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Contents About Blues 4 Blue Melody 6 WalkingBlues 7 BusyBlues 8 Lazy Day Blues 9 The Originsof Blues I0 The PromisedLand 12 On My WayHome 13 Followthe Leader | 4 Woodchopper'sWork Song t5 The FirstBlues 16 The HappyMinstrel 18 HoundDog Blues l9 Songster'sTune 20 Dime Rag 22 Recordingthe Blues 24 SwingingBluesfor Two 26 GracefullyBlue 28 TWelve-barStride 29 Four HandsBlues 30 Blueslnstruments32 Back Porch Blues 34 Up to Five Blues 36 Fishin'LineBlues 38 CountryBlues 40 MississippiRiver Blues 42 Black Cat Blues 44 PrisonCell Blues 45 Goin'EastBlues 46 PianoBlues 48 Crary Feet Boogie 49 ChooChooBoogie 50 Boogiefor Two 52 Blues in the City 54 After Midnight 56 The Runaround58 FunkyBassBlues 60 BluesToday 62 Listeningto Blues 63 Index 64
About Blues 1,,^- i- ^ ^+,,1^^( rur) ) d )Lyrc
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thatwasdeveloped by AfricanAmericansat the beginning of the 20thcenturyin the Southof the USA. It is nowoneof the mostlmponant musicalstylesin t n ew o n o .I n l s bookis about the historyand development of blues,withtunes to playand ideas for makingmusic. Theword"blues"is not nnl',
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sador melancholy stateof mind.Periormers sang these bluesto express feelings andemotions. Somebluessongstell of the hardlivesled by African whileotherstell Americans, the storiesof important eventsand peopleOthers I dealwith moregenera likehopes,dreams sublects and loveaffairs.
to getthe mostout of the music. Afterthat,the bookcoversthe l e v e l o p m eonltb l u e s l.clo'i.ad andgivesexamples of its various styles Tl-^
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fromeachother,but they different areall bluesmusic Youcan r t r r u t s| | | Z c 1 . , -
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ways.Theyarenearlyall basedon certainchainsand patterns of chords.Thesearecalledblues progressrons, anorneyare explained on pageJ9and in the book. elsewhere Bluesis also recognizable because it is usuallyplayedon a fewpopular instruments:
A bluesharmo ict:l knawnasa bluesharp
TheCibsanE533,, guitar .t papul6r u,ithblues
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harmonica. Most of ihe nieccs in
this bookare writtenfor piano nr Icvhn:rr]
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m a n yc o n r a l n p a r t st o r g u i t a r , h a r m o ni c a a n d othermelody f;:tl*&;r.n,,* ; instruments. T h e s em a y b e u s e f uI i f y o u w d n tt o p a y - n u cr w i t h l r r e n d .) o u c d n f i n d o u l m o r ea b o u tt h s o n p a g e6 3
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Playingthe tunes Thpre >ra hi,rp< trnac
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throughout the book.As wellas aboutthe tellingyousomething diffprenl hl,re*: vle* ea, L nrpe +i ^ - - L ^ , , f LrP> duuur
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musicwell.Themetronome markings at the startof eachpiece tellyouwhatspeedto play bul you mightfeelmorecomfortable About this book witha d ifferentspeed. Vnrrr:n:l
t r a c e st h e d e v e l o p m e not f t h e s t y l e f r o m i t s b e g i n n i n g si n
Recordsand stars Because bluesdeveloped at the
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The home of the blues Thismapshowsthe stateswhich
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and European musicto the historyis closelylinkedwiththe appearance of the firstblues growthanddevelopment of the tunes.Lateron youcanfindout recording industry. lt wasoneof aboutthe different typesof blues all overAmericaas the firsttypesof musicto become thatdeveloped popularon the basisof recordings the musicbecamemorepopular. stars.Youcanread Eventually bluesbecamethe and recording aboutthe historyoi recording, and AU ^d -\ i, - ^J F, - t, r, -UL! J \^,F +t r^J. U1 ^d .) -) ^I J^ J^ I, J, 1U t d I of bluesrecordson pages24and m u s i c e s p e c i a l l yj a z za n d r o c k . Towards 2 r T h r o u g h o uh e b o o l t h e r e ' the endof the aboutthe lifeand book,youcanfindout alsoinformation musicof manyof the mostfamous aboutthe influenceof blueson theselater b l u e smu s i c inas .
