The Blues
African American vocal music
Slaves not permitted to bring instruments
Drumming specifically forbidden
Playing of European instruments permitted
Musicians also served as tribal historians and social commentators
A vocal music unique to the African American experience is most direct, although not “perfect,” link to African heritage
Work Songs
Call and response
A “functional” music
Common in plantation culture; after breakup of plantations they persisted in the Southern penitentiary system until the 1950s
Work songs led to “field hollers” – solo calls free in form but similar in feeling to the blues; field hollers contributed to the vocal style of the blues
General characteristics of the Blues
Appeal to senses rather than intellect
Generally highly personal – often focused on topics such as love, death, sexuality, life conditions, etc.
Country Blues” vs. “City Blues” Guitar accompaniment vs. piano or multiple instruments.
“Free” form & rhythm vs. 12-bar structure.
“Earthy” lyrics vs. more sophistication in content & melody.
Expressive but “undeveloped” vocals vs. refined & predetermined.
Roots in work songs vs. minstrelsy & vaudeville shows.
Male performers vs. female.
Informal atmosphere vs. formal (performer/audience clearly defined).
A State of Mind
“blue” describes a state of melancholy since the 16th century; entered American vocabulary after the Civil War
Music that portrays such a state of mind
Performance of or interaction with the music as a way of “ridding oneself of the blues”
Perception that one cannot “play” the blues unless they have “blues feeling”
Performance Practices
“playing the blues” as a measure of a particular kind of quality
Techniques include: “rough” or “unrefined” timbre
“blue notes”
Improvisation
Form
Strophic/cyclical
Repetitions of a chorus
AAB
