The 1970s brought many changes with its development of popular music, characterised by an explosion of variety in its styles and genres. This decade reflected the cultural and social upheavals of its time while also setting the foundations for contemporary music for years to come.

Leading the 1970s music was rock, which has continued to evolve from its roots in the '60s. Dominating the charts were classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, pushing the boundaries of music at the time. This decade was also a time when many subgenres of rock, such as progressive rock, emerged. Progressive rock was started primarily by psychedelic bands who 'abandoned standard pop traditions' and changed their music to favour composition techniques and instrumentation used in classical, folk and jazz music. The studio became the main focus as oppose to the stage, which gave rise to music for listening rather than music for dancing to. Classic prog artists consist of bands such as Yes and Genesis. At the same time, hard rock was also emerging with a big impact, and groups such as Aerosmith and Deep Purple delivered heavier sounds within their music which resonated with the youth of the time. Hard rock, as the name suggests, is a heavier subgenre of rock characterised by its use of aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitar. However, hard rock began to lose popularity in the '90s during the rise of several other musical styles of that decade.

As the decade progressed, the mainstream began to be captured by disco music, which emerged from the urban nightlife scene. Clubs such as Studio 54 became popular places for disco fans to come together. Artists such as the Bee Gees and ABBA were popular groups of the style and their music was typified by by its lush production and infectious beats. Disco was not only a dominating genre of music at this point in the decade, but also became a symbol of liberation, offering spaces for celebration and self-expression, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community. Similarly, funk music emerged as a powerful genre in the '70s, with artists such as George Clinton and James Brown beginning to create music which had heavy emphasis on the rhythm of the songs. This style went on to have influence on hip-hop music later in the '70s as well as pop music. 

By the mid-1970s, punk rock burst in to the scene as a rebellious reaction against the mainstream disco and rock music. Bands such as Sex Pistols and The Clash brought out a much more 'stripped-down' sound, emphasising it over technicality in music. It gave rise to a punk culture, consisting of a style of clothing such as spiked jewellery and leather jackets, and encouraged individuality.

1970s Rock and Roll compositional techniques

Guitar Soloing

As the 70s went on, more and more people seemed to gain more respect for the rock and roll guitar solo. Although many artists made excessive use of the guitar solo and used it to almost constantly be showing off their technical prowess, some bands used it to enhance their songs and create beautiful phrases that help the songs to flow and connect. In a piece of music, a guitar solo is typically a section where the singer or melody instrument/s cut out, allowing the guitarist to play a melody, usually over a chord progression and improvised. Very often, guitar solos will be taken as a chance to show off to the listeners.

Power Ballads

Contrary to some belief that pop ballads came about in the 80s, they actually began to emerge in the 70s. Power ballads emerged as a much softer style, which evolved from hard and progressive rock and additionally influenced by earlier forms of ballads. These types of songs commonly made use of slow-medium speed tempos, incredibly moving lyrics and powerful use of dynamic change. Verses of power ballads would usually be quieter and, sometimes, even slower before the build up to the chorus, which is often much more powerful (as in the name) and louder in dynamics. The keyboard was also a very popular instrument for this style of music, as well as strong themes often linked to love, heartbreak or personal struggle which are conveyed through the lyrics of the song.

1970s Rock and Roll production techniques

MIDI

MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface, and effectively allows musical instruments and computers and/or other devices to communicate and work together. Although not fully complete at the time, the 1970s were an important time for the development of MIDI, which would come to evolve and start to really take shape in the 1980s.

Noise reduction

Noise reduction was a crucial development of the 1970s, which involved the removal of hissing, tape noises and all sorts of other unwanted effects that commonly came with analogue tape recordings. The earliest Dolby noise reduction system, Dolby A (1966), reduced noise by compressing certain frequency bands. In 1971, David Blackmer developed dbx noise reduction, which offered a more 'aggressive' noise reduction than Dolby systems did and was mostly only used in professional high-end recording studios. These systems allowed the 1970s to provide music with a significant improvement in audio clarity, which allowed for more detailed recordings.

Notable Producers/musicians

Technology used in the 1970s Rock and Roll recordings

Electric guitar effects

Many electric guitar effects of the 1970s helped to shape the sound of many genres for a long time. Some of the most popular of these effects include distortion and reverb, which are still commonly used in today's music. Distortion has been popular ever since the 50s and possibly even earlier and it creates what can be described as a 'fuzzy' or 'gritty' tone. Reverb, short for reverberation, is an effect commonly mixed up with echo and 'refers to the lingering decay of a sound as it bounces off surfaces in an acoustic space' [source]. It can be artificially generated using production techniques to create the effect of a naturally reverberant acoustic space.