MUSC 200 Lecture 8 Outline of Current Lecture I. Chicago Bluesa. Timbreb. Muddy Watersc. Howlin WolfII. Rhythm & Blues with a Gospel Influencea. Gospel Properb. Golden Gate Jubilee QuartetCurrent LectureChicago Blues- Used electric guitar; huge part of Chicago Blues soundo Not to be confused w/ Guitar Oriented Electric Blues Bando Electric guitar only plays 1 piece Chicago Blueso No brass or reed section No substitute for these sections either Guitar, harmonica, slide guitar: guitar player takes a cylindrical, hard, nonporous material (i.e. glass) & use that material to strum- On a slide guitar, ANY PLACE you touch it on the neck stops the string; you can get all the notes; tone/tambour of the guitar changes, sounding brighter & glassier—very distinctive sound- Not about virtuoso on guitar; about a certain expressive sound- Did NOT have a big impact on Rock & Rollers of the 1950’s, but it DID have an influence on BRITISH Rock in the 1960’s & 1970’s- Each feature of the Chicago Blues is grounded in other blues forms, esp. Mississippi Delta- Some 12 Bar Blues, but mostly built on riffs; 1 & 2 chord changes were commono You could have an entire song w/ a single chord- Often emphasized extremely rough vocal timbreso Timbre: those elements of sound that are NOT pitch, NOT dynamics, & NOT rhythm; tone color or tone quality (in simple terms); there are many fine grain details of timbre Clear difference in the quality of sound; smooth, rough, strident, dark, light Timbre is a fundamental feature of music; different emphasis on timbre indifferent cultures- Chicago Blues focused on a RASPY TIMBREo Departure from the smoothness of Jazzo Took the Rural Blues ensemble & slightly updated it Male singer + guitar (usually electric) Bass, drums, piano, & harmonica- Goodbye, brass & reed section!o Used heterophonic & polyphonic ensemble textures Presence of 2 or more independent melodies at the same time, & 1 melody becomes fractured—polyphonic Several different instruments play a different variation of the same melody at the same time—heterophonic The line between these 2 is blurred- A heavy rhythmic feel is important in Chicago Blues- …Chess Recordsmovement toward independent recordso *Muddy Waters* was recorded on Chess; Muddy Waters helped to define this soundo Started by 2 Polish men; fresh eyes in the music industry saw an untapped market with an established audience“I Just Wanna Make Love to You” by Muddy Waters- 2 chord changeso 1 chord riff Complicated rhythmic texture produces the main riff in this song- Texture refers to the relationship between different parts of an ensemble; how parts are organized relative to each other in a piece- Little bit of call & response between the instruments (the riff); everybody playing together for the heavy, plodding part of the song- *Static harmonic context- Lots of empty space in the song- Rhythmic HEAVINESS is a new feature greatly emphasized in the Chicago Blues- Raspy vocals- Very blunt lyrics; he JUST wants to have sex with this woman“Long Distance Haul” by Muddy Waters- Slide guitar—glassy, smooth timbreo Harmonica, vocal, little drum kit- Small ensembleo Despite this, the track sounds very busy- Rich texture“Hoochie Coochie Man” by Muddy Waters- Spare & busy texture- Rich, complicated textureo The bass adds a LOT to the feel of this song; heavy, intense rhythm- Lyrics focus on an African American supernatural belief “Smokestack Lightning” by Howlin Wolf (part of Chess Records)- SUPER raspy timbreo Wolf’s vocal style emphasizes many different timbre colors; uses falsetto & full voice—influence of Jimmie Rodgers at work here!- Rhythm of the vocal part has declamatory, speech-like phrasingo Sounds like someone is giving an impassioned speech instead of singing a songo Music directly corresponds to individual pulses“Spoonful” by Howlin Wolf- Raspy, rough timbre- Song built on a single riff- Spoonful is likely a drug reference—subtle, but directo Certainly about some form of people’s attachmento A meditation on addiction (not necessarily about drugs—more of a metaphor for the bigger message)*This style was seen as exactly what TPA was NOT; it was about the ugly parts of life, not a watered down, chirpy tuneRhythm & Blues with a Gospel Influence- More like a strain within the Blues, not so much an actual genre- Precursors: Ink Spots, Mills Brothers, 4 Vagabondso Experimented with in the 1930’s; style REALLY emerges in the 1950’s- This style was viewed as a transgression; religion & Blues were kept separate in the African American community at the time- Gospel music was developed richly across the span of the 20th Century- Gospel Proper had 2 brancheso 4 acapella male singerso Female singers backed by choirs & bands“Golden Gate Gospel Train” by Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet- 4 male vocalists; no instruments- Wide range of timbres & other musical devices- Railroad imagecarried forward in the music (driving rhythm moving forward, faster & faster, like a train)- Whistle-like arrangement- Texture