Yes, and that prominent status is even stronger in the French Chanson tradition.
If not the guitar, what musical instrument for 1955-1995?
- Thread starter psteinx
- Start date
I thought the piano was a staple instrument to accompany silent movies in the twenties. Big bands became popular in the thirties as anybody who could play an instrument worked for next to nothing during the Depression. By the late sixties, the Hammond electric organ was a part of small rock bands.
Over here in Italy, the accordion's remained a staple of subway buskers to this day - even though as a musical instrument played by professionals, it's mostly relegated to the folk-iest of folk music.
The Violin (Fiddle) was a common instrument in folk music, add pickups and you can continue that tradition of its use in popular music.
marathag
Banned
There really wasn't much that the 1936 model couldn't do that the 1950s-60s could, from tech standpoint.
It just lacked keyboardists willing to experiment and get past its place in Gospel.
Jimmy Smith was probably the first to really explore what the Hammond could do with Jazz.
In this scenario it's not a case of the instrument catching up to the style of music but the style of music catching up to the instrument.
Let's see. The reasons the guitar became so prominent... I can't list them all, but just to name a few:
1) relatively cheap and simple
2) easy to move and not limiting your movements while performing: can be played while standing and walking
3) you can play and sing at the same time
4) possible to amplify
5) easy to learn with a low threshold on mastery to bring simple songs
6) lends itself to a whole range of styles from campfire singalongs to flamenco to screeching metal.
7) flowing out of 5 and 6: not tied to a specific culture or population.
2) and 3) rule out all horns, drums and pianos and unfortunately also the blues harp.
Okay, congas would be possible, but you really can't play melodies. The accordion would be a viable option if it weren't so complicated and therefore expensive. Likewise the violin and up until the 1980's the keyboard. There are some small, simple instruments like the Accordion's smaller brother , the bandoleon, the Jamaican steel drum or the African Calimba, even the various 2, 3 or 4-stringed European Zither or Kantele variants. Unfortunately all of them are tied to their culture and their style.of songs which limits their exposure.
so going in what-if territory, we might possibly find an alternative for the guitar in:
- the portable keyboard if electronics took off earlier and pushed down the price to where a young kid could buy one with his saved-up pocket money at least by the 1960's
-the fiddle if companies started mass-producing cheap models during the late industrial revolution
- the steel drum, the bandoleon and the Calimba if they managed to shake off their colonial or ethnic image and serious composers started making serious music for it.
- probably some more instruments I can't quite think of now.
1) relatively cheap and simple
2) easy to move and not limiting your movements while performing: can be played while standing and walking
3) you can play and sing at the same time
4) possible to amplify
5) easy to learn with a low threshold on mastery to bring simple songs
6) lends itself to a whole range of styles from campfire singalongs to flamenco to screeching metal.
7) flowing out of 5 and 6: not tied to a specific culture or population.
2) and 3) rule out all horns, drums and pianos and unfortunately also the blues harp.
Okay, congas would be possible, but you really can't play melodies. The accordion would be a viable option if it weren't so complicated and therefore expensive. Likewise the violin and up until the 1980's the keyboard. There are some small, simple instruments like the Accordion's smaller brother , the bandoleon, the Jamaican steel drum or the African Calimba, even the various 2, 3 or 4-stringed European Zither or Kantele variants. Unfortunately all of them are tied to their culture and their style.of songs which limits their exposure.
so going in what-if territory, we might possibly find an alternative for the guitar in:
- the portable keyboard if electronics took off earlier and pushed down the price to where a young kid could buy one with his saved-up pocket money at least by the 1960's
-the fiddle if companies started mass-producing cheap models during the late industrial revolution
- the steel drum, the bandoleon and the Calimba if they managed to shake off their colonial or ethnic image and serious composers started making serious music for it.
- probably some more instruments I can't quite think of now.
Ukulele? It took over for a few years, but seems to have disappeared from main stream again. Very cheap for an entry level one, very portable and the transition from complete garbage to almost acceptable is pretty quick.
Incidentally some of the Damned's work sounded very symphonic at times, though I think that was using synths - Plan 9 Channel 7 from Machine Gun Etiquette dates from 1979 and the Black Album was fairly early 80s.
Take that Metallica! Though to be fair, they probably were one of first mainstream bands to play with a full orchestra.
Incidentally some of the Damned's work sounded very symphonic at times, though I think that was using synths - Plan 9 Channel 7 from Machine Gun Etiquette dates from 1979 and the Black Album was fairly early 80s.
Take that Metallica! Though to be fair, they probably were one of first mainstream bands to play with a full orchestra.