Soft rock

Soft rock
Stylistic origins	Psychedelic rock Pop rock Post-punk Piano rock
Cultural origins	Throughout the 70s
Typical instruments	Electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, twelve string guitar, drums, piano, synthesizer, saxophone

Soft rock, also referred to as light rock or easy rock, is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock and roll to compose a softer, supposedly more ear-pleasing sound for listening, often at work or when driving. Soft rock is known to be confused with psychedelic rock many times. Soft rock is usually sung with higher-pitched vocals, and the lyrics tend to be non-confrontational, focusing in very general language on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of pianos, synthesizers and sometimes saxophones. The electric guitars in soft rock are normally faint and high-pitched.

History

Soft rock as a specifically to a style of rock that emerged in the early 1970s, both as a reaction against the increasingly heavy music (punk rock and heavy metal etc.) that dominated rock at the time, and also as a reflection of the changing priorities of the Baby Boom in the early 1970s. What set 1970s soft rock apart from its 1960s counterpart, which for lack of a better word is usually just called "pop", is that in the 1960s pop existed for those who simply didn't like rock; the 1960s' pop artists usually were vocalists who were stylistic throwbacks to the pre-rock era. Soft rock developed organically to suit the needs of those who did have rock listening experience; as such, it can be considered a bona fide rock genre.

Soft rock became hugely popular later in that decade. By 1977, some radio stations, like New York's WTFM and WYNY, had switched to an all-soft-rock format. Around that same time, Chicago, which had previously been a jazz-rock band, switched to soft rock and reached their biggest commercial successes. British/American blues band Fleetwood Mac achieved its greatest success after adopting parts of the genre. Even Led Zeppelin, considered by some to be standard bearers of hard rock, flirted with the genre at the time in songs like 1979's "All My Love". By the 1980s, tastes had changed and radio formats reflected this change; the genre evolved into what came to be known as "adult contemporary", a pop categorization that bore less overt rock influence than its forebearer.

Some soft rock artists are: Elton John,Jack Johnson,Billy Joel, Celine Dion and John Farnham. all these are well known for their soft rock efforts, Elton John was born in England and one of his famous songs is Crocodile Rock. Billy Joel is American and one of his famous songs is Uptown Girl. Celine Dion is Canadian one of her songs is If you asked me too and John Farnham is from England but is a famous Australian singer, one of his famous songs is Your the Voice.

See also

• Adult contemporary music
• Arena rock
• Yacht Rock
• Power ballad