Chapter 8 – The Blues Class Issues: There were class distinctions within the African American community. Blues musicians were outcasts, rejected by the more settled, upwardly mobile members of the race, particularly the devoutly religious. To the devout, the blues were “devil songs.” The Spiritual and the Blues Considering both the spiritual and the blues, what role did slavery play in the evolution of these genres? spiritual • began in slavery blues • evolved after the Civil War, strongly influenced by the changes that affected the lives of African Americans following emancipation What are some of the changes that affected the lives of African Americans following the Civil War? new dimension of leisure new degree of solitude new set of social and economic problems; need for money; necessity for finding employment broader contacts and experiences greater fluency in the American language new mobility Characteristics of the Blues 1. Blues subjects - the man-woman relationship 2. Musical form - a succession of three-line stanzas • Line two tends to repeat line one (a, a, b). 3. Instruments - The folk roots of the blues were often sung unaccompanied. Which was the first instrument to become the standard accompaniment to the blues? • guitar Melodic material and singing style: What are some of the different singing styles? shouting humming singing in falsetto singing in the false bass voice chanting in the manner of a recitative Speaking What is the general tendency for melodic contour of the blues? • • to start the phrase high and proceed downward ending with a dropping inflection Structure: The importance of 1912 What are the conventions of the post 1912 tendencies? number of lines/stanza: three, the second a repetition of the first phrases: four bars long (“12-bar blues”) harmonic plan: • • • phrase 1: I I I phrase 2: IV IV I phrase 3: V7 (IV) I I7 I I instrumental accompaniment: • • • • guitar harmonica (“blues harp”) improvised instruments: Call and reponse Ma Rainey’s “Countin’ the Blues” Identify the structural and stylistic traits Listen for: twelve-bar blues pattern breaks call-and-response pattern Blind Lemon Jefferson (1897-1929) Texas blues singer and guitarist performed in Dallas, Texas where he performed at times with Leadbelly recorded in Chicago in the late 1920s died mysteriously in 1929 Major influence on blues and later rock guitarists “Prison Cell Blues” recorded in Chicago in 1928. Listen for: • • unconventional form (NOT twelve-bar blues) fluid performance style Instruments and the Blues Style What are some other instruments commonly heard in blues music? harmonica (“blues harp”) improvised instruments: • • • jug washboard inverted washtub, with a piece off rope stretched between a hole through its center and a broom handle (= bass) What are some common techniques that players use to alter the sounds of the instruments? “bending” the pitch • On guitar, pushing or pulling on the string to make the pitch sound higher Likewise, the voice might slide into the pitch. “bottleneck” or slide guitar • • sliding the back of a knife blade on the strings of the guitar using a broken top of a bottle Robert Johnson’s “Preachin’ Blues (Up Jumped the Devil” Example of slide guitar playing “bottleneck” style on the guitar Note: Johnson does not follow the twelvebar blues pattern in this example. Who is Robert Johnson (1911-1938)? • • • Mississippi Delta blues singer and guitarist recorded only twenty-nine songs died young, yet extremely influential, largely due to his recordings Early published blues 1912 important because many pieces were published Who was W.C. Handy? composer/bandleader from Memphis promoted blues as popular music and brought it to a wide public Blues: An Anthology (New York, 1926), a famous collection of early published blues (by Handy and others). Boogie Woogie What is boogie-woogie? solo piano form (like ragtime) developed out of the blues: form and harmony driving left hand; ostinato (repeated pattern) likely an adaptation of what blues singer-guitarists had been doing popular in the late 1930s major influence on rock ‘n’ roll of the 1950s Mr. Freddie Blues Lux Lewis, piano Ostinato in left hand Repeated figure in right hand Underlying 12 bar blues format Urban Blues What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of urban blues? reflects harsher aspects of urban life piano, essentially the blues-related boogie-woogie electric guitar bass drums strongly influenced by gospel tradition very influential on later blues, rhythm and blues, and rock ’n’ roll Chicago-home for musicians from the south Kansas City –rise of blues singers backed by big bands What are some of the changes that have occurred in blues at the turn of the century? fewer recordings are being produced technologically and stylistically slicker recordings Blues festivals and live concerts have largely replaced the clubs. racial and gender shifts: • White male blues singers have come into prominence: Stevie Ray Vaughan (1980s) Johnny Winter William Clarke Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan -virtuosic guitar technique -urban sound of bass and drums -12 bar form -Vaughan had both a conservative taste in music and progressive approach to guitar playing. conservative • • twelve-bar blues pattern blues song written in the 1960s progressive approach to guitar playing. • • Jimi Hendrix was a significant influence on his playing and performance style. Made use of such effects as pedals (wah-wah and others) and the guitars tremolo bar.