style
'The blues' is a title given to music which rose towards the end of 19th century America. The genres origin lies in African American culture, combined with European settlers culture, which produced new styles of music including ragtime and jazz alongside the blues. The earliest style of blues music was country blues, and was usually performed by a singer accompanied by a guitar, banjo, or piano, and sometimes with added harmonica or drums. However, the genre quickly spread in the early 20th century as the people who created it moved from rural southern states to northern cities such as Chicago and Detroit with instruments such as bass (later came electric bass and electric guitar) and piano and the occasional saxophone being added into the instrument mix. Collectively known as city blues, the genre became very popular in the 40's and 50's in America, before spreading to Europe in the 60's.
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 T-Bone Walker pioneering the rock guitar sound and technique by playing long solos and setting his amp to distortion levels, and the 12-bar blues being used as the foundation for many rock n' roll songs.
Example of country blues: Example of city blues: T-Bone Walker:
(Robert Johnson, 1936, written by Son House) (Elmore James, 1951, written by (1966)
[no country blues recordings from the Robert Johnson) 19th century exist]
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 T-Bone Walker pioneering the rock guitar sound and technique by playing long solos and setting his amp to distortion levels, and the 12-bar blues being used as the foundation for many rock n' roll songs.
Example of country blues: Example of city blues: T-Bone Walker:
(Robert Johnson, 1936, written by Son House) (Elmore James, 1951, written by (1966)
[no country blues recordings from the Robert Johnson) 19th century exist]
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harmony
The main harmonic feature of the blues is the 12-bar blues chord progression. The most basic 12-bar blues progression consists of 3 chords with 4 bars assigned to each (usually l-lV-V). Within this there are blue notes - notes flattened by a semitone or 'bent' by an interval smaller than a semitone, and are often found on the 3rd, 5th or 7th degree in a chord. However, there are many more complex chord progressions than this that still are considered as the 12-bar blues. For example, the l for 16 beats, lV for 8, 8 for l, V for 4, lV for 4 and finally l for 16. Taking the example of E-A-B, the 12 bars look like: E/E/E/E/A/A/E/E/B7/A/E/E.
Derived to play over these chords is the blues scale. It consists of 6 pitches which are the notes of the minor pentatonic scale, plus one additional note which is the diminished 5th from the tonic. For example the C blues scale: C-Eb-F-Gb-G-Bb In general it sounds best when the notes are kept in the order of the scale, whether ascending or descending due to there already being gaps between the notes - if the pitches are in a different it creates some odd intervals which stray away from the blues style! Another feature of the blues is note bending - guitarists can do this by pushing the strings sideways. Another blues guitar technique is using a bottleneck to slide up and down the string. Both effects create a similar sound, like a vocal cry! There is also the use of blue notes - notes flattened by a semitone or 'bent' by an interval smaller than a semitone, and are often found on the 3rd, 5th or 7th degree in a chord. The 12-bar blues and blues scale and blue notes are perhaps the most defining feature of the blues, in particular the 12-bar sequence! This is because seemingly all of blues music is built upon it. This means that the progression (due to it's incredibly popular use) is instantly recognizable, and instantly associated with being rooted within the blues genre. |
Demonstration of the 12-bar blues chord progression and variations:
The blues scale and improvisation using the blues scale:
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rhythm
The rhythm in the blues is also based on the 12-bar blues 3 4-bar phrases. There is usually 4 beats in a bar, so it becomes a 48 beat repetitive pattern. The tempo can vary from song to song in the blues, depending on the theme and mood. The pulse within the rhythm is can be straight (e.g. top image to the right, notation is in 4/4) or it can be swung using triplets, and because it is the blues it's often with a subtle accent on the last note of the triplet (e.g. bottom image to the right, notation is in 4/4).
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structure
The common blues structure is 3-line verse, where the second line repeats the first, i.e. A A B. Sometimes the vocalist will improvise the words, hence the formation of the 3-line verse as the repetition of the first line gives them time to think up the third line! Blues lyrics often tell of injustice or hopelessness and are raw and full of emotion, similar to those in folk music. For example words from Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson:
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"
Alongside the verses, many blues song feature short instrumental breaks and/or solos after each line. This is a form of call and response structure. This all serves to create the laid back style that blues is so often associated with, due to there being time for both the performers to think about what is happening in the song, and also the listeners!
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"
Alongside the verses, many blues song feature short instrumental breaks and/or solos after each line. This is a form of call and response structure. This all serves to create the laid back style that blues is so often associated with, due to there being time for both the performers to think about what is happening in the song, and also the listeners!
case study - 3 o'clock blues by bb king
STYLE
BB King (1925-present) was an American blues signer and guitarist. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning him the nickname "The King of Blues". He initially he worked as a singer and disc jockey, but in 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records, and had his first hit '3 o'clock blues' in 1952, off the album 'Singin' the Blues'.
