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Reference
Rock style reference
Classic, indie, alternative, grunge, prog, psychedelic, stoner and arena rock with era-specific guitar tones.
How to use this list
Each row pairs a style term with a cue line written in the same grammar: what the music is, what plays it, roughly how fast, and how it feels. Copy the cue, then change one thing at a time so you can tell which token moved the result.
Rock subgenres differ mainly in guitar tone, drum room and tempo; naming all three gets you far closer than the subgenre label alone.
Combining entries
If you want a guitar solo, request it explicitly and say roughly where — otherwise arrangements tend to stay vocal-led.
If a take drifts away from what you wanted, remove tokens rather than adding more. Long prompts dilute; short, specific ones steer.
| Classic rock | classic rock, overdriven guitar riffs, Hammond organ, powerful belted vocal, live room drums, 128 BPM, timeless and big |
| Hard rock | hard rock, thick distorted riffing, pounding backbeat, gritty high vocal, guitar solo, 135 BPM, muscular and swaggering |
| Blues rock | blues rock, bent pentatonic guitar licks, shuffle groove, growled vocal, warm tube saturation, 110 BPM, raw and soulful |
| Southern rock | southern rock, twin guitar harmonies, slide guitar, boogie piano, drawling vocal, 120 BPM, sunbaked and rowdy |
| Alternative rock | alternative rock, layered clean-to-distorted guitars, melodic bassline, dynamic drums, earnest vocal, 122 BPM, moody and anthemic |
| Indie rock | indie rock, jangly interlocking guitars, propulsive bass, unpolished vocal, live drums, 138 BPM, restless and charming |
| Grunge | grunge, sludgy detuned power chords, quiet verse loud chorus, raspy weary vocal, 115 BPM, heavy and disaffected |
| Britpop | britpop, chiming layered guitars, swaggering vocal, string overdubs, tambourine, 120 BPM, nostalgic and anthemic |
| Garage rock | garage rock, fuzzed guitar riff, driving snare, sneering vocal, minimal overdubs, 150 BPM, raw and immediate |
| Psychedelic rock | psychedelic rock, phaser-swirled guitars, organ drones, backwards tape, hazy vocal, 108 BPM, woozy and expansive |
| Progressive rock | progressive rock, mellotron and Moog, shifting time signatures, long instrumental suites, 118 BPM, grand and intricate |
| Art rock | art rock, unusual song forms, treated guitars, avant textures, theatrical vocal, 112 BPM, cerebral and striking |
| Post-rock | post-rock, slow-building tremolo guitar layers, delayed arpeggios, crescendo drums, instrumental, 90 BPM, cinematic and cathartic |
| Math rock | math rock, tapped clean guitar figures, shifting odd meters, tight snappy drums, mostly instrumental, 145 BPM, angular and playful |
| Shoegaze | shoegaze, walls of reverbed feedback guitar, buried melodic vocal, pounding tom-heavy drums, 120 BPM, blissful and overwhelming |
| Noise rock | noise rock, dissonant detuned riffs, abrasive feedback, shouted vocal, pummeling drums, 130 BPM, hostile and unhinged |
| Stoner rock | stoner rock, fat fuzz riffs, loose swinging drums, bluesy vocal, vintage amp warmth, 96 BPM, hazy and hypnotic |
| Desert rock | desert rock, dry fuzz guitar tone, groovy hypnotic riff cycles, laid-back vocal, 104 BPM, sun-scorched and spacious |
| Folk rock | folk rock, 12-string acoustic and electric blend, harmonized vocals, gentle backbeat, 118 BPM, warm and melodic |
| Country rock | country rock, telecaster twang, pedal steel, shuffling drums, rootsy vocal, 115 BPM, easygoing and wide-open |
| Heartland rock | heartland rock, glockenspiel accents, piano and organ bed, chugging guitars, earnest vocal, 130 BPM, sincere and anthemic |
| Arena rock | arena rock, huge layered guitars, stadium drums, gang-vocal chorus, guitar solo, 132 BPM, triumphant and massive |
| Glam rock | glam rock, stomping 4/4, fat riffs, handclaps, theatrical vocal, 130 BPM, glittery and swaggering |
| Emo rock | emo rock, tense clean arpeggios into distorted chorus, cracked emotive vocal, dynamic drums, 145 BPM, earnest and cathartic |
| Post-punk revival | post-punk revival, driving melodic bassline, scratchy guitar stabs, detached vocal, motorik drums, 142 BPM, taut and dark |
| Hard blues stomp | blues stomp rock, two-piece raw guitar and drums, stomping floor tom, slide riff, hollered vocal, 105 BPM, gritty and primal |
| Space rock | space rock, long hypnotic riff loops, synth drones, echoing vocal, steady kraut pulse, 125 BPM, cosmic and trance-like |
| Acoustic rock | acoustic rock, strummed steel-string guitars, cajón or brushed kit, harmony vocals, 112 BPM, intimate and uplifting |
Raw data: /guide/reference/lists/rock-list.json · 28 entries
FAQ
What makes a track sound like arena rock?
Big drum room, doubled guitars, gang-vocal chorus and a tempo around 120 to 130 BPM.
Do I have to use the whole rock cue line?
No. The lines are built from independent tokens, so you can keep the two or three that matter and drop the rest without breaking the grammar.
Can I mix this list with another one?
Yes — keep one rhythm description, one lead instrument, one production word and a single tempo. Competing rhythm descriptions are the usual cause of muddled results.