Hard rock

Hard rock is a form of rock and roll music which finds its closest roots in early-1960s garage rock and

Hard rock is a form of rock and roll music which finds its closest roots in early-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock. It is typified by a heavy use of distorted electric guitar, bass guitar and drums. The term "hard rock" is often used as an umbrella term for genres such as punk, grunge, industrial rock and heavy metal, in order to distinguish them from softer, more radio friendly pop rock music.

Hard rock is a variation of rock and roll and is strongly influenced by blues music; in fact, the most frequently used scale in hard rock is the pentatonic, which is a typical blues scale. Unlike traditional rock and roll (which takes elements of the "old" blues), hard rock borrows elements of the so-called "British" blues, a style of blues played with more modern instruments such as electric guitars, drums and electric bass. A notable departure from traditional blues forms is that hard rock is seldom restricted to the I, IV, and V chords prevalent in 12- or 16-bar blues, but includes other chords, typically major chords rooted on tones of the minor scale.