Fusion Rock Analysis

Fusion rock is a term frequently used in music to classify songs containing characteristics of the rock genre with another style of music, for example African or jazz music. Sister Rose, performed by renowned band Sky, and Smooth performed by the popular band Santana are both strong examples of fusion rock. While Sky successfully manages to fuse two very opposite styles of music, rock and classical, Santana unites rock and Latin music together bringing a spicy, hot dance number. Both pieces achieve a fantastic product of fusion rock through the use of a variety of musical elements and characteristics from each individual genre of music. Harmony and chord progressions, instrumentation and compositional techniques were all considered by the artists to skilfully fuse the genres together. While both are considered excellent examples of fusion rock, Smooth shares characteristics from both styles quite equally, making it difficult to distinguish whether the song is closer to rock or Latin music, hence making it the better example of fusion rock.
Harmony is an important part in composing engaging music and using an effective chord progression can support and influence particular styles of music in a song. Sister Rose gives a technical yet successful demonstration of harmony coming from the art music genre. The main chord progression heard in the song is i-ii°-VII6/3-III-I6/3-iv-I6/4-V. Featured in many art music pieces, this song involves an extended chord progression containing complex harmonic chord structures …show more content…
Smooth uses technqiues from the Latin and rock genres, a main stand-out being the strong syncopation across all parts. The piano part (notated below) demonstrates a common accompaniment heard in most Salsa music with the use of the syncopated off beats and incorporation of the E7 chord in the right hand (G#