GENRE THEORY AND RESEARCH

Genre TheoryThe word 'genre' refers to a style or category. In music, there are a range of different types of music and it is a way putting them all into individual categories due to their conventions and similarities in musical style, clothing and attitudes. Genre’s usually turn into a stereotype as it becomes an ideology of what the audience expect to see however this is beneficial because it allows the audience’s needs to be fulfilled, leading to more satisfaction. This is why if bands or artists follow a popular genre, it will lead to more popularity on their behalf as they are following the needs of society. In this presentation I will be focusing on the conventions and mise en scene within rock music and how I will represent it in my print.

INSTITUTIONS AND GENREInstitutions follow the conventions of genre’s to set up businesses, events or films to suit people who admire the genre. This links the Uses and Gratifications Theory that the purpose of genre is to selectively group people of the same interests and hopefully build a level of social solidarity however this can cause rivalry within groups for example, when Eminem ( a rap artist) performed at Reading/Leeds in 2013 ( which is an alternative rock festival) , he was criticised by audiences, leading to ‘booing’ from the audience, this suggests that audiences did not appreciate the convergence of two opposite genres. Furthermore, iconography could be responsible for genre as it depends on the shared values and beliefs from individuals which allows them to idolise figures.

EXAMPLES OF MUSIC GENRE’S

Rock

Pop R n B Classical

Club/DanceIndie

The genre I will focus on in my feature.

THE BIRTH OF ROCK MUSIC Rock Music came from the evolution of rock n roll in the USA in the late 1960’s; inspired by artists such as the Beatles, it became popular among young people. This is why I am focusing my target audience at 16-25 as it is representative of where rock began and I want to make it popular among young people and again to create more variety in the music industry compared to the similarities in the charts today. There is evidence of this in the UK top 40 charts ( on the left) where pop and club music appear to be the domination. I want people to appreciate again the talent of manual musicians instead of technologically created sounds as this could encourage young people to begin playing instruments, leading to more creativity in our society.

It was a time of experimenting with new instruments such as electric guitars and this encouraged institutions to make a business out of the genre, for example, in 1954, the Gibson Les Paul guitar was released and this is still used today by many famous artists such as ‘Slash’ from Guns n Roses. This is why in my print I would like to feature artists using this famous guitar because it is a stereotypical feature of rock and people admire the legacy of Gibson Les Paul’s creation so it leads to more audience satisfaction.

David Duff once said: ‘Each genre has it’s own conventions which evolve over time’ this suggests that genre changes due to social advances in technology, fashion and even events. For example, the popularity of music festivals has allowed this to be a convention of rock music. This is beneficial because if there are more conventions, the genre will have more audience recognition. This is why in my print I will try to feature as many conventions as I can, to suit the expectations of my younger audience and bring back the popularity of rock music!

The most common conventions in rock

Tattoos and Piercings and Colorful Hair - These link to the image of rebellion and how they connote creativity, which can represent what rock music is (experimenting with instruments) this is why I will feature artists with

these features because they are stereotypical. This means that when people pick up my magazine they will

be easily able to identify that this is a rock magazine. Colorful hair on artists also contrasts against the dark clothing to make them stand out and become more recognizable by audiences and this is why I will have

color on my masthead as it is more eye catching and the benefits of this is that it will make the name stand out

so people will remember it more and it may remind them to purchase another edition, therefore increasing

profits.

Electric Guitars and Drums- The most common instruments used in rock music. Drums connote the liveliness and enthusiasm in rock to connote its impact. Guitars; mainly for the range of sounds they can produce which can create emotion through their powerful sounds. uitar solo’s are very common as this shows rock music as an art and encourages an appreciation for the music. An example of this is Slash from Guns n Roses in November Rain. An idea I have considered to show the talent in guitarists is a ‘ top 10 best guitar solo’s of all time’ , a countdown will create curiosity which will encourage people to read on. Following from this number 1 will have a single page on its own to symbolise its success. It could also feature a ‘give us your opinion?’ question followed by a twitter hashtag to promote the magazine on social media, which will invite a larger target audience.

The famous rock hand symbol; Ronnie James Dio was known for popularising the sign and it was a gesture Used in India to signify the removal of obstacles or negative thoughts, this could link to rock because this could be the target incentive for audiences to feel when they listen to rock music, this could relate to The Uses and Gratifications Theory suggesting people will use this symbol to express their escape from reality. It is also conventional which means when we see it we instantly associate it with rock which creates audience recognition, therefore, this is why I will use this on the cover of my magazine so it makes people aware of the genre.

Makeup- It is conventional of rock artists to wear makeup on stage, this is because it is a way of giving them a different identity on stage which makes them stand out among other artists. In fact his eyeliner now has a net worth, which shows its incredible impact. In my print, I will not feature artists with guy liner on because it will make it appear unoriginal and a copy of Billy Joe Armstrong's style.

