Editing Progressive rock (section)

{{Short description|Genre of rock music}}
{{For|the radio format|Progressive rock (radio format)}}
{{Redirect|Classical rock|"classic rock" as a radio format |classic rock|other uses|Classic Rock (disambiguation)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Progressive rock
| other_names       = * [[Art rock]]
* classical rock
* prog
* symphonic rock
| stylistic_origins = * [[Rock music|Rock]]
* [[Psychedelic music|psychedelia]]
* [[progressive music]]
* [[jazz]]
* [[folk music|folk]]
* [[classical music|classical]]
| cultural_origins  = Mid to late 1960s, United Kingdom<ref name="AMProg" />
| derivatives       = * [[Krautrock]]<ref>{{cite web|author1=Anon|title=Kraut Rock|url=http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/kraut-rock-ma0000002687|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 January 2017|date=n.d.|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202185929/http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/kraut-rock-ma0000002687|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[new-age music]]{{sfn|Macan|1997|pp=22, 140}}
* [[occult rock]]<ref name="Paperlate">{{cite web |last1=Lloyd-Davis |first1=Isere |title=Paperlate: the modern witch goes prog |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/paperlate-the-modern-witch-goes-prog |website=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]] |date=16 February 2017 |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-date=19 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619113008/https://www.loudersound.com/features/paperlate-the-modern-witch-goes-prog |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[post-rock]]<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790|title=Post-Rock|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=31 January 2017|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401155732/https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Progressive pop#Symphonic pop|symphonic pop]]{{sfn|Macan|1997|p=187}}
* [[synth-pop]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2022/10/birth-of-synth-pop/ |title=Things that dreams are made of: The birth of synth-pop |work=Classic Pop |date=20 October 2022 |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref>
| subgenres         = * [[Canterbury scene]]<ref name="AllMusicAvantProg"/>
* [[neo-prog]]<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/neo-prog-ma0000012218 | title= Neo-Prog | website= [[AllMusic]] | access-date= 19 November 2016 | archive-date= 4 September 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150904053727/http://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/neo-prog-ma0000012218 | url-status= live }}</ref>
* [[Rock in Opposition]]<ref name="AllMusicAvantProg">{{cite web|title=Pop/Rock " Art-Rock/Experimental " Avant-Prog|url=http://www.allmusic.com/style/avant-prog-ma0000011969|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=14 October 2016|archive-date=27 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027103036/http://www.allmusic.com/style/avant-prog-ma0000011969|url-status=live}}</ref>
| fusiongenres      = * [[Avant-prog]]
* [[progressive metal]]
* [[progressive soul]]
| local_scenes      = 
| regional_scenes   = 
| other_topics      = * [[Alternative rock]]
* [[arena rock]]
* [[art music]]
* [[concept album]]
* [[experimental rock]]
* [[folk rock]]
* [[hard rock]]
* [[new wave music|new wave]]
* [[post-progressive]]
* [[post-punk]]
* [[progressive country]]
* [[progressive folk]]
* [[progressive pop]]
* [[proto-prog]]
* [[recording studio as an instrument]]
* [[rock opera]]
* [[space rock]]
}}

'''Progressive rock''' (shortened as '''prog rock''' or simply '''prog''') is a broad [[genre]] of [[rock music]]{{sfn|Martin|1998|pp=71–75}} that primarily developed in the United Kingdom<ref name="AMProg" /> through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "[[progressive pop]]", the style emerged from [[psychedelic music|psychedelic]] bands who abandoned standard [[pop music|pop]] or [[Rock_Music|rock]] traditions in favour of [[Instrumentation (music)|instrumental]] and [[Composition (music)|compositional]] techniques more commonly associated with [[jazz]], [[folk music|folk]], or [[classical music]], while retaining the instrumentation typical of [[rock music]]. Additional elements contributed to its "[[progressive music|progressive]]" label: lyrics were more poetic, technology was harnessed for new sounds, music approached the condition of "[[art music|art]]", and the studio, rather than the stage, [[Recording studio as an instrument|became the focus of musical activity]], which often involved creating music for listening rather than dancing.

Progressive rock includes a fusion of styles, approaches and genres, and tends to be diverse and [[eclecticism in music|eclectic]]. Progressive rock is often associated with long solos, extended pieces, fantastic lyrics, grandiose stage sets and costumes, and an obsessive dedication to technical skill. While the genre is often cited for its merging of [[high culture]] and [[low culture]], few artists incorporated classical themes in their work to a significant degree, and only a handful of groups, such as [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] and [[Renaissance (band)|Renaissance]], intentionally emulated or referenced classical music.

The genre arose during the mid-1960s. In the early-to-mid-1970s, progressive rock groups such as [[Yes (band)|Yes]] and [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] experienced great worldwide success; in the late 1970s, progressive rock experienced declining popularity, from which it has never fully recovered.{{sfn|Hegarty|Halliwell|2011|p=1}} Music critics, who often labelled the style of progressive rock as "pretentious" and the sounds as "pompous" and "overblown", tended to be hostile towards the genre or to completely ignore it.{{sfn|Lucky|2000|p=7}} After the late 1970s, progressive rock fragmented into numerous forms. Some bands achieved commercial success well into the 1980s (albeit with changed lineups and more compact song structures) or crossed into [[symphonic pop]], [[arena rock]], or [[new wave music|new wave]].

Early groups who exhibited progressive features are retroactively described as "[[proto-prog]]". The [[Canterbury scene]], originating in the late 1960s, denotes a subset of progressive rock bands who emphasised the use of [[wind instrument]]s, complex chord changes and long improvisations. [[Rock in Opposition]], from the late 1970s, was more [[avant-garde]], and when combined with the Canterbury style, created [[avant-prog]]. In the 1980s, a new subgenre, [[neo-prog]], enjoyed some commercial success, although it was also accused of being derivative and lacking in innovation. [[Post-progressive]] draws upon newer developments in popular music and the avant-garde since the mid-1970s.