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America. It includes the main townsandcitiesmentioned in this book.Bluesoriginated in the Southern statesot Misslssippi, T e r a -a - d - o ui si an ad n dg r d d u d l l y spreadelsewhere.
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Blues scales and blue notes mostAmerican Bythe l9th century, and European But musicwasbasedon majorand minorscales. in partsof Africa,a lot of musicwasbasedon other scales.Somehad fewernotes,and some notesthat wereslightlyloweror scalescontained or European music.This higherthanin American affectedblues,whichdevelopedamongAfricansin lt is one reasonwhybluessounds America. differentfrom other music. playa C majorscale, To hearthe difference, followedby the main notesof a bluesscale. C moiotsfile
of moinnol?s bluesscale
notes Bluesmusicians alsoplaysomeindividual in the Forexample, of the bluesscaledifferently. theymightmake bluesscaleyou havejustplayed, the E flatand B flat sounda bit higher,nearerto E and B. Noteslikethis arecalledbluenotes.They malor makethe musicsoundas if it is "between" and minorkeys.Thismaybe whybluesmusicfeels sador "blue". Because thereis no noteon the piano betweenE flat and E. it is easiestto hearthe effectof blue notes if you sing them. Playthe bluesscaleagain,and singeachnote.Makethe E flat and B flat a bit higher(playE flat and E, then try to sing betweenthe two notes).You can do this on a guitar too, by "bending"the strings (seepage 35).To find out how to imitate blue noteson a piano,see page28.
Walking BIues ) =s2 5
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Blues rhythms Whenplayingblues,it is veryimportantto keepa steadyrhythm.Thispiecewill help you to practise this. Trylearningthe left-handpart first,making sureyou playthe crotchetrhythmveryevenly. Onceyou cando this, add the right hand notes overthe top, countingcarefully.Trynot to speed up or slowdown.
In a bluesband,the rhythmis usuallykeptsteady by the drummerand bassplayer.ln WalkingBlues, the left handpart imitatesthe steadypulseof a doublebassplayer,whichis knownas a walking very bass.If you playthe left handof WalftirqBlues quaver rhythmsin the rightwill be evenly,the easierto olav.
Busp- Blues
Syncopation you haveto play someof the notes ln BusrlBlues, on unusualbeatsof the bar.Thisis called is an importantpart of Syncopation syncopation. blues,becauseit makesthe musicveryrhythmic and energetic.It needspractice,but it will become easieronceyou arefamiliarwith how it sounds. Trytheseplayinghints:
part,thenfit the righthand Learnthe left-hand overthe top.Workout the rhythmscarefully, especially the restsandtied notes.Playevenly, withoutrushingor forcingthe rhythm.Listen so thatyou learn to the syncopations, carefully howtheysound.Themoreyou playBusqBlresthe easierit will become.
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Triplets ln LazqDaqBlLr€s, you haveto playthreequaversin the spaceof two. Thefigure3 abovethe first two groupsof quavers tellsyou to do this.Thesign sim.overthe thirdgroupmeansyoucontinueto playtripletquavers throughout the piece.Many bluestuneshavea tripletrhythm.Tripletsmake slowpiecesIikethis one feelrelaxed, but theycan alsoadd urgency to fastertunes.
Manybluesmusicians makethe firstquaverof a triplet groupa little longerand louderthan the others.Oftenthey also shorten(or "clip")the last one in the group Thiscreates a veryexpressive, "rolling"rhythm. Youcouldtry this with LazADaaBlues, onceyou canplay it. But makesurethat you alwayskeep the left handcrotchetbeatsabsolutelyregular.
