces call for it.
I mean, I've seen online ads for a small bow meant to be played with a guitar, and the resulting sound is almost identical to that of a violin; I've also seen plenty violin-centric covers of rock and metal tracks - and, of course, symphonic metal's been a thing for decades.
Pedantic note--symphonic metal wasn't really a thing before the mid-90s (although since the late 80s there were definitely symphonic metal songs like some of Savatage's stuff). But you can definitely hear very symphonic rock on some of what Emerson Lake and Palmer did.
 
Pedantic note--symphonic metal wasn't really a thing before the mid-90s (although since the late 80s there were definitely symphonic metal songs like some of Savatage's stuff). But you can definitely hear very symphonic rock on some of what Emerson Lake and Palmer did.

I mean, it's the 2020s now, so that's at least three decades of symphonic metal; in fact, as a genre, it's probably seen its peak already - even though it peaked later than most other forms of hard rock or heavy metal. One thing it had (and has) over other metal genres though, it's that it found listeners even outside of rock music fans - sure, it's mostly goth girls, Vampire: the Masquerade LARPers, and goth girls who are Vampire: the Masquerade LARPers, but you can't say the same for a lot of other metal genres, that have become a bit isolationist.
 
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