(PP. 41-45) Music Section II: Singing the Blues → Listening Guide 1 (ACADEC '25-'26)

What earlier “homegrown” musical tradition had already arisen in the U.S. before the birth of jazz?

The blues

When did the blues rise to international attention?

The early 20th century

What would the blues especially leave its imprint on?

Jazz

Did jazz grow to be a bigger phenomenon than the blues?

Yes

What are the many meanings of the word “blues”?

It is “the music of people, a style of music, a type of performance, a despondent state of mind, and a musical form”

What does the blues style owe much to?

The music of the enslaved Africans who were brought to the U.S.

What does African music often involves what?

Group singing, frequently in a call-and-response pattern

What is a call-and-response pattern?

A solo leader presents a motif, and the chorus responds, either by echoing the motif or with a contrasting “answer”

What does African singing often incorporate?

Special vocal devices to embellish meaningful words or pitches, or the melismatic technique

What is the melismatic technique?

One syllable of poetry is set to multiple pitches in the melody

Where does an example of a melisma appear?

The Christmas carol “Angels We Have Heard on High”

Where in “Angels We Have Heard on High” is there a melisma?

In the refrain, “Gloria in excelsis”

What syllable in “Angels We Have Heard on High” flexes its way over a long, descending series of notes?

“Glo-”

What comprises the melisma in “Glo-” in “Angels We Have Heard on High”?

The multitude of notes paired with “Glo-”

What do scholars believe melisma in vocal music of many African cultures was influenced by?

The Muslim call to prayer and the embellished manner of reciting the Qur’an

What does the blues scale subtly modify?

The 3rd and 7th steps

Why does the blues scale modify the 3rd and 7th steps?

So that they are no longer in “tune” with conventional major or minor scales

What is a lingering reflection of the West African approach to pitches?

“Blue notes”

What does the blues scale make the resulting harmony seem?

Ambivalent: are we in the major mode or the minor?

What do people sometimes mean when people refer to blues-singing?

That a singer uses blues inflections

What are all the African characteristics of music?

Call-and-response, melismas, and blue notes

What is “singing the blues” a long-standing metaphor for?

Expressing sadness

What African characteristics found their way into the various types of music that enslaved people began singing in the New World, especially the blues?

Call-and-response, melismas, and blue notes

What 3 “core” chords are used in twelve-bar blues?

The tonic (I), dominant (V), and subdominant (IV)

What did jazz musicians describe each repetition of the twelve-measure pattern as?

A schorus

What did the systematic use of the chorus as a consistent harmonic foundation mean for blues performers?

The blues performers could play together without needing sheet music to guide them

Who sang “Singing the blues” for Columbia?

Guy Mitchell with Ray Conniff and his orchestra

What is the vinyl number of “Singing the Blues” from Columbia records?

40769 (CO 56636)

Who composed “Singing the Blues”?

Melvin Endsley

Who filed for the trade mark for “Singing the Blues” from Columbia Records?

Marcos Registrodas

What meter are the twelve-bar blues set in?

Duple or quadruple meter

What is especially important about the twelve-bar blues?

They often use a flexible rhythmic approach that lengthens the first 8th note in a pair and shortens the second 8th note

What would influence the “swing” rhythm associated with jazz?

The twelve-bar blues’ loose rhythm

What do blues singers also develop a typical approach to, in addition to the musical characteristics of the blues?

Blues singers also developed a typical approach to the style’s lyrics

What does a blues singer sing during the twelve-measure pattern?

3 phrases of poetry, with each phrase spanning four measures

What is a blues singer’s custom during the twelve-measure pattern?

To repeat the first line of text, usually with embellishments, before moving on to a new rhyming phrase

What do some scholars describe the third phrase in a blues twelve-measure pattern as?

The “punch line”

What is the diagram of the poetic pattern during the twelve-measure pattern?

a a b

Who spoofed the convention of the ‘a a b’ poetic pattern?

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber

When was composer Andrew Lloyd Webber born?

1948

When was Starlight Express released?

1987

Who made the musical Starlight Express?

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Who is Poppa?

An old steam engine that sings “Poppa’s Blues” in Starlight Express

What does Poppa do to the lyrics of blues songs in the musical Starlight Express?

He spoofs the lyrics

What does the first verse of “Poppa’s Blues” say?

“Oh the first line of a blues is always sung a second time.

I said the first line of a blues is always sung a second time.

So by the time you get to the third line, you’ve had time to think of a rhyme”

What does the second verse of “Poppa’s Blues” say?

