Classical To Rock

I was changing over the radio station this morning when I considered that without classical music being around first, we wouldn't have much in the way of rock'n'roll.  

A lot of the early rock musicians, when they were interviewed, were asked who their influences were and some said the classics.  However, without the teachings of the classical muses of Mozart, Beethoven and Bach what we know as rock music today wouldn't be the same.  These composers were the movers and shakers of their times; they were not liked much by the establishments and a lot of the times, the music they wrote was not played because it pushed the boundaries of 'what was wanted' by theses people who judged it to be right for public performances.  Mozart was one who could write brilliantly, but he was censored drastically by the people he worked for and yet he felt very much held back.  Beethoven had the talent, but he was completely deaf by the time he was recognised.  Bach's music - even today - was known a mathematical.  And yet, all of these composers had one thing common:  they moved the flutes, clarinets and other such instruments into a section of their own from the percussion section and called it Woodwind.  They gave these instruments their own solo parts and paired them up with harps, lutes and other instruments when nobody else would.  This was the beginning of the change in the music world; the way orchestras were organised as well.  However, as the centuries passed, and composers came and went, music became more daring, was written to be harder to play and to challenge the player of each instrument.

Rock'n'roll only came into play after the Jazz era of the 1920's when music got itself a life and a drumbeat of its very own.  It was after WWII and music had to have a new lease of life; and this is when it was started.  The Beatles, The Bee Gees, The Toys, Bill Haley and the Comets and many others came into the scene with their own style of music and teenagers ready to dance to it!  Dance halls opened up all over the world to accommodate for this new wave of music and plenty of parents and religious groups didn't like - calling it the Devil's Music.  However, it didn't stop there.  Music festivals started up; the most famous being Woodstock in 1969 where Jimi Hendrix played - along with many other bands - and thousands of hippies congregated.  Now music festivals take part all over the world on any given weekend with great bands up on a number of stages entertaining the masses.

So, from very humble and quiet beginnings, music started out with people conducting and putting pieces together (and even before that in the ages of knocking sticks together and tribal music) and it turned into something we know today; a very competitive world where there's so many varieties of music that each person can have their own taste, style and even enjoy playing it in their own way.  You can enjoy it on the internet, on an iPod, iTouch or on a cd or a vinyl; any way you enjoy music, it's out there.  Everything can be recorded in some way and loved and listened to.