Rock Anthems

• Rock anthems


  • 1970s-1980s
• Rock Anthem artists

  Queen

  Guns and Roses

  ACDC

  Bon Jovi
• Rock Anthem features

  • 4/4 time
  • electric: guitar, bass. drums, keyboards and vocals
  • distortion + effects:delay, chorus and wah-wah(talking box)
  • follow a verse-chorus storage
  • darker lyrics than standard pop
• Musical features of rock anthems of the 1970s and 1980s

  • Most rock music is in 4/4 time, with a heavy backbeat
  • Instruments usually included electric guitar, electric bass, drums, keyboards and vocals
  • Distorted electric guitars, using additional effects such as delay, chorus and wah-wah
  • The rise of the guitar hero - guitarists who combined playing riffs with long, virtuosic, improvised solos
  • Although there is much more emphasis on instrumental sections, songs often follow a conventional verse-chorus structure
  • Lyrics have a darker mood than standard pop music lyrics
• The structure is verse-chorus form, with solo vocals in the verse and the backing vocals singing the famous chorus
• Vocal melody


  • Uses a lot of repeated notes, and focuses on quite a small range (the interval of a 5th)
  • The chorus melody is simple and therefore easy to remember
• Guitar


  • Plays a sustained pedal note (E) in the chorus before it comes in, using feedback from the amplifier
  • Electric guitar is heavily distorted, an effect caused by overdriving the amplifier
• Musical elements and devices in 'Livin' on a Prayer'

  • Pitch and melody (including bass lines and riffs)
  • Rhythm and metre
  • Texture
  • Structure and phrasing
  • Harmony and tonality
  • Repetition, ostinato and sequence
  • Technology, including amplification and recording techniques
• Pitch and Melody


  • Opening riff performed on a guitar talkbox
  • Chorus is high in the male range with a modulation towards the end
• Rhythm and Metre


  • Heavy backbeat
  • Some drum fills leading into a changing section
  • Unexpected ¾ bar after modulation
• Texture


  • Mostly melody and accompaniment (Homophonic texture)
  • Build up in the introduction. Sustained keyboard chord, followed by bass guitar and finger cymbals before the drum kit comes crashing in, along with the guitar riff
  • Backing vocals in the bridge and chorus
  • Texture varies between verse, bridge and chorus. Keyboard changed from repeated quavers to crotchets in the bridge
• Structure and phrasing


  • Typical verse- chorus form with a bridge before the chorus
  • Intro, verse, bridge, chorus, link, guitar solo, middle 8 sections
• Harmony and tonality


  • E minor in verse
  • Overall tonality in the chorus is major
  • Modulation after the 3rd bridge section to Bb major (typical in pop music)
• Technology and recording techniques

  • Reverb added to most instruments
  • Guitars are heavily distorted