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McGraw-Hill - American Blues Music
McGraw-Hill - American Blues Music
Early Blues
Though a precise origin of the blues has never been determined, most scholars
agree that the blues as we know it today probably developed in the late 1800s in
the Mississippi delta region. African American music forms like field hollers,
spirituals, and work songs all likely contributed to early blues music, while the
songs, ballads, and tunes of European Americans played a role as well.
The first blues musicians were singers who generally accompanied themselves on
guitar or banjo. This so-called "country blues" was popular throughout the
American South around the turn of the 20th century and into the 1920s. Guitarists
like Blind Lemon Jefferson, Heddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, Lizzie "Memphis Minnie"
Douglas, Charlie Patton, and Robert Johnson defined this gritty, earthy sound with
lyrics that spoke of heartbreak, wandering, and loss.
City Blues
In the 1920s, following the migration of many African Americans to the northern
cities, numerous blues musicians settled in Chicago. In this urban environment, a
new form of blues was born, often called "city" or "Chicago" blues. Instruments
were added to the ensemble, such as a bass, drums, harmonica, and sometimes
saxophone. In the 1940s and 1950s, the electric guitar took over, and solo
improvisation became an integral part of blues performances. Artists like Sonny
Boy Williamson (harmonica), Muddy Waters (singer/guitarist/songwriter), Howlin'
Wolf (singer/guitarist), and B.B. King (singer/guitarist) from Memphis all
represented this new style.
Classic Blues
Another important style of the blues that is often overlooked is called "classic" or
"vaudeville" blues. Classic blues developed in the 1920s with the advent of
recordings and centered mainly on female singers, who were accompanied by
jazz-type ensembles that could include a guitar, banjo, piano, bass, trumpet, and
drums. As with many pop songs today, classic blues songs were mostly composed
for the singers by other musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Clarence
Williams. Classic blues singers like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, and Mamie
Smith sold hundreds of thousands of records during the 1920s.
Boogie-woogie, another influential blues style, was performed largely on the piano
and developed in the early part of the 20th century. Pianists like Clarence
"Pinetop" Smith, Roosevelt Sykes, and Meade Lux Lewis were some of the well-
known musicians who performed in this style. With its "stride piano" octave left-
hand playing against right-hand syncopated melodies, boogie-woogie had a large
influence on early jazz as well. Jazz blues, in which jazz musicians perform blues
tunes in a jazz style with an emphasis on improvisation, continues to be a very
important part of jazz.
Despite many exceptions, blues music can be broadly described by four major
characteristics: AAB form, twelve-measure metric pattern (often called "12-bar
blues"), a standard harmonic structure, and the use of "blue" notes (defined
below). In the AAB form, a four-measure phrase is sung, immediately repeated
(often with some variation), and then answered by a different phrase. For example:
Within this twelve-measure pattern, the basic chord progression is generally I-IV-I-
V-I or I-IV-I-V-IV-I. As in many African American styles, vocal inflections and
ornaments are an important part of the blues. Shouts, grunts, and vocal melismas
can be heard even in the earliest blues recordings and help give the blues its
signature sound. "Blue" notes are also integral to the blues. Scholars agree that
the influence of the African music heritage on American art persists to this day in
aspects such as blue notes. Blue notes are slight, microtonal inflections on
pitches. When played on guitar or sung, these notes often fall in between
chromatic notes of the Western scale. In notation, they are often represented by
flattened third, fifth, and seventh scale degrees.
Amazingly, though blues music formed over 100 years ago, little has changed in its
traditional performance practice, or in its popularity. It continues to endure with an
endless supply of new performers and countless fans who appreciate its
consistent appeal.