3 Quintessential “Rock” Songs That Don’t Feature Guitar or Drums

You are probably asking how a rock song can be considered a rock song if it doesn’t feature at least a guitar or drums. Fair point. That’s a question we are pondering ourselves. Nevertheless, we all know a couple of rock bands that often think outside the box and toy with sounds outside the rock territory.

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All that being said, here are three quintessential “rock” songs that don’t feature guitar or drums.

“Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles

There are a ton of Beatles songs that qualify for this list. But for our selection, we chose their 1966 No. 11 hit, “Eleanor Rigby”. The only instruments featured on this timeless track are four violins, two violas, two cellos, and the voice of Paul McCartney and the rest of the band. If you know this track, then you know it doesn’t sound like a prototypical rock song.

It might not sound like a rock song, especially with no drums or guitar, but it is still often tagged as such. As a matter of fact, it is also tagged a lot of other things, including R&B, Soul, Folk, Baroque pop, alternative/indie, and orchestral. In essence, there is no one genre this song leans into. And that is the beauty of “Eleanor Rigby” and The Beatles in general.

“Changes” by Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath is the epitome of rock music. However, on their 1972 single, “Changes”, they broke away from that archetype. They defied rock stereotypes by creating a song that features no guitar, no drums, and no screaming melodies. Instead, this track only features vocals, a piano, a bass, and a mellotron. But wouldn’t you still call this a rock song? And if not, wouldn’t you have a hard time calling it something else?

We can’t answer those questions for you, but they are both important ones in terms of assigning this song a genre. At the end of the day, does the song need to be assigned a genre? No, it doesn’t, as it is a one-off classic that ascends beyond any categorization.

“Nobody’s Home” by Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd just might be the most undefinable band of all time, and a song attesting to that perspective is “Nobody’s Home”. Featured on their iconic album, The Wall, this single features a bass, a piano, a synthesizer, and the New York Symphony Orchestra, who play strings, French horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba.

Sonically, we wouldn’t call this a rock song, as its operatic and psychedelic tune almost makes it sound like a musical number. In reality, this “rock” song doesn’t fit anywhere. However, given that it belongs to Pink Floyd, its association is with the rock genre tag.

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