MISE EN SCENESHOT CONVENTIONS IN MUSIC VIDEOS • Most rock videos focus the band themselves along side a story or journey that they are on. Most of

the special effects link to the lyrics, for example in You Me At Six- Lived A Lie, they use fire to show they want to forget the past, this is also used in Kings Of Leon- Notion, showing this is a common convention used in rock. Using fire gives the video more meaning and builds more empathy for the audience; leading to social solidarity alongside the Uses and Gratifications Theory. The special effects also move to the beat of the music in most music videos and this allows the editing to flow more when we view it.

• In many rock music videos they use long shots of the band, to allow us to identify who they are, this will make it more memorable if they are involved, it also shows they are dedicated which creates more audience recognition.

• A common convention is using close up shots of the instruments being played so we can learn more about the band and who plays what instrument. Linking to the Dyer Star Theory that we want to learn more about the artists to become more personal ( this is part of Hegemony). There are also close up shots of their facial expressions, allowing us to read the plot of the video and understand more meaning from the song, creating a personal link with the audience. This is why in my print, there will be close up shots in the content page of artists faces so we can instantly recognise who will be featured in the print.

• They use low angle shots to connote their dominance which is symbolises the success of the bands, promoting respect for them in the industry and by other institutions.

MISE-EN SCENELIGHTING IN ROCK MUSIC VIDEOSMost of the lighting depends on the video in rock music videos but mostly they are dark or gloomy to express the conventional colours of the genre, hence, many rock videos are filmed at night or in the darkness, for example The Kings Of Leon ‘Notion’ and Thirty Seconds To Mars ‘Kings and Queens’. Filming in the night creates a rebellious feeling of being young which is why the photo shoot for my main image on my front cover may be at night as it could even have intertextuality to the music videos I have just mentioned. This will make the magazine cover more memorable, making people more likely to read it. IN close up shots, they mainly use low key lighting to create a shadow effect, for example, in Muse’s ‘Mercy’ video. When they zoom in on the lead singers face the lighting creates shadows to connote mystery; this is because we cannot see his whole face, it also signifies his success as we can already recognise who it is. This is why in my print I will object against this most likely because I will feature upcoming bands and if the lighting is too dark you will not recognise their face, therefore the band will remain unknown. Therefore I will use more of a high key light on my images to allow us to see peoples faces clearly.

COLOUR CONVENTIONSUsually in rock, artists usually wear dark colours to represent the lyrics of their songs which are usually about love, drugs and rebellion, so wearing dark colours is a way of exaggerating these symbols, connoting a loss of innocence and this is why it suits a youthful target audience because rock is about experimenting, not only with music but your individuality which allows them to break from the moulds in society, making youth feel valued. I think a reason why they wear black is to allow us to focus on the music so we value and feel it more which gives a personal incentive to the audience, which encourages them to attend concerts and music festivals as it makes them feel exclusive. The band: Thirty Seconds To Mars emphasize my point as in their concerts they pull audience members on stage which is another way of getting them involved. This creates a exciting atmosphere and allows them to meet their idols ( see in the link below).

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Even in rock magazines such as Kerrang they use a dark colour scheme, to make the genre relatable. It links to the Dyer Star Theory because people will associate rock stars through their clothing and style, so using this colour palette is a way of suiting the audiences needs. In my print, I intend to use dark colours to maintain the common convention which will meet the audiences expectations, however I will use small essences of bright colours on the masthead for example to make it stand out and grab the readers attention.

MORAL PANIC WITH ROCK MUSIC There are negative stereotypes which people and the media associate with rock music and that is that they are drug and alcohol abusers. This could be because when rock music began it was popular among young people and this was a time when they would experiment with anti-social behaviour and this had led to stigma on rock music that it influences these actions. It became frowned upon, for example ‘The Beatles’ song ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ refers to the drug LSD and this song was banned from being played numerous times on the radio because it was said to encourage radical behaviour. This led to a moral panic, which is why so many rock songs were banned at this time however this was also a time when hippy culture became popular so rock music is not ultimately to blame.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of Nirvana and fought with alcoholism for many years which lead to him being manically depressed and eventually committing suicide. This created a negative perception of rock music at this time as this was associated with hard times and repelled against the ‘Dyer Star Theory’. This is because Kurt Cobains actions contrasted with what audiences expected of their idol, which led to a controversy, for example, parents discouraging their children from listening to Nirvana, despite this, alternative rock was the most popular genre of the 1990s. This could be because discouraging their parents views allowed them to embrace rebellion even more. This idea that all rock stars are alcoholics is wrong because many have chosen to be sober, for example, the lead singer of The Killers. This creates a positive and clean image of rock which makes it more likely to be published in magazines. This is why in my print I will not mention alcohol as it is very controversial and could possibly lead to opposes, preventing ultimate sales.