PROGRESSIVE ROCK

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Progressive Rock Guide: A Brief History of Prog Rock

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 4 min read

Since the 1960s, progressive rock has pushed the boundaries of rock n' roll music to incorporate longer song forms, conceptual lyrics, and advanced composition techniques.

What Is Progressive Rock?

Progressive rock, or prog rock, is a subgenre of rock music that emphasizes ambitious compositions, experimentation, concept-driven lyrics, and musical virtuosity. The first progressive rock bands formed in the late 1960s, and the prog rock tradition continues to this day.

Much like traditional rock n' roll bands, prog rock groups tend to base their instrumentation around guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard, along with a lead vocalist. Many progressive rock acts also incorporate elements of jazz and classical music, as well as lyrics drawn from literature, poetry, and history, earning the genre the monikers "symphonic rock" and "art rock."

A Brief History of Progressive Rock

Progressive rock is an influential music genre that emerged in the latter half of the 1960s.

Origin: The progressive rock movement began in the late 1960s. Prominent groups like the Beatles and the Beach Boys began pushing the boundaries of pop music by creating concept albums (like the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) and introducing atypical instruments (as on the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and unfinished album Smile). Although less popular, groups like the Moody Blues, Love, and Procol Harum also pushed boundaries by creating entire rock albums driven by orchestral instrumentation.
Early years: Much of the early prog rock movement centered in England, particularly in the city of Canterbury. The Canterbury scene spawned groups like Caravan and Soft Machine, which produced psychedelic rock records that included riffs on instruments like flute and clarinet. Their music inspired groups like Jethro Tull to make the flute a key instrument in their regular lineup. By the early 1970s, England had produced prog bands like the Nice, Gentle Giant, Van der Graaf Generator, Renaissance, Camel, and the solo musician Mike Oldfield.
Maturation: Among the most enduring of the early prog bands were Yes (featuring the iconic keyboards of Rick Wakeman, drums of Bill Bruford, and vocals of Jon Anderson), Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (built around the epic suites composed by Keith Emerson), and Supertramp (led by co-songwriters Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson). Many of these groups started in a more traditional fashion before delving into literary lyrics, mixed time signatures, and unusual chords. King Crimson, the brainchild of guitarist Robert Fripp, arrived almost fully formed as progressive rock artists on their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King.
Mainstream popularity: While most progressive rock groups enjoyed small but loyal fan bases, a few broke out into mainstream success. Chief among these was Genesis (featuring Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Steve Hackett). On albums like Foxtrot and Duke, the group merged pop melodies with ambitious song structures. Canadian trio Rush and American bands Kansas and Styx also found commercial success by mixing short, pithy singles into ambitious concept albums. The British rock group Pink Floyd rarely experimented with time signatures or harmonic structure, but they worked in an adjacent space to prog bands thanks to concept albums like Dark Side of the Moon and long instrumental suites led by guitarist David Gilmour.
Lasting influence: By the 1980s and 1990s, progressive rock had greatly influenced the heavy metal scene. Thrash metal icons Metallica began expanding their song structures and lyrical concepts on records like ...And Justice For All. Dream Theater, formed by Berklee College of Music alumni, pushed the form to new levels of ambition and helped spawn a subgenre known as progressive metal. Contemporary bands like Porcupine Tree and the Mars Volta have built upon the progressive metal tradition and enjoyed popularity into the twenty-first century.

6 Characteristics of Progressive Rock

From its 1960s origins to its present day iterations, progressive rock has maintained several key characteristics.

Musical ambition: Sophisticated harmonies, mixed time signatures, and multi-part songwriting can be found on albums ranging from Yes' Close to the Edge to Dream Theater's The Astonishing.
Expanded instrumentation: Prog rock bands often push beyond the traditional rock instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums. Whether they use a mellotron (an early synthesizer based on tape reels), a Moog (an early electronic keyboard), or actual orchestral instruments, many progressive bands seek a broad aural palette to work from.
Embrace of technology: Many prog groups have shown eagerness to incorporate the technology of their respective eras. The early German prog group Tangerine Dream, for instance, readily embraced synthesizers and helped launch the Krautrock movement.
Close ties to classical music: Prog bands like Emerson, Lake, and Palmer incorporated passages from classical composers like Tchaikovsky into their own music and were broadly inspired by classical composition techniques. Other rock musicians like Frank Zappa wrote chamber music to be performed by classical ensembles.
Concept albums: From Pink Floyd to Yes to Rush, bands of the prog rock era saw concept albums as a way to match philosophical ambition to their musical prowess.
Literary lyrics: A great deal of progressive rock lyrics draw inspiration from works of literature, poetry, and film. Some prog rock lyricists, like Styx's Dennis DeYoung, created science fiction scenarios in the lyrics for some of their records.