Rock band is a generic name to describe a group of
musicians specialising in a particular form of electronically amplified
music. Deriving its name from the musical style which was its immediate progenitor,
rock and roll, the type of music played by rock bands has its roots deeply steeped in both rock and roll, and its immediate forebear,
rhythm and blues. A rock band tends to have a heavy focus on certain instruments principally
electric guitar,
bass guitar, and
drums. Later in the
1960s, certain rock bands such as
Pink Floyd and
Hawkwind experimented with electric organs and synthesisers. Other instruments deployed within the context of a rock band include the electric violin, as used by Curved Air and the
flute played by
Ian Anderson of
Jethro Tull.
Many early rock bands were in the vanguard of psychedelic music and the complexities arising largely led to rock music becoming a generic term broader than "rock and roll".
See also: list of rock and roll performers, list of popular music performers, musical genres
