Genre of Music: Blues.
Publication: Woman's Era (2004)
(Copyright © 2004 Puja Goyal )
When I say I am listening to the Blues or I love the Blues, what does it mean? Few people listen to the Blues nowadays. Blues are heard by people who have the patience and time to spare to the genre of music. A few people say that, you need to be in the ‘mood’ to do the Blues. You need the perfect time, perfect ambience and the perfect state of mind to enjoy it.
The new age has seen not only fast food music, but also a deterioration of the otherwise classical breed of music. There has been fusion, conversion, mutation and cover version of previously released classics. The new age musicians pay a tribute to these classical artists by making cover versions of the music available. Blues have also succumbed to being a part of this rat race. The classics have been remade and revamped by numerous artists to provide a new age version to it. This has resulted in giving it a different shape that is more acceptable today. It takes some careful listening to actually discover what Blues infact are.
So what are the Blues??
The word ‘Blue’ refers to melancholia or depression. We presume that the kind of music that it is, the genre got its name from being Blue. It is the kind of music that was being played by African slaves. The slaves sang songs of their deprivation, pain and suffering. The black working class men and women created the Blues, it was therefore an expression of the minorities, and ways to release there anguish and pain. It was simple, raw, melancholic, poetic and sometimes ironic. The Blues reflected at their state of affairs and the discrimination against their rights, as a result of this, Blues had a hint of being somewhat offbeat and natural. They sang what came to their minds, making it very down-to-earth and personal to the singers as well as listeners. It looks like this is where the expression came from, “to rid yourself of the blues”… while singing they would express every emotion in them and bring everything out. ‘Blue’, a form of melancholia would be let out and they would share with each other their feelings. This could be one of the reasons why it is called the Blues.
Since slaves created Blues, they were usually illiterate and therefore needed to continuously improvise on it, or the link would be lost. This is one of the reasons why, when you listen to a Blues artist, you find that the feeling in each song connects very easily, and there is constant change. It feels like you are going through an emotional history class, because how everything has affected them becomes very clear through their expressive music. The genre needs no more explanation; a strong autobiographical nature and intense personal passion, chaos and loneliness executed so vibrantly that it has captured the imagination of modern musicians, who have innovated the style from there on.
Can people who are not black play the blues? There are mixed feelings to it. Some say that the Blues is not music it’s an expression, a feeling that comes forth in the form of harmony, and anyone who has been through hardship in life will appreciate it and can learn and play the Blues. It comes from the heart, and does denote a form of sadness and something that has in fact taken a form of oppression in an individual. Others say that it cannot be enjoyed and played by everyone in the new age, it’s only meant for the discreet and the whites cannot relate to it.
Many have confused the Blues with Jazz and Soul music. It is quite natural, they sort of sound alike. If you go to the roots though, you will realize that they’re quite different; you have to listen to the original Jazz, Blue or Soul music and not the remixed or fusion version of it.
The music consists of three line stanzas, where the first two lines is the same and the third line would have to be improvised upon and brought about on its own to coordinate with the first two. The second line is repeated in order to give the singer enough time to come up with an original third line. The third line would normally be a little different in tone. The Blues lyrics and music involves on the spot creativity. The words would not match the music, but the Blues singer modulates his voice and pronounces or eliminates certain words in such a way as to coordinate the music and the lyrics. There was harmony in the end and they could improvise on it whenever needed.
Blues artists like, Robert Johnson, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, and Charles Patton have influenced many rock ‘n’ roll bands of the century. They have found it easy to relate to the Blues and improvise on it. Blues have formed a classic base to many musicians. Rolling Stones have named themselves after a song by the Muddy Waters. Artists like Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton etc, have found their base in Blues and paid tribute to the genre of Blues through their music.
The new age has seen not only fast food music, but also a deterioration of the otherwise classical breed of music. There has been fusion, conversion, mutation and cover version of previously released classics. The new age musicians pay a tribute to these classical artists by making cover versions of the music available. Blues have also succumbed to being a part of this rat race. The classics have been remade and revamped by numerous artists to provide a new age version to it. This has resulted in giving it a different shape that is more acceptable today. It takes some careful listening to actually discover what Blues infact are.
So what are the Blues??
The word ‘Blue’ refers to melancholia or depression. We presume that the kind of music that it is, the genre got its name from being Blue. It is the kind of music that was being played by African slaves. The slaves sang songs of their deprivation, pain and suffering. The black working class men and women created the Blues, it was therefore an expression of the minorities, and ways to release there anguish and pain. It was simple, raw, melancholic, poetic and sometimes ironic. The Blues reflected at their state of affairs and the discrimination against their rights, as a result of this, Blues had a hint of being somewhat offbeat and natural. They sang what came to their minds, making it very down-to-earth and personal to the singers as well as listeners. It looks like this is where the expression came from, “to rid yourself of the blues”… while singing they would express every emotion in them and bring everything out. ‘Blue’, a form of melancholia would be let out and they would share with each other their feelings. This could be one of the reasons why it is called the Blues.
Since slaves created Blues, they were usually illiterate and therefore needed to continuously improvise on it, or the link would be lost. This is one of the reasons why, when you listen to a Blues artist, you find that the feeling in each song connects very easily, and there is constant change. It feels like you are going through an emotional history class, because how everything has affected them becomes very clear through their expressive music. The genre needs no more explanation; a strong autobiographical nature and intense personal passion, chaos and loneliness executed so vibrantly that it has captured the imagination of modern musicians, who have innovated the style from there on.
Can people who are not black play the blues? There are mixed feelings to it. Some say that the Blues is not music it’s an expression, a feeling that comes forth in the form of harmony, and anyone who has been through hardship in life will appreciate it and can learn and play the Blues. It comes from the heart, and does denote a form of sadness and something that has in fact taken a form of oppression in an individual. Others say that it cannot be enjoyed and played by everyone in the new age, it’s only meant for the discreet and the whites cannot relate to it.
Many have confused the Blues with Jazz and Soul music. It is quite natural, they sort of sound alike. If you go to the roots though, you will realize that they’re quite different; you have to listen to the original Jazz, Blue or Soul music and not the remixed or fusion version of it.
The music consists of three line stanzas, where the first two lines is the same and the third line would have to be improvised upon and brought about on its own to coordinate with the first two. The second line is repeated in order to give the singer enough time to come up with an original third line. The third line would normally be a little different in tone. The Blues lyrics and music involves on the spot creativity. The words would not match the music, but the Blues singer modulates his voice and pronounces or eliminates certain words in such a way as to coordinate the music and the lyrics. There was harmony in the end and they could improvise on it whenever needed.
Blues artists like, Robert Johnson, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, and Charles Patton have influenced many rock ‘n’ roll bands of the century. They have found it easy to relate to the Blues and improvise on it. Blues have formed a classic base to many musicians. Rolling Stones have named themselves after a song by the Muddy Waters. Artists like Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton etc, have found their base in Blues and paid tribute to the genre of Blues through their music.
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