The Origins of Blues rom the I 7th century
A new freedom onrva rds.millionsof A[ricans rveretakenby forceto the ln 1820a lawwaspassedbanning statesof America. Southern They lhe rlavelrade.No moreslaves w e r es o l da ss l a v e sm, a i n l yt o t h e werebroughtto America. ownersof cottonplantations. Gradually slaveswereset free By Bluesdeveloped in the l9th 1850therewereovera million ( c - 1 . . ' v- m o - p . . : v e .a n d t h e i r clescendants.
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Someof thesestylesof musicarestillfoundin partsof Afrrcatoday. Al ricafi n1Ltsida!$ IodaLl this man is plaLjut,l(:l drum matlt fron lheskin
afa fruitcalled arrourd \
u p t h e i ro w nc o m muni t i e s , churchesand s c h o o l sI n l 8 6 t afterthe endof the American CivilWar, was slavery outlawed altogether. HMMGIOB$ As the population [ * oi liberated
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Slaves weretaken from manycountries in AfricaWhenthey reached the United Statesof America, familieswereoften splitup and sentto d ifferentpartsof the This was country. largelybecauseslave s o d i dt h e ownerswanteoto demandlor w!t' r''TALBdta mr
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Slaveswereencouragedto adoptthe Christian religion. A llktnaf [10\,t, A|ri.an slavesutrc pttcked ilto I/ri .arqadech0f a slav lradels ship
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musicto accompany and songsof white themselves prayers American Protestants whiletheywereworking, or for but more purposes. religious Thismusic oftentheyinvented theirown. Oneof theirmostpopular formedthe basisof the blues.lt wasinfluenced by the stylesof methodsof prayerwasknownas response. Thiswas musicof theirhomeland, Africa, call-anda n da l s ob yt h e m u s i ct h es l a v e s probablybasedon similartypesof in Africa. hadheard in America. songthatoriginated
TIisi,r,(trirnra,rl adlled d balafon is a tuw al rL opltotle 'th( pl\Lt( hittfit sttipsof u'00.1 u'itlr[rr',itf rs Theri,1q-shaul d papular fotn ol u,orship an,1 dance amonq Alrican Ameicans, a1 orryinald Wfsf A/,'i.d
ln call-andrespon se prayers, the p r e o . L e rS d r g < e c l : o n 5o l d t u n e . dr u
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r e p l y .I n t h e l 9 t h c e n t u r y t, h i s w a s o f t e n d o n e t o a c c o m p a n ya d a n c e c a l l e da r i n g - s h o u w t , h i c ha l s o o r i g i n a t e di n A f r i c a .A g r o u p o f s i n g e r ss t o o d i n a c i r c l e ,t h e n m o v e dr o u n d ,s i n g i n ga n d c l a p p i n gi n t i m e t o t h e m u s i c
A s f r e e ds l a v e ss e t u p t h e i r o w n c hu r c h e s ,t h e y o r g a n i z e d c h o i r st o s i n g t h e i r o w n r e l i g i o u s m u s i c .B y t h e I a t e l 9 t h c e n t u r y , t h e r ew e r et h o u s a n d so f c h o i r s , a n d a n e w t y p e o f r e l i g i o u ss o n g t h e s p i r i t u aI , h a d b e c o m e p o p -l " I \ ^ i r ' A l r i , " n A n e . i r a n S o n r es p i r i t u aI c h o i r sb e c a m e v e r yw e l l - k n o w na,n d m a n yb l u e s
performers had theirfirst contactwith musrctnrougn churchchoirs S o m eb l u e s musicians, especially t h o s ei n countryareas, i n c l u d ead selection of relio orrc cons<
workparty calledout a command, andthe workers shoutedor sanga replyin rhythm.Thishelpedthem to keepin tlmewitheachotheras theyworked. Convi(ls lrcn a prisan campbrcakinqra.hs
Hollers " H o i l e f i s A m e r i c a ns l a n gf o r " s h o u t " .H o l l e r sw e r e n o t
intheir perform ances.
