MUSI 2060 THE BLUES Name comes from Elizabethan having the blue devils AKA sadness strife etc General Characteristics o Call and response antiphonal o Descending melody esp vocal from slaves field hollers o Blue bent notes often change III VII o Simple harmonic chord progression I IV V tonic subdominant dominant o Strophic song form same melody different lyrics Styles o Jali pl Jalolu griot Africa o W C Handy 1873 1958 Father of the Blues o African slave styles mix with styles of Western Europe o Kora African harp string instrument o Constant tempo and rhythm no refrain o 12 bar blues 4 4 time divided into three groups of four measures Ex A line sung inst fill tonic A line sung inst fill subdominant tonic B line sung inst fill subdominant tonic B line sung inst fill with turnaround dominant tonic Rural Country Blues General Characteristics 1 Male solo 2 Self accompanied acoustic guitar 3 4 5 NOT ALWAYS 12 bar progression 6 Rare instrumental solos o Texas Rural Blues Improvisation Irregular meter 1 Single note bass string runs 2 Arpeggiated I III V chords 3 Bass riff 4 Alternating bass treble strings 5 Single string fills Blind Lemon Jefferson 1883 1929 Matchbox Blues 1927 Recorded 300 sides 150 double sided vinyl records o Mississippi Delta Blues 1 Vocal slides 2 Slide guitar 3 Wailing vocals 4 Small melodic range 5 Polyrhythm 6 Chordal fills 7 Percussive playing Urban City Blues Charley Patton Father of the Delta Blues Robert Johnson 1911 1938 Cross Road Blues 1938 o 1930s o Black migration from rural South to metro North o Electric guitar becomes commercially available o Texas Urban Blues 1 West Texas moves to CA big guitar influence 2 Stronger influence on other blues and jazz than rock 3 Generally uses horns in backup band 4 Strong piano bass unless frontman played guitar 5 vocal instrumental riffing 6 single string fills Aaron T Bone Walker 1910 1975 Call It Stormy Monday Blues 1947 Huge influence on rock guitarists Worked for inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson Ragtime piano influences o Chicago Urban Blues Instrumental solos harmonica piano guitar 1 Derived from Mississippi Delta Blues 2 3 Slide guitar 4 Frequent short vocal slides 5 Bent notes 6 Double stops bent double stops on guitar 7 Polyrhythmic intricate 8 Occasional single string fills especially B B King mostly full chords 9 Drummer tends to only hit down beat or every other beat no backbeat Muddy Waters 1915 1984 Name from muddy Miss River and carried water on family farm Blow Wind Blow 1950 Chess Brothers major recording studio of Chicago Boogie Woogie o Piano becomes popular in late 1920s 1945 o Popular with dance bands in Jazz Swing Era o honky tonk another name for the type of bar in which the style originated o Name from either Madigo buga to beat a drum or English bogy dark apparition turned into a racial slur 1 8 beats measure subdivided 4 4 2 Bounced barrelhouse rhythm 3 4 12 bar progression 5 Complex polyrhythms between hands 3 beats on right 2 on left Improvised right piano hand steady pattern ostinato on left Meade Lux Lewis 1905 1964 Honky Tonk Train Blues 1937
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