The BluesDistinguishing Characteristics:- Call and response performance from work songs; antiphony, antiphonal; dates back to ancient times- Descending melody from field hollers- Use of blue notes; lowered 3rd, 7th scale degrees- Simple harmony progressions (I, IV, V) from church hymns, folk songso I = tonic key, home keyo IV = subdominant keyo V = dominant key- Strophic song formso A collection of verses with the same melody, etc. but only the lyrics change- Jali (pl. Jalou): African historian/musician; AKA grioto From Senegal, Gambia, GhanaWilliam Christopher (W.C.) Handy (1873-1958)- “Father of the Blues”Classic 12-Bar Blues Form- a-line: |||| |||| |||| ||||sung------------ instrumental filltonic-------------------------- a-line: |||| |||| |||| |||| sung------------ instrumental fillsubdominant------ tonic-- b-line: |||| |||| |||| |||| sung---------- fill with a turnarounddominant--- tonic--- (dom.)- Sing for 2 ½ measures, then instrumental fill- Common blues rhyme schemes:o aabo abbo aaao abcRural (Country) BluesGeneral Traits:- Male solo singers- Self-accompanied- Acoustic instruments- Often improvised words, melodies- Irregular meters- Don’t always use 12-bar progression- Instrumental solos are rare on recordingsTexas Rural Blues:- Single-note bass string run- Arpeggiated chords- Repeated melodic, rhythmic figures (riffs) on bass strings- Alternate playing on bass and treble strings- Single string melody fillsBlind Lemon Jefferson (1883-1929); Matchbox Blues (1927)Mississippi Delta Blues:- Frequent sliding from note to note- Play slide guitar- Wailing style of singing (forlorn)- Small melodic range- Intricate polyrhythms- Rhythmic, chordal fills (rather than melodic)- Percussive playing style- Charley Pattono “Father of the Delta Blues”Robert Johnson (1911-1938); Cross Road Blues (1936)Supposedly sold his soul to the devilMember of the “27 Club”Urban (City) BluesGeneral Traits:- Male singer accompanied by a group (rhythm section)- Big, loud sound- Instruments: electric guitar, acoustic bass, drums, piano, harmonica- More regular meter; usually 4:4- 12-bar progression used almost exclusively- Instrumental solos used in recordings: piano, harmonica, guitarHuge migration of (The Great Migration) of people from the rural south to the urban northTexas Urban Blues:- Stronger influence on other blues, jazz than rock- Generally use horns in the backup band- Saxophone often then solo instrument- Strong piano basis, rather than guitarAaron “T-Bone” Walker (1910-1975); Call It Stormy Monday Blues (1947)Huge influence on rock guitarists, like the guitarist from ZZ TopChicago Blues:- Derived from Mississippi Delta Blues- Use of slide guitar- Frequent slides between notes, use of bent notes, and use of double-stopped notes, bent double-stops- Intricate rhythm patterns, polyrhythms- Single string fills, especially BB KingMuddy Waters (1915-1984); Blow Wind Blow (1950)Boogie Woogie- Type of piano blues popular in the late 1920s-1945 (during the jazz-swing era)- Was popular with dance bands and their audiences- Also known as “Honky Tonk” from the type of bar in which the style originated- Possibly from the Mandingo word “buga” meaning “to beat a drum”- Possibly from English slang “bogy” referring to dark apparitions, but later used as a derogatory term for African Americans- Pine Top’s Boogie WoogieGeneral Characteristics:- 8 quick pulses to the measure (8 to the bar)- Uses a barrelhouse rhythm (bounced)- Improvised right hand part- Steady pattern (ostinato) in left hand- Uses 12-bar blues progression- Complex polyrhythms between the two hands (3 pulses in the right against 2 in the left)Meade “Lux” Lewis (1905-1964); Honky Tonk Train Blues
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