Thelish lubil.eStnqes.tl lapular ) 9th cenlLtrqspi rilual .hair
c o m p l e t es o n g s ,b u t s h o r t f r a g m e n t so f w o r d sa n d m u s i c l n ( o u n u ) d r e d ' .\ , \ o r k e l-sa g t h e ' . h o l l e r sa l o n e a s t h e y w o r k e d ,o r Work songs w h i l e w a l k i n gh o m e f r o m t h e Peoplehavealwaysusedmusic fi e l d s S o m e A baqbrihqhq songsandchantsto maketheir w o r K e r sa t s o reltesh,,/ttnt ta peaple u,arhuqtn Ihe fields worklessboringandto keepin u s e dh o l l e r s time rvitheachother.Slaves and t o c a l lt o nlher wn"l e.. rle r, nnpd .n-, ir e a c ho t h e r , rhythmicchantscalledworksongs s e n d i n g l o r u o r d i - ae l r e r ro r i o ^ . d u r i ^ g m e s s a g e s the hard,physical workthat they fromone hadto do.Thesetasksincluded f i e l dt o t h e
fellingtreesandwood-chopping, layingtrackson the railroad, dockwork, cropp i c k j n ga n d b r e a k i n gr o c k s I nere were d i i f e r e n ts o n g s t o s ui t t h e a c l l o n so t e a c n typeof iob. W o r ks o n g s u su al l y h a d s t r o n gr h y t h m s and were often b a s e do n c al l | le
leaderof a
Many singers c o u l db e by their
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l9lh (tnlurq v'arfu$ latltnqrailroadtracks
d i s t i n c t i v eh o l l e r s w h i c h t h e y l y u s i n gs p e c i a l m a d ep e r s o n a b s i n g i n gt e c hn i q u e s .T h e s ei n c l u d e d y o d e l l i n g( aI t e r n ai tn g r a p i d l y b e t w e e nh i g h a n d l o w n o t e s ) , f a l s e t t o( hi g h - p i t c h e ds i n g i n g ) a , nd g l i s s a n d(is l i d i n g )T h e s ec a l l sa r e f o r e r u n n e ro s f t h e v e r yp e r s o n a l . rle- O' o-p b ue-petlO.-teL i k e e a r l yf i e l d w o r k e r s m , a n yb l u e s . i n p e " \ r . ei r - - n t v r e ,n p - z - l - l e b y t h e w a y t h e y s r n go r p l a y .
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Slavesand freedom "Thepromisedland"is a commonphrasein Mostspirituals werebasedon bible spirituals. stories.The lewishpeople'sreleasefrom slaveryin Egyptwasa populartheme.Forthem.the promisedlandwasIsrael.ForAfricanslaves, the phrasehad two meanings.It referredto the ideaof heaven, andto the possibility of beingfreedfrom slaveryon Earthtoo.
Playing this tune Landis a call-and-response song(see ThePromised pagel0). Thefirst two barsof eachline would be sungby a preacher. The nexttwo barsarethe response. Whenyou can playthis congregation's tune,try singingit, on yourown or with friends. play or To get the effectof call-and-response, preacher's part make the loudly. Then the sing part quieter. reply congregation's
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About this tune Becou>e On rnAWau Ham? i. a ' o ler lseepdgeI | | it wouldhavehad no accompaniment. Youcan singit, playit on a melodyinstrumentor useone handon the piano.Takecarewiththe rhythms.
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Recordingthe past Today,workersno longersinghollers.However we knowwhattheysoundedIikefromearlyrecordings of fieldworkers. Theseweremadein Mississippi in the 1940s by American iolk-song researchers.
