Blues

Before the emancipation the slaves sang the spirituals – they sang about a better life, literally once they are freed from slavery, and figuratively, once they are freed from sin in this world and enjoy the blessings in Heaven. After their emancipation many African-Americans found that their literal freedom did not necessarily bring a better life as they were still poor and discrimination was still felt. This disillusionment made them sing about their sorrows. The jubilantly happy Gospel songs were an opposite reaction to these "sorrow songs."

“After the Civil War, African-American performers began to improvise a new type of song sometimes referred to as the “sorrow song,” lamenting their many difficulties in a world still unfriendly in spite of emancipation. Shortly after the turn of the twentieth century the sorrow song acquired a relatively standardized structure and another name: the “blues”” (Crossroads in Music, p. 107).

First the Spirituals, then the Blues

Blues developed out of spirituals, but with a slight change in emphasis: “blues tend to express individual, worldly feelings while spirituals express the religious feelings of a group,” also the “…spirituals are unaccompanied while blues are accompanied” (Crossroads in Music, p. 108).

Listen to Sleepy John Estes perform the old spiritual “When the Saints Go Marching In.”



Mood

“The prevailing mood [in blues] is one of sadness or depression, perhaps because of disappointment in love, loneliness, or longing for distant locations. The vocal style strives less for beauty of tone or precise intonation that for expressive communication of sentiments that are not serene or soothing” (Crossroads in Music, p. 109).

Listen to Bessie Smith singing “Nobody Knows When You Are Down and Out.” The theme of this song is clearly that of sadness, depression, and loneliness.



Blues Structure

Bessie Smith is known as the “Empress of Blues.” Listen to her perform “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”.



Below are the first three verses of the song. Notice how the first two lines in each verse is the same, but the third line is different. This is called the traditional blues form/structure, or the AAB-form.

“Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”

Yeah, bed bugs sure is evil, they don't mean me no good
Yeah, bed bug sure is evil, they don't mean me no good
Thinks he's a woodpecker an’ I'm a chunk of wood

When I lay down at night, I wonder how can a poor gal sleep
When I lay down at night, I wonder how can a poor gal sleep
When some is holdin’ my hand, others eatin’ my feet

Bed bug as big as a jackass, will bite you and stand an’ grin
Bed bug as big as a jackass, will bite you and stand an’ grin
Will drink all the bed bug for them turn around and bite you again

The blues is also known for its twelve measure structure, where each measure has four beats. Listen to the song above again – as soon as Bessie Smith starts singing start to tap the beat, every four beats equals one measure. What do you notice?

Twelve Bar

Each verse contains this twelve measure structure. It is also known as the blues “twelve bar.” The twelve bar is the basic form in blues and is repeated many times in a song. Often the vocals would sing the first two beats of the measure, and there would be some kind of improvised instrumental fill for the second two beats of the measure. This mimics the call-response method derived from African music, which was incorporated into spirituals and also used in Gospel music.

Boogie Woogie

"Boogie woogie is a solo piano style that often uses the twelve-measure blues structure. Its most characterisitc feature is a powerful, repeated eight-note pattern (four beats per measure, subdivided into two notes on each beat) played by the left hand" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).

Above you can see a typical boogie-woogie base line progression ("riff") which is played by the left hand on the piano. You can listen to an audio clip of it here.

"Above this pattern, the right hand is free to interpret the melody or to improvise. The contrast between the two hands is so stirking that it can give the impression of two players" (Crossroads in Music. p. 212).

Although the boogie woogie is related to blues music, it is not sorrowful at all; rather it is cheerful dance music. Listen to Johan Blohm from The Refreshments play a boogie-woogie riff.



Meade Lux Lewis was probably one of the most prominent boogie woogie performers. Listen to him play the boogie woogie in the YouTube-video below.



In the YouTube-video below you can listen to an example of blues and the boogie woogie used together -- Big Joe Turner singing "Role 'Em Pete":



Notice how the boogie woogie is used as a strong intro from where the blues song (lyrics) builds with the clear AAB-structure. After the first three verses there is boogie woogie piano solo (accompanied with percussion). Later a saxophone joins the instrumental interlude.

Syncopated Rhythms

Another feature of blues is that it incorporated a syncopated rhythm, with focus on the "off" beat. In other words, in a 4/4 rhythm, the second and fouth beat is accentuated. This back beat pattern became a common feature rhythm & blues, jass, Rock 'n Roll, and other modern music.

Blues artist also sometimes use a "shuffle beat", which is a syncopated beat slightly before the regular bear. For instance, when you tap a 4-rhythm beat, ad a quick beat just before the regular rhythm -- The shuffle beat can be thought of as the "and"in "and one, and two, and three, and four".