Situating Sounds: Musical Instruments and the Sonic Fabric of Pop

The sound of pop music is, in effect, the sound of the various musical instruments that contribute to its creation. Musical instruments such as the guitar, bass, or banjo bring a wealth of associations with them. They are tied to specific genres and timbres, and so to particular expectations that a given song may fulfill or depart from. Indeed, much of the pleasure we derive from listening to popular music comes from the way that instruments provide both reassurance and surprise. Charting the movement of the guitar, bass, and banjo amongst and between a range of genres, from rock to country to jazz to funk to dance pop to hip-hop, this chapter embraces the notion that the mainstream is not a “scorned other,” but a kind of contact zone where multiple strands of popular music converge, sometimes uneasily and sometimes with mutual affinity. Highlighting examples ranging from Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” to Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote” to Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” the chapter examines the central role that instrumental timbres and tone generation play in the making of pop music.