The social significance of Blues music resides in the revolutionary element of African Americans creating their own aesthetics. Blues music represented the opposing voice that refused to be silenced by oppression and segregation. The Blues expressed this with unprecedented clarity, honesty and simplicity.

Accordingly, why was the Blues created?

Blues developed in the southern United States after the American Civil War (1861–65). It was influenced by work songs and field hollers, minstrel show music, ragtime, church music, and the folk and popular music of the white population.

Also, how does blues make you feel? “The blues style represents . . . a saying of things that are very painful, deep and poignant, with a feeling of ease. In the very best blues the pain changes, because of the music, into something light.” At its best, the blues is a oneness of pain and pleasure, defeat and exaltation, sadness and joy.

Hereof, what blues means?

Blues is a music genre and musical form which was originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s by African-Americans from roots in African musical traditions, African-American work songs, and spirituals. Blues as a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation.

What are the key features of the blues?

The elements of music in the blues

• it was common to include bent notes - usually the flattened third, fifth or seventh note of the scale.
• the performer often improvises over a chord progression.
• melismas are heard in many blues vocal melodies.

Related Question Answers

Who are the most famous blues singers?

• BIG BILL BROONZY (Lee Conley Bradley; 1903 – 1958)
• SON HOUSE (Eddie James “Son” House, Jr.; 1902 –1988)
• BLIND WILLIE McTELL (William Samuel McTier; 1898 –1959)
• MAMIE SMITH (née Robinson; 1891 – 1946)
• ARTHUR “BIG BOY” CRUDUP (Arthur William Crudup; 1905 –1974)
• SKIP JAMES (Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James; 1902 –1969)

What came first jazz or blues?

Jazz and blues are often referred to as cousins. Many believe jazz came out of the blues, or that jazz has its roots in the blues. Actually jazz and blues are like brothers, they grew up side by side. By definition, blues is both a musical form and a music genre, while jazz is defined as a musical art form.

What is the most common form of the blues?

twelve-bar blues

Who is known as the father of the blues?

William Christopher Handy

How did the blues influence jazz?

As jazz evolved and jazz musicians applied more sophisticated ideas of rhythm and harmony, the blues remained a constant, the basis for such influential recordings as Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump" in the '30s, Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso" in the '40s, Miles Davis' "Walkin'" in the '50s and Herbie Hancock's "

How did slavery affect blues music?

The musical style wasn't really developed before after slavery had been embellished in 1865, but the blues is deeply rooted in the slaves' work songs, gospel and Negro spirituals. These songs were influenced by African tribal songs, work chants and "hollers".

How many chords are needed to make a blues?

three

What's the difference between blues and jazz?

Jazz. The main focus of jazz music is the dynamics and improvisations of an ensemble, while blues music is usually centered on a single guitar player/vocalist, and the personal lyrical content of the song. Most jazz tunes are purely instrumental, while a blues song always contains lyrics.

How do you know if a song is blues?

4 Answers

1. Make use of the blues scale.
2. Have simple arrangements centred around guitar, piano, and voice.
3. use fairly simple chord progressions, most typically the 12-bar blues chord progression.
4. lyrically, emphasise themes of hardship and struggle.

Why is it called Monday blues?

The noun 'blues' refer to 'sad' feeling. This could be due to anything -laziness, no interest etc. The commonest use is 'Monday Blues' referring to laziness one gets to get to work (as they just enjoyed 'work-free' weekends). If you say, "Morning blues" probably it means the morning you don't feel to do anything.

How do you define blues music?

A Brief discussion of the definition of blues music. (mojohand.com) Blues is an African-American music that traverses a wide range of emotions and musical styles. “Feeling blue” is expressed in songs whose verses lament injustice or express longing for a better life and lost loves, jobs, and money.

How do you use blues in a sentence?

1. He plays blues on the accordion.
2. I've got the blues today.
3. He melded country music with blues to create rock and roll.
4. Blues is a musical form that uses a lot of repetition.
5. She has cried the blues about its financial woes.
6. The sound veers between jazz and countrified blues.

Why is the 12 bar blues important?

The 12-bar blues is a great progression for practicing that with, as you get a chance to see which notes from the major or pentatonic scale fit well with each chord in the progression. So that's the 12-bar blues.

What makes Blues different from other music?

When you listen to the blues, you might immediately notice that it sounds different. That sound you hear that you might call “bluesy” is an effect called blue (or flatted) notes. Blues musicians play certain chords (combinations of two or more notes) at a slightly lower pitch than on the regular musical scale.

What instruments were used in early blues?

The combination of instruments used in early blues music included the clarinet, drum, guitar, piano, trombone, and trumpet.

What mood do blues songs have?

And some blues are about sad stuff, and many are delivered in a tone of general unhappiness or weary regret. Other blues are angry, moody, scary, frightened, and some are bouncy, joyous, exuberant, happy. Clearly, the blues is unusually rich in emotional expression.

Can blues music be happy?

Whole subgenres of the blues, like jump blues, evoke a feeling that is upbeat, cheerful, positive and even happy. And if the blues can cover the rest of those feelings and emotions, then the blues can't be just limited to the downhearted, the down-trodden, the despairing feeling in us all.

What chords are the basis for the 12 bar blues progression?

The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key.

What kind of jazz attempted to merge rock and jazz?

Jazz fusion is a musical genre formed in the late 1960s when musicians combined styles such as jazz, funk, rock, and R&B commonly referred to as rhythm and blues.

Which band recorded the first ever jazz album?

The Original Dixieland Jass Band

What is the structure of the blues?

A 12-bar blues is divided into three four-bar segments. A standard blues progression, or sequence of notes, typically features three chords based on the first (written as I), fourth (IV), and fifth (V) notes of an eight-note scale.

What is the most important element of jazz?

Jazz has all the elements that other music has: It has melody; that's the tune of the song, the part you're most likely to remember. It has harmony, the notes that make the melody sound fuller. It has rhythm, which is the heartbeat of the song. But what sets jazz apart is this cool thing called improvisation.