Working in rhythm S o m ew o r l ,> o n g s l.i k et h e o n e o p p o . i L eh d d q u i l e s l o w r h y t h m s .T h e yw e r e m e a n tt o h e l p w o r k e r sl i f t h e a v ya x e so r h a m m e r sb e t w e e nt h e m a i n b e a t s . were faster Slaves Others like FollowtheLeader. s a n gt h e m t o e n t e r t a i nt h e m s e l v e sw h i l e t h e y w o r k e d ,a n d t o m a k et h e r r j o b s l e s sb o r i n g .T h e . o ' T r n " o lne d t u l eo l a l l w o r ks o n g ri . t h e i rs t r o n g e n e r g e t i cb e a t ,w h i c h l a t e r b e c a m eo n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n tp a r t so f t h e b l u e s s t y l e .
Playingthis tune TryplayingFallow theLeader as a duet,with a likea violinplayingthe top melodyinstrument l i n e .O r p l a yi t a sa p i a n os o l o- a st h et o p l i n e with the bottomtwo,it canbe hardlyoverlaps playedwithoutleavinganynotesout. Or to get effect,playjustthe the propercall-and-response make the rhythmssound bottom lines. To top and play Ds in bars2 4.6and the repeated energetic, 8 witha slightaccent.
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Work songs Thisis a worksong,and wouldhavebeensungby a leaderand a chorus.Playit on the pianofirst, a n dw h e -y o ua r ef a m r l r awri r hl h e I u n e .s i n gr h e words.Woodthopper's WorftSongwjll sound most effectiveif it is sungby a group.Picka leaderto p h r a s ea,n dg e tt l - eo t h e ' sr o s i n g s r n gl h e o p e n i n g t h ec h o r u s :l u s tc h o p p i nw o o d C l a p s. r a m po. r youseerhe banga tambourine or drum,wherever word"CHOP!". Thiswill helpyou keepin rhythm.
day
when you re
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Recording the past Likehollers,worksongsslowlydiedout in the first halfof the 20thcentury, mainlybecause mostof the traditionallabouringjobs weretakenoverby machines. Bythe 1940s, theyonlysurvived among Blackinmatesof prisoncamps.Thesepeoplewere forcedto do hardphysical workas a punishment. Manyworksongswererecordedin prisonsby (peoplewho studythe historyand musicologists development oFmusic),as lateas the 1960s.
The First Blues Minstrel hits t hroughvariouskindsof inmentsand shows. enterta Youcanfindout moreabout thesebelow.Pagesl8-23 of the showexamples diflerenttypesof musicthat playedand showperformers madepopular.
Minstrel shows Minstrelshowsbecame verypopularin the second halfof the l9th century the Minstrelgroupsperformed songsanddancesof traditional plantation and slavesat theatres concerthallsall overthe country.Theseshowsoften and comicsketches contained otheractstoo. Il;is pi o't ol Lt minstrelgtuLtpclllledthe u,ssllhen ltun 4 copu Elfti0pi4xSc/p,riiddrs ol |hei t[e 'nusi(. publithedin lB47
I Thefirstsuccessfu minstreltune waslump linrCrou,,by Thomas D. Rice.lt wasbased on a songhe had heardin the Iate1820s. T/risiilustr"tiorurds I6kcnf[on lh. evr al u shctl-hlusietd,itiar o/ T/1ofl.rsD Ri.d's 'lump lin Cto\ti
Theearli-^st lngs knownrecord musicby of AfricanAmerican AfricanAmericans areof minstrel banjo playingby IamesandCeorge Bohee,madein Londonabout 1890.No copiesof theserecords haveyet beenfound,but we know aboutthemfromadvertisements. Bythe endof the l9th century, hugesolesof the sheetmustcfor the minstreltunesdemonstrated styles popularity
a b o u t a d y i n gg a m b l e r ,c a l l e dS t . lamess lnfirmarqBlues. S o m e b a l l a d st o l d o f h e r o e s , real and legendaty.C6seU lones i s b a s e do n t h e l i f e o [ a r e a l t r a i n d r i v e r .H e d i e d o n A p r i l 2 9 , i ,h e nt h e 1 9 0 0i n M i s s i s s i p pw t r a i n h e w a s d r i v i n gc o l l i d e dw i t h a f r e i g h tt r a i n .O r d e r i n gh i s b l a c k lireman Sim webb to iump from t h e c a b J o n e ss t a y e do n b o a r d t o a p p l yt h e t r a i n s b r a k e sr i g h t u p to the momentof impact. T h e b a l l a d l o h nH e n r l jt,h eS t e * D r i u i nM ' a n ,w h i c h t e l l s t h e s t o r y of a fatal battle betweena steeld r i v e ra n d a m a c h i n e ,m a y b e b a s e do n a n a c t u a lw o r k e ro n t h e C h e \ d p e a k e . r dO hi o l a i l r o " di r W e s tV i r g i n i ai n the 1870s.
