How Does Piano Change The Texture Of Rock?

Piano isn’t just adding another instrument into the mix, in rock it completely reshapes the texture.

It softens the aggression without killing energy

Built around distorted guitars, and often aggressive with it. Rock with piano by contrast has a much more rounded feel to it. The sound becomes more layered and emotional. This means the songs tend to feel more introspective yet powerful still.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (All Rights Are Retained By Queen)

It expands harmonic depth

Guitars in rock rely on power chords and riffs, whereas piano naturally encourages full chords, inversions and movement over many octaves. This added complexity is it’s secret weapon. This tends to give songs a fuller and orchestral feel. This often gives the song a bigger appearance even if it’s not actually any louder in reality.

Guns N’ Roses – November Rain (All Rights Are Retained By Guns N’ Roses)

It opens space for dynamics

Because piano can go from delicate to thunderous instantly, it introduces wider dynamic range. Quiet sparse verses, contrasted by explosive full choruses. This can make songs feel cinematic, expressive. Both things rock thrives on when storytelling.

The Beatles – Let It Be (All Rights Are Retained By The Beatles)

It blends other genres easier

Piano is less tied to “rock identity” than guitar, so it naturally pulls in influences from blues, classical, pop, jazz. This means piano driven rock feels more genre fluid, aligning with other styles is always a strength to rock music.

Elton John – Tiny Dancer (All Rights Are Retained By Elton John)
All rights to the songs used in this post are retained by the relevant artists. This site claims no rights over them.


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26 responses to “How Does Piano Change The Texture Of Rock?”

  1. missparker0106 avatar

    Great analysis. Bowie believed in the magic of the piano, learning to play it himself, and using Rick Wakeman’s and Mike Garson’s talents early and throughout his career. The most memorable use of piano in Bowie’s music was the crazy, freeform piano solo towards the end of Aladdin Sane. Mike Garson just let loose and Bowie loved the first take.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      I will have to give that song another listen! 🙂 Thank you

      Liked by 2 people

  2. robinmaderich avatar

    I love the piano in Layla. It moves me every time I hear it. Piano is definitely a dynamic plus in many rock songs. Enriches the texture and the experience for sure.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      100% I think it should be used much more than it is too!

      Liked by 1 person

  3. firewater65 avatar

    I’m a keyboardist myself, so thank you for this. A former friend of mine used to declare than any song that included piano or synthesizer was not “rock ‘n’ roll.” Jon Lord, Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Ray Manzarek and I all disagreed.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Yeah your friend deserves to be former for this alone…

      Liked by 3 people

  4. RasmaSandra avatar

    That is why we have such brilliant pianists as Billy Joel, Elton John, Fats Domino, and others,

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar
  5. David Booker avatar

    I heartily agree. One of my favorite bands which I just recently discovered is the Revivalists. Their use of keyboard enhances the other instruments and creates a rich tapestry of sounds.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      I love that band! Not many know about them though 😁 did you check out our video interview from yesterday?

      Like

  6. richardbist avatar

    Excellent analysis! Pianos in rock music are wonderful, either as a lead/primary instrument or as background flavor.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      I think I prefer them as lead ! 😁 what did you think to our video interview? 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. richardbist avatar

        I missed that interview if you posted it above…I only see the links to the songs.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

          Ah it’s on the latest posts section of the site 😁 not this post sorry wasn’t very clear

          Liked by 1 person

  7. Mike Hartley avatar

    If you want the importance of the keyboards and rock, I look back to Billie Powell and the original Lynyrd Skynyrd. His work is significant in a lot of their songs. Think of the song Free Bird without that piano.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Yep very good point!

      Like

  8. Mike Hartley avatar

    woops spelled Billy wrong. that’s what I get for typing half asleep

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Haha preaching to the choir

      Like

  9. J. avatar

    You know who first came to mind when I read this? Coheed and Cambria.

    Still rocking that big hair, arena rock energy. Then they go and write piano like they actually mean it. Not just background mood either, it’s doing real work when they use it.

    Carrying melody, shaping the whole feel of the track. It sits with the guitars, not under them. Not decoration, actual composition.

    This blog is the goods.

    \m/

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      You know Coheed are a fantastic example! And one that did not even come to mind at all…

      Dont suppose you have had chance to check out our video interview on our main page yet?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. J. avatar

        I have not. Tell me more and I’ll situate myself in it !

        Liked by 1 person

          1. J. avatar

            These chaps seem like good company for a j and a beer. 10/10 on interview responses. Now I’ll have to go check out their tunes. Thanks!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

              Thanks for checking it out! 🙂 Appreciate it

              Like

  10. robjtriggs avatar

    I’ll always remember a review (probably in Kerrang!) of Faith No More’s ‘King for a Day’. It said how the album was sorely missing Roddy Bottum’s contribution – I think he was in rehab for some of the sessions – and, listening again, I really feel the difference in texture between that and Angel Dust. Even between some of the tracks of KfaD – opener Ricochet and the title track, for instance; there’s greater warmth and depth in the latter, but no loss of emotion.

    I think it’s worth making a distinction between piano and keyboards. I love piano; the sound is just gorgeous. Synths, however, I do not like. They don’t add anything, for me – they’re just an excuse for record labels to avoid paying brass sections (seriously, I was listening to eighties music, trying to work out what the synths were doing. it’s just a substitute for the brass, mostly, or occasionally strings). At best they’re engineered so low in the mix as to be pointless, and at worse they’re colossally irritating.

    I’ve never been in a band with keyboard player. All the examples you’ve given are great, and I see someone’s already highlighted Bowie in the comments. But they’ve never been critical for me. Maybe this is because it’s bloody hard to actually shift a joanna around between pub gigs, or bloody expensive to get a keyboard (and all the cables etc) that’s good enough. And I say this as a drummer

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Fox Reviews Rock avatar

      Haha you’re right it is important to differentiate between the piano and the keyboard. I think for studio work the piano works better, but live perhaps works much better with keyboards?

      Did you get chance to check out our video interview from sunday yet? 🙂

      Like

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