Rock N Roll = Rock.

Though some may argue against that, saying something like.

Blues = Rock N Roll.

And

African Folk Music = Blues.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, music is music, its all relative.

Point is, piano (a keyboard instrument, duh) used to be a primary instrument in rock music (yes back when it was rock n roll) and then in the 60s its role became smaller in rock music, it was rarely used as a lead or soloing instrument from that point... But in the late 60s bands like The Doors restablished the role a keyboard can play in a rock band, and then in the 70s we had the most keyboard dominated rock genre there ever was, teh prog... But folks like Elton John and Billy Joel proved that piano players can also be rock stars.

Rock 'n' roll is a subset of rock, just like heavy metal is a subset of death metal. They do not equal each other, that's why they have different names :P

Juice Harp obviously

Hey bud, wise choice!!!:beer:

I totally agree that drums are the key to a good band because it really is the "beat" to any style of music!!!

Without drums what have ya got?:laughing: Just a quiet old guitar track (sometimes even a ballad) or a person singing and that's it!!!

I love the drums, man!!!Just try to imagine any of these bands without them:

-Slayer.
-Metallica.
-Megadeth.
-Fear Factory.
-Rush.
-AC/DC.
-Judas Priest.
-Queensryche.
-Morbid Angel.
-Pantera.

It just wouldn't be the same and (in some cases) the song(s) would just be a simple guitar riff/sh1t, ya know?

In closing, I'd like to say that there are definitely a hell of a lot of great guitar players out there that I've enjoyed jamming to, but even the greatest guitarist is just average at best without the magic of a great drummer keeping a great beat thru the song, period!!!:drummer:

Yeah, the drum beat is really important to a song. If I had more of a sense of rhythm I would like to play drums, lol :D

i interperted this diferently than a lot of people. most people are trying to justify which instrument you can take out instead of which instrument should stick out.
for me it's bass. i love music with a bass line that sticks out.

You can have an instrumental band (there are meny good ones.) so vocals are out the window. In a band (assuming rock), if there are keyboards, they're usually filler, and although can add some nice touches if used properly, are still not a necessity. So, it's down to guitar, bass, and drums. Well, since bass guitar is usually very seclusive, and is very much like a keyboard, in that it's mostly used as filler. Drums and guitar are both extremely important, however, and are both as equally important.

But that's only rock. If you go into other genres, guitar can become less prominent, and other things more dominant. But since drums are pretty much universal in all genres, as a time-keeper, I'd honestly say that drums are the most important instrument.

yes, however without the bass your band would or group consisting of just guitar and drums would not have a strong musical foundation.......

Tell that to the Doors and the White Stripes and Kraftwerk and ....well you get the point

I know I said something but I changed my mind. The best instrument is a good groupie