1. The Blues

2. African American vocal music  Slaves not permitted to bring instruments  Drumming specifically forbidden  Playing of European instruments permitted  Musicians also served as tribal historians and social commentators  A vocal music unique to the African American experience is most direct, although not “perfect,” link to African heritage

3. Work Songs  Call and response  A “functional” music  Common in plantation culture; after breakup of plantations they persisted in the Southern penitentiary system until the 1950s  Work songs led to “field hollers” – solo calls free in form but similar in feeling to the blues; field hollers contributed to the vocal style of the blues

4. General characteristics of the Blues  Appeal to senses rather than intellect  Generally highly personal – often focused on topics such as love, death, sexuality, life conditions, etc.  Country Blues” vs. “City Blues”  Guitar accompaniment vs. piano or multiple instruments.  “Free” form & rhythm vs. 12-bar structure.  “Earthy” lyrics vs. more sophistication in content & melody.  Expressive but “undeveloped” vocals vs. refined & predetermined.  Roots in work songs vs. minstrelsy & vaudeville shows.  Male performers vs. female.  Informal atmosphere vs. formal (performer/audience clearly defined).

5. A State of Mind  “blue” describes a state of melancholy since the 16 th century; entered American vocabulary after the Civil War  Music that portrays such a state of mind  Performance of or interaction with the music as a way of “ridding oneself of the blues”  Perception that one cannot “play” the blues unless they have “blues feeling”

6. Performance Practices  “playing the blues” as a measure of a particular kind of quality  Techniques include:  “rough” or “unrefined” timbre  “blue notes”  Improvisation

7. Form  Strophic/cyclical  Repetitions of a chorus  AAB