The blues genre originated in africanamerican communities in the american south around the end of the 19th. A specific category of books, such as historical, romance, or science fiction. If a musician says to you, lets jam on the blues they are talking about the blues song form. Dallas blues is the first blues song ever published, in 1912. A genre is a specific type of music, film, or writing. The name of this great american music probably originated with the 17thcentury english expression the blue devils, for the intense visual hallucinations that can accompany severe alcohol withdrawal. Jazz in particular was one of the first genres to become intertwined with blues. The past few years have seen a number of exciting talents pop up who are injecting blues into their music, making the oncestale genre fresh and relevant for a new generation. What is the music genre of the blues brothers films. List of books and articles about blues music online. During prohibition, musicians played the urban blues in honky tonks, bars that illegally served alcohol. Blues is a music genre that originated in africanamerican communities of primarily the deep south of the united states at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. Apr 29, 2009 genre basic definition a literary term used to describe a group of works with similar characteristics such as characters, themes, and setting. Piedmont blues piedmont blues refers to a regional substyle characteristic of black musicians of the southeastern united states.
Blues is a genre and musical form originated by african americans in the deep south of the united states around the end of the 19th century. Pianos and organs became more prominent in this period as well. Lets take a look at some of the characteristics that make a song a blues song. African american slaves are the roots from which both genres have grown, but jazz is from new orleans and blues is from mississippi. What is now referred to as the classic chicago blues style was developed in the. All of these genres have particular features and functions that distinguish them from one another. The music genres list site covers many of the most popular styles. The umbrella term rock is used to describe a large variety of musical styles.
The modern instrument, first developed by musician george beauchamp and engineer adolph rickenbacher in the early 1930s, will help to transform the sound of the blues. What is missing books on classical music of course. For example, funk and disco share characteristic rhythms, but funk uses more blues tonality, while disco uses more diatonic and modal tonalities. Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a specific form, content, and style. There are many fine books on the blues, so i thought i would share with you my recommendations. Music genre list a complete list of music styles, types. Shortened over time to the blues, it came to mean a state of agitation or depression. Listen to the blues exploring a musical genre exploring musical. Tracing its origins from the mississippi delta to its amplification in chicago right after world war ii, davis argues for an examination of the blues in its own right, not just as a precursor to jazz and rock n roll. Elements of blues music are also found in many other genres. Blues history blues is an american heritage, and it should be noted as such. The term blues may have come from blue devils, meaning melancholy and.
Poems written under poetry can be of different types according to the style in which they are written. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants. The best way to understand the blues is to visit our blues videos page and watch and listen to the. The list starts with general books of the blues essential reading, followed by blues artists in alphabetical order, interjected with blues books on particular themes. Some view soul as merely a new term for rhythm and blues. It was laughing song which was recorded by george w. Most blues feature simple, usually threechord, progressions and have simple structures that are open to endless improvisations, both lyrical and musical.
I would argue and nominally defend the films title by adding that, in my view, the film allegorically depicts the history and path to mo. Blues tonality can be an invaluable tool to help us delineate genres. Francis daviss the history of the blues is a groundbreaking rethinking of the blues that fearlessly examines how race relations have altered perceptions of the music. Doowop represents a subcategory of vocal group harmony that includes the following musical qualities. In the blues, wald surveys a genre at the heart of american culture. The music genres list site covers many of the most popular styles of music, the site is. Much of music of any genre is built on chords, which are two or more notes. Blues is a music genre and musical form which was originated in the deep south of the united states around the 1870s by african americans from roots in african musical traditions, africanamerican work songs, and spirituals. Genre definition, a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like.
In lyrics the phrase is often used to describe a depressed mood. Here komara and johnson answer the question of not only what is a blues book, but which ones are worth owning. Blues genre history southern museum of music features. Country music contains more blues tonality than folk, and rock contains more blues tonality than country. Genre definition is a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content. Your favorite literary genre might be science fiction, and your favorite film genre might be horror flicks about cheerleaders. It is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Bluelines allow a final opportunity to detect errors and make minor corrections. Blues, secular folk music created by african americans in the early 20th century, originally in. This printers photocopy generated by the printer is a blueprint mockup of all of the pages of the book printed from the final plates. The best way to understand the blues is to visit our blues videos page and watch and listen to the music. Gershwins second prelude for solo piano is an interesting example of a. The simple but expressive forms of the blues became by the 1960s one of the most important influences on the development of popular music. A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.
Along with the influences from the two styles, rock and roll was typified by extensive use of the snare drum. The vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery. Much written music in jazz is assumed to be performed with a swing rhythm. Poetry is one of the most important genres of books in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. The film drew many of the biggest living influencers of the rhythm and blues genre together, such as ray charles, james brown, cab calloway, aretha franklin, and john lee hooker. In film or literature, the genre is determined by the subject, setting or plot of the story. Artist in residence class of 2020 artist in residence application book an artist. Blues simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Many of the heavy metal music is based on the roots of blues. Quite simply, the genre of a book is the category of a book. All art forms have classic structures used as launching. Blues, secular folk music created by african americans in the early 20th century, originally in the south. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. Swing is commonly used in blues, country, and jazz, and often appears in other genres such as rock, funk, and hiphop.