BB King (1925-present) was an American blues signer and guitarist. He is considered one of the most influential blues musicians of all time, earning him the nickname "The King of Blues". He initially he worked as a singer and disc jockey, but in 1949, King began recording songs under contract with Los Angeles-based RPM Records, and had his first hit '3 o'clock blues' in 1952, off the album 'Singin' the Blues'.
HARMONY
'3 o'clock blues' revolves around the 12-bar blues, which is perhaps a given seeing it is the most fundamental part of the genre! The chords are: Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-F7-F7-Eb7-Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-F7
These are chords l, V, and lV - which are the standard blues chords, plus the 7ths which create the opportunity for 4-harmony simultaneous pitches, for example in the brass parts. The chords are held in the piano part throughout. The guitar supplies improvised melodies in an almost call and response style to the vocal melody. This is typical of the blues. What is interesting about BB Kings guitar technique is that it is influenced by T-Bone Walker and therefore is electric and heavy for the time the song was written in which was a huge blues trend and as I mentioned before was part of the influence on the rock genre. He uses Walker's technique of sounding a note and then sliding up to the same pitch on a different string which allows King to shift to higher positions in the solo and creates contrast in the harmony between the higher pitched guitar sounds and lower pitched accompanying parts. It also helps shape that laid back bluesy feel.
In the vocal line King uses melisma (stretching a single syllable into a melodic phrase). There is also some use of spoken word at certain points such as the phrase 'help me out baby' in the guitar solo. Both of these factors help to get across the lyrics meaning; blues music is all about emotion and meaningful lyrics.
RHYTHM
Overall '3 o'clock blues' is fairly slow moving at 65bpm. This creates the basis for that laid back bluesy feel. It is in 12/8 which helps the chord sequence to fall into 12 bars, or rather the fundamental 12 bar blues. The piece has a slight swing feel to it due to the dotted crotchet-quaver rhythm which is perhaps a jazz influence on the piece, but seeing as the two genres were born at around the same time this is not too much of a surprise. Overlaying this rhythm is the occasional repeated chordal quavers on the piano which helps create movement to the slower pace. Other factors which create movement are the guitar licks and riffs, and the vocal melismas; these also create contrasting rhythms which adds interest for the listener. A constant rhythm within this is the simple drum line - this is fairly standard in the blues.
STRUCTURE
'3 o'clock blues' uses the typical 12 bar blues structure, however the wider structure is as follows:
- 4-bar intro/guitar solo
- Verse 1
- Verse 2
- Guitar solo
- Verse 3
This is a very generic blues simple structure which is used widely across the genre. It ensures that the piece has continuity with the verses being the same length and the guitar solo to break them up. This is particularly helpful because of the absence of choruses, but works very well as a functional structure to the song.
'3 o'clock blues' revolves around the 12-bar blues, which is perhaps a given seeing it is the most fundamental part of the genre! The chords are: Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-F7-F7-Eb7-Bb7-Eb7-Bb7-F7
These are chords l, V, and lV - which are the standard blues chords, plus the 7ths which create the opportunity for 4-harmony simultaneous pitches, for example in the brass parts. The chords are held in the piano part throughout. The guitar supplies improvised melodies in an almost call and response style to the vocal melody. This is typical of the blues. What is interesting about BB Kings guitar technique is that it is influenced by T-Bone Walker and therefore is electric and heavy for the time the song was written in which was a huge blues trend and as I mentioned before was part of the influence on the rock genre. He uses Walker's technique of sounding a note and then sliding up to the same pitch on a different string which allows King to shift to higher positions in the solo and creates contrast in the harmony between the higher pitched guitar sounds and lower pitched accompanying parts. It also helps shape that laid back bluesy feel.
In the vocal line King uses melisma (stretching a single syllable into a melodic phrase). There is also some use of spoken word at certain points such as the phrase 'help me out baby' in the guitar solo. Both of these factors help to get across the lyrics meaning; blues music is all about emotion and meaningful lyrics.
RHYTHM
Overall '3 o'clock blues' is fairly slow moving at 65bpm. This creates the basis for that laid back bluesy feel. It is in 12/8 which helps the chord sequence to fall into 12 bars, or rather the fundamental 12 bar blues. The piece has a slight swing feel to it due to the dotted crotchet-quaver rhythm which is perhaps a jazz influence on the piece, but seeing as the two genres were born at around the same time this is not too much of a surprise. Overlaying this rhythm is the occasional repeated chordal quavers on the piano which helps create movement to the slower pace. Other factors which create movement are the guitar licks and riffs, and the vocal melismas; these also create contrasting rhythms which adds interest for the listener. A constant rhythm within this is the simple drum line - this is fairly standard in the blues.
STRUCTURE
'3 o'clock blues' uses the typical 12 bar blues structure, however the wider structure is as follows:
- 4-bar intro/guitar solo
- Verse 1
- Verse 2
- Guitar solo
- Verse 3
This is a very generic blues simple structure which is used widely across the genre. It ensures that the piece has continuity with the verses being the same length and the guitar solo to break them up. This is particularly helpful because of the absence of choruses, but works very well as a functional structure to the song.