Instrumentation
Which instruments have been used in Swedish art-rock and how has this affected the music? Most music groups have started from the typical instrumentation for rock groups from the 60s. Male vocals, electric guitar (Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster), organ (Hammond B3, C3 or similar), piano/electric piano, electric bass (Rickenbacker or Fender Precision), and rock drum set (Ludwig or Gretsch). Some groups that had a more experimental touch to their music like Älgarnas Trädgård, Anna Själv Tredje, and other early 70s groups had unusual instrumentation with art and folk music instruments. However, the major difference between these groups and those formed after 1973 was mainly how instruments were used and not which instruments the group used. They used art-musical instruments like violin or cello but also folk musical instruments like jaw harp, tabla, and rebec.
What’s typical for art-rock instrumentation, for groups formed after 1973, is keyboard instruments like the Mellotron and the “string machine” that provide the ‘symphonic’ color of strings, woodwinds, choir, and similar instruments. The synthesizer from electroacoustic music was also an important ingredient, especially as a melody or solo instrument. The Minimoog or ARP Pro Solist were two well-known monophonic instruments. The timbre of this type of synthesizer is typical for art-rock, often with a sound reminiscent of brass instruments in classical music (horns, trumpets) and serving the same role as a melody carrier. According to J. Isaksson in ‘Horizont,’ “the keyboards… the Mellotron, the synthesizers ARP or Minimoog, the Hammond organ – those were the marks.” (Interview with J. Isaksson, June 1996). The Hammond organ, as used in art-rock, has a distinctive full, airy, and sacred sound, especially with the typical Procol Harum sound. There was also the more rhythmically percussive aggressive sound, typical for art-rock group ELP and the Swedish group Dice.
A keyboard instrument that provided a distinct art-musical color (Renaissance/Baroque) is the clavinet. The instrument was played in an art-musical way, inspired by how the group Gentle Giant arranged the clavinet in their music. The instrument was placed in the center of the sound image carrying harmony and rhythm. Instruments with similar timbre and the same carrying function were used as continuo instruments in the Baroque period (harpsichord and clavichord), where the origin lies in art-rock groups’ arrangements of the instrument. Among Swedish groups, the clavinet appeared in only three of them (Kaipa, Alter Ego, and Kriget), but the electric piano had a similar function in art-rock, and this instrument was present in most Swedish art-rock groups.
Another important element in the art-rock sound is the electric guitar. The instrument itself is not different from other rock instruments; it’s the effects and amplifiers used that give it a distinctive sound. “The guitar sound was typical of the music, low register with a distortion box, Robert Fripp (King Crimson) sound.” (From an interview with Jonas Isacsson in Horizont.) Another important effect unit was the Phase Shifter, which provided a hovering phase-shifted tone in the guitar. The technique of gradually increasing the volume for each note with a volume pedal (as done by Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, and Jan Akkerman) was also a significant part of the sound, producing a string-like sound from the guitar. The function of the guitar in the music is not different from conventional rock music, serving as rhythm/harmony and melody/solo instrument. The twelve-string electric guitar, which was mainly associated with Genesis’ sound, also appeared in Swedish art-rock but wasn’t common. It was primarily used by the groups Dice and Overture.
On the other hand, the acoustic guitar was commonly used, especially in studio recordings, and was sometimes played in the style inspired by art music (Dice) or often in the Anglo-Saxon folk music style (Alter Ego). Among major English art-rock groups, there is a clear influence from folk music in the use of acoustic guitars, mainly in Jethro Tull and Genesis, where the instrument can drive the rhythm and harmony in compositions. The acoustic guitar also served as a rhythm and harmony carrier in calm and quiet sections of the music, often with a playing technique resembling the signature sound of Simon and Garfunkel, as heard in the composition “Sounds of Silence.” Ragnarök based many pieces of music on the acoustic guitar with intricate arrangements and harmonies. It was played in both art-musical and folk-musical traditions.
As a melodic instrument, the flute was used by almost a third of the groups, often played in the style of Anglo-Saxon folk music and serving as a melody carrier in the bright upper part of the sound spectrum. (This was also an important instrument for groups like Genesis and Jethro Tull.) The saxophone was also used, mostly as a solo instrument, often influenced by fusion in its playing style.
For the deep bass register, the Moog Taurus bass pedal was used. It’s a monophonic synthesizer played with the feet, a characteristic instrument in English art-rock. This instrument was used by three groups: Horizont, Kaipa, and Overture. Its function is somewhat like an organ point, producing long, resonant bass tones or marking significant harmonic shifts and crescendos in the music.
Percussion instruments like tambourine, timpani, gong, temple blocks, and the often-used glockenspiel were commonly used in studio environments, but these and other percussion instruments were also used in performances. Tambourine and similar rhythm instruments were played in a traditional rock musical manner, while timpani and gong were used as in art music. Temple blocks and glockenspiel were used for melodic loops and harmonies, also in the style of art music. Instruments that were less frequently used included vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, mandolin, balalaika, zither, sitar, accordion, pianet, and acoustic bass. The vibraphone was used to deepen the texture in the background. The remaining instruments were played in the traditional manner of their folk music genres.
Upon reviewing the instruments used, a clear influence from English art-rock groups and their instrumentation can be seen. Groups that were influenced by Genesis or ELP had similar or the same types of instruments as their role models. Those that stood out from the crowd were, of course, the groups from the early 70s, which were also closely connected to the music movement and folk music. These were the groups Anna Själv Tredje, Samla Mammas Manna, Ragnarök, and Älgarnas Trädgård. Their instrumentation and arrangements were more experimental than other groups, featuring both exotic folk music instruments (rebec) and art-musical (cello) instruments. The timbre created by their instrumentation and arrangements was among the most original and interesting in Swedish art-rock.
Instruments used by Swedish art-rock groups, in order of most commonly used instruments
Keyboard (organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, piano, string machine, electric piano, clavinet, pianet), electric guitar, electric bass, drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, flute, saxophone, violin, chimes, bass pedals, 12-string electric guitar, double-necked guitar 6+12 string, guitar synthesizer, double-necked electric bass 4+12 string guitar, cello, vibraphone, marimba, xylophone, timpani, gong, temple blocks, tablas, rebek, accordion, mandolin, zither, balalaika, sitar, jew’s harp, acoustic bass.
Specific types of instrument models that have emerged from interviews and literature studies as examples of what Swedish groups used.
Keyboard Instruments: Hammond organ, VLM organ, Mellotron, Logan-Elka-Solina string ensemble; Korg Polyphonic Ensemble 2000, ARP Pro Soloist, MiniMoog, Polymoog, Prophet V, VC-3 Putney, DGX, Yamaha CS50 synthesizers; Fender Rhodes electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Yamaha CP electric piano, Hohner pianet and clavinet, grand piano, piano.
Guitar: Gibson Les Paul, Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, 6+12 string double-necked electric guitar, Shergold 12-string electric guitar, Guild 12-string electric guitar, Pearl 12-string and Ovation 6-string acoustic guitars.
Bass: Fender and Rickenbacker electric bass, Rickenbacker 4+12 string electric bass guitar, Moog Taurus bass pedal.
Drums: Ludwig, Gretsch, and Tama drums.
Amplifiers: Roland Chorus Sound for guitar/electric piano, Leslie 760 for organ, Acoustic for electric bass, H-H, Fender Twin Reverb for guitar/keyboard.
Effect Units: Electro-Harmonix phaser and octave multiplexer, Electric Mistress chorus box, Colorsound Wah, Talkbox, Carlin compressors.