Songsters As wellas minstrelsongs,early performed material bluessingers musrcal from manydifferent Blacksingersin traditions. rural areasoftenadapted were folkandcowboysongsas Thefirstminstrelperformers white,but afterthe Civilwar, w e l la so l d b a l l a dtsh a tt h e y Ratlroadballadsnercaften beganto form learnedfrom immigrants AfricanAmericans pefiormedbg sonqskrs theirown minstrelgroups.They who hadcometo Americafrom dl ove' becaneverysucLP.siul wereknown Europe. Thesesingers B a l l a d sw e r en o t o n l y a b o u t the UnitedStatesof America. . nesong as songsters. h e r o e sa n d h e r o i n e sO Manyearlybluesmusicians, Oneof the mostfamous t e l l s o f a g a m b l e rc a l l e dS t a c k i n c l u d i nW g .C . H a n d y( s e eS t a r rs wasHuddieLedbetter O L e e ,w h o s h o t a n d k i l l e da n songste File)sangminstrelsongsand whobecameknownas Leadbelly o p p o n e n t ,B i l l y L y o n s .T h e b a l l a d tookpartin minstrelshows. ( s e eS t a rF i l e )H . e i s s a i dt o h a v e F r a n k iaen dl o h n n i tes t h o u g h t t o minrtrel hit than 500 songs. W C . HandLis known more h a v eb e e n i n s p i r e db y a w o m a n Tlr. iJr.ft-,!sir for t'tritlenlar Lard vritlen l,rfTffrr.r Blfifs dnd"Di{iett Lard la) Bru.rnt MirrstrPk
Songsters'ballads Manysongster balladsweredrawn from Europeanfolk songs Tllc Rdfre, a Britishballad unfortunate an abouta dyingsoldier,became American cowboysong, Laterit TheDqingCor,6oq. becamea bluessong
, ho n a m e d F r a nk i e B a k e r w l o v e t , A l b e r lB r t t ti n m u r d e r e dh e r i n 1 8 99 st. Louis october Tla slrr?l-fl?fijrr lor 'Slach Let ba O Fxf,r_rLel('is.ri i!,pirdl so,r4sl?rs[]ali.id
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performers helpedto popularize earlybluesin theAmerican South. Tentshowsmovedfromtown to town,settingup in marquees for a fewnightsin eachplaceThemost famoustent showwasSilas Creen's RabbitFootMinstrels, fromNewOrleans. Manytent showperformers werewomenwho sangabout life and its problems. Theywereoften accompanied by smallbandsof musicians. IdaCox(seeStarFile) wd) d wel knOwntent showsinoPr
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Medicine shows Afterthe American CivilWar, manydoctorstouredthe country Theybroughtwiththemspecial medicines of theirown invention, whichtheyclaimedcouldcurea widerangeof ills.To attractand entertain customers, they shows. Many organized early bluessingers tookpartin these medicine shows. Crcwdsqalheraraunda da(Laf s waqoh lo v,alchlhefreeutarlahnehl
BluessingerldaCox ( 1896-| 967)loineda minstrelshowasa in theatres by the ageof 14. With her nasal,resonant singing style, she performed in a very traditional style.
