Progressive music

[Darkstar]

Can someone please shed some light on what exactly this term means. I understand what it refers to in a rock context. But what about prog jazz or prog house. Aslo, please tell me why Steve Vai's jem guitar has that hole in it that looks like a carying handle? thanks

Peace

[The Bash]

Not sure anyone knows what that actually means.
Its more a way to lump music into easy to understand boxes.
Ive seen people argue Dream Theater ain't progressive cause there Heavy Metal. Easier just to call it music.

ELP, Yes, UK, Crimson, Floyd, Dream Theater, Spock's Beard often get lumped into progessive.
I think generally it kinna implies non mainstream.
It generally means going against the grain or extending (progessing) the grain out in some or many direstions. Rock, jazz, or whatever.

I listen to a lot of what falls into this word but to me its just a word.
Kinna like Alternative, hmm, Alternative music is very mainsteam these days so isn't this actually pop music. Again just a word. And ya can't defind music by words.

Actually the Vai, monkey bar's there so he can swing the guitar around his head or whever he wants to swing it
As far as I know that's its main pupose.
Vai's a Great Showman.

[the1andonly]

a lot of people argue over what 'progressive' means, and i think it usually means stuff that is more progressed/evolved from mainstream music. here are some things that are usually make music 'progressive'

*lot of odd chord progressions, sometimes using chromatics, tritonr substitution, and lot of key changes
*lots of different time signatures
*not being in a standard verse-chorus-verse format
*long solos showing off lots of technique
*long songs, (long being anywhere from 6-42 minutes)
*in prog rock and prog metal, lots of keyboards.


it's hard to say exactly what it is, some people say dream theater prog, some say its not. some say tool is prog, some say it's not. then there are artists with progressive influences, like Incubus and such.

[potshot]

What I have to say is pretty much what the1andonly said. However, I'll also add that often what the "progressive" can mean, on top of those points, is that the band's sound changes a lot between albums.

As for Dream Theater possibly not being prog.. I'd say that they are, without a doubt progressive. Often when people refer to the genre of "prog", they mean "prog rock", which usually refers to bands like Spock's Beard, Flower Kings, etc. Dream Theater, Symphony X, Pain of Salvation, Vanishing Point, etc are "prog metal". That gets the metal part explained.

If you look at Dream Theater's influences, without even listening to their music, they've got prog written all over them. Yes, Rush, Queensryche, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd, Metallica (some Metallica is considered proggish, like MoP), Tool and lots more.

Listening to their music, you certainly get odd chord progressions, key changes, time signatures, varying formats, long songs, and lots of keyboards. You could even, possibly, maybe, almost, kinda say they have the (very) very occasional show off solos. Just the odd one

Another thing you find in prog metal, though not nearly as much in prog rock, are singers who feel the need to squeal 10 octaves above any normal singer James LaBrie used to do this a lot more than he does now (listen to Images and Words and Awake), and then there's Geoff Tate from Queensryche as well..

[potshot]

I forgot the most important thing..

Where would prog be without hair?? Lots and lots and lots of hair! (Once again, see Images and Words )

[DemonFire]

Isn't King Crimson Progressive Rock?

[daviej]

I think it is basically to do with long pieces, which by the way can often be broken down into seperate sections whech are often not repeated.