The music genre of reggae is known to incorporate different stylistic techniques form rhythm and blues, jazz, african, caribbean, and other genres as well but what makes reggae unique are the vocals and lyrics. The blues is a form of music that started in the united states during the start of the 20th century. Delta blues guitar and harmonica are the dominant instruments used, with slide guitar usually on the steel guitar being a hallmark of the style. Blueslike genres there are several genres that are typically urban in origin, simple in instrumentation and featuring plaintive, melancholy vocals that emphasize the singers poor luck and unfortunate circumstances. The blues scale is often used in popular songs like harold arlens blues in the night, blues ballads like since i fell for you and please send me someone to love, and even in orchestral works such as george gershwins rhapsody in blue and concerto in f. Over the years, blues spawned several sub genres starting with the early forms of delta, gospel, and memphis blues, to country, electric, and soul blues. Blues music definition of blues music by the free dictionary. Examples of book genres include fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and young adult.
The blues has since left its mark on all areas of popular music, but is particularly influential to rock music with blues guitarist and vocalist tbone walker pioneering the rock guitar sound and technique by playing long solos and setting his amp to distortion levels, and the 12bar blues being used as the foundation for many rock n roll songs. Even though the blues is a central component of american music, it is one of the most. Learn more about blues, including notable musicians. Bluesrock jazz blues punk blues rhythm and blues rock rock and roll soul blues regional genres british blues canadian blues chicago blues detroit blues east coast blues kansas city blues louisiana blues memphis blues new orleans blues piedmont blues st.
Geographically, the piedmont means the foothills of the appalachians west of the tidewater region and atlantic coastal plain stretching roughly from richmond, va, to atlanta, ga. But what if you not only love listening to the blues or country music or jazz or rock. The harmonica, or blues harp, links back to the earliest days of the genre as a portable and easytoplay instrument. Most often in blues you will count 4 beats to each bar 44 time. Sep 21, 2014 blues tonality can be an invaluable tool to help us delineate genres.
Learn more about the history of blues, soul and rock and roll with music books and publications from bluescentric. When musicians talk about the blues, many times they are talking about a specific song form used in countless blues songs. You should remember a bar is the same as a measure. Blues is a musical art form with its own distinct musical progressions and much more.
The most common form of the blues is a 12bar pattern of chord changes. As blues continued to evolve as a genre, it had a massive impact on other styles of music. Exploring a musical genre and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Although this was an important mark in the blue s history, the real recording that opened up many doors for the rising demand for this genre of music was in 1920 when mamie smith. Urban blues had a more aggressive sound than classic blues. Delta blues is also regarded as a regional variation. Blues is a musical form and genre that originated in africanamerican communities in the deep south of the united states around the end of the 19th century. It was started by former african slaves from spirituals, praise songs, and chants. The pattern they often used in their work songs was called callandresponse. Blues genre history southern museum of music features music.
Music comes in many different types and styles ranging from traditional rock music to world pop, easy listening and bluegrass. Strathmore what makes the blues sound like the blues. The blues grew out of african spirituals and worksongs. The genre is derived from european folk music, spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. Alan lomax records mckinley morganfield, better known as muddy waters, for the library. The most popular subgenre is bluesrock, which is a blend of blues and rock elements. In 1920, mamie smith was the first african american to record blues music. As more blacks were moving to urban areas like chicago, the urban blues genre was born. Many genres have a rich history or geographical significance, a cult following or music roots that go far beyond the 20th century. The musical genre known as the blues is difficult to define, but you know it when you hear it. Among scholars, gerhard kubiks book africa and the blues has gained recognition as the most serious and penetrating examination of the subject. As blues bands developed, standard rhythm instruments included a drum kit and bass, with electric bass emerging in the 1950s. The blues means a lot of things to a lot of people. It was written by hart wand, and although there had been unpublished blues songs and published quasiblues songs before his time, his was the first true.
Blues chord progression much of music of any genre is built on chords, which are two or more notes played at the same time to make a specific harmonic sound. Soul music, term adopted to describe african american popular music in the u. The emotion expressed is generally one of sadness or melancholy, often due to problems in love. Tracing its origins from the mississippi delta to its amplification in chicago right after world war ii, davis argues for an examination of the blues in its own right, not just as a precursor to jazz and rock n. Jazz and blues share several common elements but are ultimately different genres of music. In music, genre refers to musical style such as jazz, salsa or rock. When you are wandering around a book store, books are usually arranged by genre. A classification system used by executives at publishing companies to. A song form is a structure, or formula of sorts, for a composition. The origins of this stupendously popular style lie in a fusion of two other popular genres blues and country, along with significant elements of jazz. Blues music description blues is a musical form and genre that originated in africanamerican communities in the deep south of the united states around the end of the 19th century. The genre developed from roots in africanamerican work songs and europeanamerican folk music. Bob strauss is a science writer and the author of several books, including the big book of what, how and why and a field guide to the dinosaurs of north america.
These songs came from the area near the mouth of the mississippi river. Perhaps the most visible example of the blues style of music in the late 20th century came in 1980, when dan aykroyd and john belushi released the film the blues brothers. Musicalinstrument amplifiers are also frequently used to alter the tone of the instruments signal distortion. Since the blues genre was ingrained in local calls and worksongs, the subgenres of blues music are often named after places. Many african americans were taken to the north esp. Blues music started to become available to the public in 1895 with the first recorded blues song. Louis blues swamp blues texas blues west coast blues. Toure famously argued that the beloved american genre was nothing but african, a bold assertion. Music genre list a complete list of music styles, types and. The most popular sub genre is blues rock, which is a blend of blues and rock elements.
The examples range from scholarly works to popular, more readable books. At its core, the blues has remained the same since its inception. Blues music synonyms, blues music pronunciation, blues music translation, english dictionary definition of blues music. Dec 19, 2019 eddie durham records the first music featuring the electric guitar. Blues is a music genre and musical form which was originated in the deep south of the united. Even nonmusicians can usually tell the difference between a major chord, which sounds happy, and a minor chord, which sounds sad.
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