| The blues is a vocal and instrumental
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| | pointed to several specific traits - such
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| form of music based on the use of the
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| | as the use of melisma and a wavy, nasal
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| blue notes and a repetitive pattern that
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| | intonation - that suggest a connection
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| typically follows a twelve-bar structure.
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| | between the music of West and Central
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| It evolved in the United States in the
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| | Africa and blues. Ethnomusicologist
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| communities of former African slaves,
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| | Gerhard Kubik may have been the first to
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| from spirituals, praise songs, field
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| | contend that certain elements of the
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| hollers, shouts, and chants. The use of
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| | blues have roots in the Islamic music of
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| blue notes and the prominence of
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| | West and Central Africa.
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| call-and-response patterns in the music
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| | Stringed instruments (which were favored
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| and lyrics are indicative of the blues'
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| | by slaves from Muslim regions of
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| West African pedigree. The blues
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| | Africa...), were generally allowed
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| influenced later American and Western
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| | because slave owners considered them akin
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| popular music, as it became part of the
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| | to European instruments like the violin.
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| genres of ragtime, jazz, bluegrass,
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| | So slaves who managed to cobble together
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| rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip-hop,
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| | a banjo or other instrument...could play
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| country music and pop songs.
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| | more widely in public. This solo-oriented
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| Etymology
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| | slave music featured elements of an
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| The phrase the blues is a reference to
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| | Arabic-Islamic song style that had been
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| having a fit of the blue devils, meaning
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| | imprinted by centuries of Islam's
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| 'down' spirits, depression and sadness.
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| | presence in West Africa, says Gerhard
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| An early reference to "the blues" can be
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| | Kubik.
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| found in George Colman's farce Blue
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| | Kubik also pointed out that the
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| devils, a farce in one act (1798).[1]
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| | Mississippi technique of playing the
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| Later during the 19th century, the phrase
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| | guitar using a knife blade, recorded by
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| was used as a euphemism for delirium
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| | W.C. Handy in his autobiography,
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| tremens and the police.
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| | corresponds to similar musical techniques
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| Though usage of the phrase in African
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| | in West and Central Africa cultures. The
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| American music may be older, it has been
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| | Diddley bow, a homemade one-stringed
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| attested to since 1912 in Memphis,
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| | instrument thought to be common
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| Tennessee with W. C. Handy's "Memphis
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| | throughout the American South in the
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| Blues". In lyrics the phrase is often
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| | early twentieth centry, is an
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| used to describe a depressed mood.
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| | African-derived instrument that likely
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| Main characteristics
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| | helped in the transferral of African
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| There are few characteristics common to
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| | performance techniques into the early
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| all blues, because the genre takes its
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| | blues instrumental vocabulary.
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| shape from the idiosyncrasies of
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| | Blues music later adopted elements from
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| individual performances. However, there
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| | the "Ethiopian airs", minstrel shows and
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| are some characteristics that were
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| | Negro spirituals, including instrumental
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| present long before the creation of the
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| | and harmonic accompaniment. The style
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| modern blues.
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| | also was closely related to ragtime,
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| An early form of blues-like music was a
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| | which developed at about the same time,
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| call-and-response shouts, which were a
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| | though the blues better preserved "the
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| "functional expression... style without
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| | original melodic patterns of African
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| accompaniment or harmony and unbounded by
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| | music".
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| the formality of any particular musical
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| | Blues songs from this period, such as
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| structure." A form of this pre-blues was
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| | Leadbelly's or Henry Thomas's recordings,
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| heard in slave field shouts and hollers,
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| | show many different structures. The
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| expanded into "simple solo songs laden
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| | twelve-, eight-, or sixteen-bar structure
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| with emotional content". The blues, as it
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| | based on tonic, subdominant and dominant
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| is now known, can be seen as a musical
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| | chords became the most common forms. What
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| style based on both European harmonic
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| | is now recognizable as the standard
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| structure and the West African
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| | 12-bar blues form is documented from oral
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| call-and-response tradition, transformed
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| | history and sheet music appearing in
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| into an interplay of voice and guitar.
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| | African American communities throughout
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| Many blues elements, such as the
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| | the region along the lower Mississippi
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| call-and-response format and the use of
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| | River, in Memphis, Tennessee's Beale
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| blue notes, can be traced back to the
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| | Street, and by white bands in New
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| music of Africa. Sylviane Diouf has
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| | Orleans.
|
