Musc 200 1st Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I Test Outline of Current Lecture II Chicago Blues instrumentation A Slide guitar III Chicago blues history IV Listening segments from Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf V Gospel influenced Rhythm and Blues a A Capella male quartets b Virtuoso female singer accompanied by band or choir Current Lecture Chicago Blues instrumentation Specific style of rhythm and blues Emphasis on electric guitar but not as a solo virtuoso like in jump blues Borrows from rural blues Mississippi Delta style Little or no big band influence o No brass or reeds Slide guitar place a hard non porous metal or glass tube over finger and when touched to the string it stops the string which allows for more pitches available o Slide continuously to all notes in between notes o Physical gesture also shapes the sound differently from bending the strings like in the fretted style o Slide guitar allows for sliding long distances that you can t get from bending the strings o Creates a brighter and glassier timbre tone color or tone quality Fretted style frets stop the strings o Bend strings to change pitch These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o Not as much variability as with the slide guitar method Harmonica play right up against the microphone which changed the tone quality to a more electric and modern sound Songs were built around one chord or a riff o This was about as far as you could get from TPA as TPA songs generally had complicated chords o Riff short melodic theme that is repeated several times o This style was straight out of the Mississippi Delta blues Vocals rough influenced by Mississippi Delta blues Chicago blues took a lot from Mississippi Delta blues but also had new elements o Smaller ensemble of electric guitar drums piano harmonica o Heterophony 2 or more variations of the same melody played at the same time o Polyphony more than 1 independent melody going on at the same time o Changing ensemble textures intense and busy heterophony began to approach polyphony o Using the microphone for an amplification tone of the harmonica Chicago Blues history Late 40s and early 50s large migration of African Americans from the South into Chicago Independent labels emerging who would record new artists for this new market Chess Records started by two Jewish brothers from Poland o Recorded primarily African American Chicago Blues o The brothers could somewhat identify and understand what the African Americans had been and still were going through o Most famous recordings they did were Chuck Barry and Muddy Waters Muddy Waters started the sound which defined the blues Chicago blues was the most influential on rock in the 60s and 70s Listening I Just Want to Make Love to You by Muddy Waters One riff throughout The lack of changing chords puts the emphasis on the singer The first chord change isn t until over a minute into the song Harmonica is played so that you can hear the notes separately o Harmonica solo has reverb Rhythmic feel lots of empty space then strangely busy o Paradoxical o Is emphatic and heavy but at the same time full of empty space Simple harmony Arrangement and rhythm produces a complicated effect Rough vocal timbre achieved by singing directly into the microphone and also singing raspy The riff adds interest o Starts with piano then harmonica then bass drum o This is the call Then bass player comes in with the response TPA didn t understand this music because they didn t know what to look for They were looking for elements of their music in this but didn t see it Lyrics Chicago Blues was more up front and assertive with sexuality Listening Long Distance Call by Muddy Waters Slide guitar gives bright and glassy effect o Smoothly links pitches Less vocal roughness than the previous song 12 bar blues chord progression Relationship between slide guitar and harmonica shifts between heterophony and polyphony o Melodies interweave with each other creating a dense and heavy effect Listening I m Your Hoochie Coochie Man by Muddy Waters Several different parts accent the riff This may seem light to us today but this was the heaviest music of the time Lyrics references to African American supernatural beliefs o Spoke to cultural identity unlike the previous TPA Big Band music Listening Smokestack Lightin by Howlin Wolf Howlin Wolf had a huge impact on 60s rock he was idolized Vocal roughness at a higher level No elaborate guitar as Wolf was primarily a singer Lots of variety in vocals o Goes into falsetto with a clear timbre Vocal rhythms speech like or declamatory Wolf said his falsetto was influenced by Jimmie Rogers Listening Spoonful by Howlin Wolf Built around a riff Drums provide a consistent rhythmic texture Polyphonic Wolf would conduct chord changes so he could go as he wanted to Lyrics title reference to heroin o Song is about dependency each verse explores a different dimension of what you re dependent on o Love drugs diamonds coffee tea Chicago blues lyrics explored intense and serious topics which was inspiring to 60s rockers Chicago blues was in direct contrast with the recent light TPA pop There s a bluebird on your windowsill vs heroin Gospel Influenced Rhythm and Blues Before WWII there were two main types of African American music sacred church music and secular blues After WWII rhythm and blues borrowed from gospel music and some gospel singers shifted over to sing R B o This upset many people and many ended up alienated due to the music they performed Late 40s 2 main styles of Gospel o A Capella male quartets Very creative no instruments Only 4 singers but would cover full vocal range o Smooth tone quality with smooth blends Complex vocal arrangements Would sing in harmony or separate into bass 2 middle singers with chords and the higher melody to break up the texture Virtuoso female singers accompanied by a choir or band Listening Golden Gate Gospel Train by the Golden Gate Jubilee A Capella male quartet Smooth blends Imitate train sounds Listening How I Got Over by Clara Ward Virtuoso female singer accompanied by a choir and a piano Call and response between the singer and the choir Clear vocal timbres Melisma sing more than 1 note per syllable o Melodramatic embellishment