The musical characteristics of Blues
Tonality
The blues tonality is a blend of Major and Minor sounds in the blues scale
Harmony
blues harmony is centred around the 12-bar blues
The 12-bar blues uses dominant seventh chords for the I, IV and V structure, typically it plays four bars of the I chord, two of the IV, two on the I, one on the V, one on the IV and two on the I and V
Extensions
Typical extensions of the blues is adding a 9th to a dominant 7th chord's (I7, IV7, V7) which can add a richer sound to a progression
Scales
Major and minor pentatonic scales are primarily used which gives it the classic blues sound
Riffs
There can be riff's in blues songs although not common they can be played on the bass, because blues uses a lot of improvisation typical blues songs may not have them.
Rhythms
Blues rhythms are characterized by a 12-bar form with 4/4 time signature, often incorporating syncopation to give it a "shuffle" sound where the beat is divided into triplets with he middle note of the triplet is shorter creating a "long-short-long" pattern
Blues also uses the technique "straight time" where the beats are divided into equal subdivisions. There's also a common use of the turnaround progression where at the end of the chord sequence you go back to the beginning of the sequence
Melody
The blues melody often uses "blue" notes which are flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th notes these are usually used in major scales
Blues melodies can often follow a AAB lyrical and melodic pattern within a verse, having a musical phrase repeated twice before the contrasting 3rd line
Another typical feature is a "Call and Response" melody which can be used on any instrument
Instruments
The typical blues instruments include - a guitar (acoustic or electric), harmonica, piano, double bass and drums
The guitar often uses a lot of slides to create a smooth sound however in country blues finger picking on an acoustic is more common to drive the melody. Blues singers can often have a gravelly tone to their voice to give the effect of "Raw emotion"
Textures
The typical textures of blues is a homophonic texture which is where there's a main melody accompanied by the other instruments
Lyrics
The lyrics in a blues is in the AAB structure and they are typically themed around "love, sex and betrayal"
Instrumental Techniques
One very common technique in a blues song is a walking bass line which is the bass player is moving up and down the scale in small steps.
Important Notation
3 Subgenres of blues
- 3 examples of different sub-genres for blues are Jump Blues, Country blues and Gospel blues.
- Jump blues is more upbeat and jazzy and usually features horns in the rhythm sections influenced by rock and roll. - The Nightriders - Lookin' For My Baby
-Country blues is more acoustic and typically has less instrumentation often featuring solo singing and a guitar accompanying them. - Skip James - Devil Got My Woman
-Gospel blues can often have a religious theme to it and it usually has a call and response being a question and answer. - Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day (Official Music Video)
Opinions on Subgenre's
-My favorite out of the 3 genres would have to be country blues because the sparse amount of instrumentation makes the music feel genuine, it highlights the vocals in the right way so you can hear the sheer amount of emotion in the singing.
Famous musicians in each subgenre
-A famous Jump Blues singer is Louis Jordan, he was labelled "The King of The Jukebox" . He is a saxophone and vocalist he is the most successful practitioner of Jump Blues. His band called Louis Jordan and the Tympany Five had famous songs in the R&B and Pop fields, making him the leader of a popular post-WW2 combo.
-A famous Country Blues singer is Robert Johnson, he was labelled "King Of The Delta Blues". He sang and he played guitar, typically on street corners and bars. He recorded his entire life work in only 2 sessions and set the path of his style of Blues. He's had a massive influence on Blues and Rock and Roll artists throughout the years.
-A famous Gospel blues singer is Sister Rosetta Tharpe she is known as the "Godmother of Rock and Roll". She is the first known artist to use an electric guitar in gospel music and give the instrumentation melody a more important role equal to the singer.
Evolution of Blues
- The blues originated from African Americans as work songs when they were enslaved and working on plantations. It used to just be a voice accompanied by a harmonica however since it has evolved it started to gain more instruments and more bands were picking up the style. Acoustic guitars switched to electric creating a more urban sound. Now Blues has had so many fusions to it and the structure is still used to this day as in the modern era everyone puts their own spin on the style.
What Blues has in common with other styles
Blues shares common elements with different genres such as Jazz and R&B, with the call and response, as well as the improvisations.
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