“Oh, there ain’t no law that says third line got to be different at all.

I said there ain’t no law that says third line got to be different at all.

No, there ain’t no law that says third line got to be different at all.”

What is in Lloyd Webber’s satire of blues poetry, like any good spoof?

A great deal of truth

For how long has the color blue been associated with melancholy?

Hundreds of years

When was the term “blue devils” used to describe depression?

The 16th century

What was a common synonym for depression in the 16th century?

Blue devils

What is the primary purpose of the blues?

To help the performer get rid of those unhappy emotions; it is a form of catharsis to “sing the blues”

What takes no imagination to realize about enslaved Africans?

They had much to feel blue about in their new land

What is not fully clear about blues-singing?

When it first developed since it began as an unwritten tradition

What does the nickname “country blues” reflect?

The rural origins of the first known type of blues-singing, dating back to the late 19th century or earlier

When did country blues originate?

The late 19th century or earlier

What is usually present in a country blues song?

The singer is male, he often sings alone, perhaps accompanying himself with a guitar, accordion, or harmonica

How is a country blues rhythm described?

Usually quite free

What does country blues not pay strict attention to?

The usual twelve-bar pattern

What informal situations does country blues sing about?

Picnics, parties, roadhouses, and brothels

What is a country blues singer, usually?

Not cash but alcohol

What topics could a country blues singer sometimes sing about?

Love gone sour, or complaining about poverty or mistreatment by the government

What directly influenced the protest songs that arose later in the 20th century?

Country blues

Where did many of the first blues singers live?

The Mississippi Delta region

Who was one of the best-known singers of country blues?

Leadbelly (Huddie William Ledbetter)

What was Leadbelly’s real name?

Huddie William Ledbetter

How were the first blues singers’ approaches initially passed along by?

Word-of-mouth

What are the other names of the country-blues style?

“Folk blues,” “Southern blues,” “Delta blues,” or “down-home blues”

Why do we have to rely on recordings to get a full sense of country blues’ approach?

Because of its improvised nature

When were the first records of country blues made?

Quite a few years after the style had taken shape

Who were among the earliest recorded singers of country-blues?

Blind Lemon Jefferson and Huddie Ledbetter

When were Blind Lemon Jefferson’s songs start to be issued?

1926

What was Blind Lemon Jefferson’s lifespan?

1893-1929

What was Huddie Ledbetter’s lifespan?

1889-1949

When did Huddie Ledbetter release his first records?

1933

What country-blues singer made his recordings a little past the first wave of recorded country-blues singers?

Robert Johnson

What was Robert Johnson’s lifespan?

1911-1938

Why did Robert Johnson achieve quite a following?

Due to a mythology concerning a sudden improvement in his ability to play guitar after a 6-month absence

How long was Robert Johnson absent?

6 months

What did people think Robert Johnson did because he had a sudden improvement to play guitar?

Sell his soul to the devil

When did Robert Johnson make his recordings?

Mid-1930s

What was a younger cousin to the country-blues style?

The “classic blues” approach

What kind of characteristics did “classic blues” display?

More “big-city” characteristics

What is “classic blues” alternate names?

“Urban blues,” “city blues,” or “vaudeville blues”

What was “classic-blues” more, in comparison to country-blues?

It was more theatrical

What would the audience do in front of classic-blues rather than mimicking the party atmosphere of most country-blues performances?

The audience sat and listened

Many of the classic-blues vocalists are what?

Women

What were women in the classic-blues style supported by?

Fuller accompaniments of either a piano or sometimes a small ensemble of players

What is a combo?

Fuller accompaniments of either a piano, or sometimes a small ensemble of players

What was the poetry of classic-blues singers, like country-blues, frequently?

Autobiographical

What did the lyrics of classic-blues focus on?

Love and romantic relationships

Why was the rhythm of classic-blues less free than in the country blues?

Because of the customary participation of multiple performers

Were classic-blues often carefully planned?

Yes

What did early sheet music for blues songs usually represent?

The classic-blues approach rather than the country blues

What was W.C. Handy’s lifespan?

1873-1958

Who was W.C. Handy?

The earliest publishers of printed blues tunes

When did W.C. Handy release his first sheet music?

1912

Who was one of the greatest classic-blues singers?

Bessie Smith

What was Bessie Smith’s lifespan?

1894-1937

What has Bessie Smith been dubbed?

The “Empress of the Blues”

Why was Bessie Smith dubbed the “Empress of the Blues”?

Not only for her “cast-iron” voice, but also for the many, many classic-blues recordings she made