Shecomposed manyof her own songsincludinglda Coxt LawdyLowdyBluesandI'veGot the Nuesfor RomportStreet.She is consideredby manyto be one of the finesteverfemaleblues singers.
knownasthe Fatherof the Blues.He beganhis careerasa cornet soloisttouringwith Mahara'sMinstrels.Laterhe led playing a bandin Mississippi, ragtime(seepage22) and minstrelmusic. He published manysongs, ( l9l2) including Blues Memphis ( l9l4), which andSeLouis Elues were the first widelysuccessful bluestunes.
LEADBELLY Leadbelly(Huddie Ledbetter,1889-1949) was a guitarist and singer.By the ageof I5 he was a famousmusicianin L o u i s i a n ab ,u t i n l 9 l 8 h e w a s sent to Drisonfor murder. In the 1930s,JohnLomax,a collector of folk songs, discoveredLeadbellyin jail.He arrangedfor Leadbellyto be releasedand beganrecording songs,includingHoneyI'm AllOut andDown(l 935) and Goodnight lrene( 1943).
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The minstrel tradition AfricanAmerican singers and In the late 1860s, groups. minstrel began forming their own dancers Thesequicklybecamemorepopularthanthe Theyperformed earlierwhiteminstrelperformers. playsand comicsketches basedon plantationlife, musicas wellas songs andoftenusedreligious and dancetunes.Bythe 1890s, blackminstrel showshad becomepopularall overAmerica.
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Minstrel tunes Theearlywhiteminstrels basedtheirsongson simpleEuropean dancetunesof the l8th century Later,blackminstrels addedAfricanAmerican rhythmsand madethe melodiesmoreelaborate. Sometimes theyalsoaddedcall-and-response (see pagel0) likethe onesin this tune. sections gently,but makesureyou PlayTheHappqMinstrcl rhythmsstrictlyin time. keepthe syncopated
The first blues songs in the first Thestylewe nowcallbluesdeveloped decadeof the 20thcenturyamongtent-show songsters and minstrels. singers, Mostof thesepeopledid not readmusic,so theymadeup wordsandtunesas theywentalong. Thisis calledimprovisation. As the startingpoint musicians oi bluesimprovisation, usedstandard patternsof chordsand rhythms, calledblues progressions. Theseprogressions werewell-known b y l 9 l 0 b u l m a yh a v ee x i s t e ldo n gb e l o r et h i s
How blues progressionswork Hound DoqBlires usesa progression knownas a l2barblues.It is a patternof chordsbasedon the first,[ourthand fifthnotesof a majorscale,lasting twelvebars.Belowyou can seethesechordson the scaleof G major.shownby the Roman numeralsI, IV and V.
Bluesprogressions canbe playedin anykey,but theyarealwaysbasedon the chordsbuilt on the first,fourthand fifthnotesof a scale.The l2-bar progression repeats chordsI, IV andV, one chord perbar,in a strictorder,overtwelvebars.Below you canseehowthis worksin G major(thechord numbersareshownin brackets aftereachnote). b a r sl ' 4 :
C (l) C (lV) C (l) C (l)
bars5-8: C(lV) C(lV) C(l)
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b a r s 9 - 1 2 :D ( V l C ( l v l G ( l ) C ( 1 ) Manybluestunes,includingHound DogBlaes, use this pattern,or otherssimilarto it. But no two bluestunessoundalike.Eachmusicianusesthe patternas the startingpointfor improvisation, on pages6-9,blue addingthe features described notes,syncopations, and morecomplexchords Laterin the bookthereis basedon bluesscales. moreaboutthis,andabouthowto improvise.
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Recordingthe past weresomeof the firstpopular Songsters Recordings fromthe musicians to be recorded. l a a O
tuneswould showus howsongster HenryThomas, Thomas havesoundedin the late l9th century. theSteeldrivin his versionof lohnHenrq recorded Mantn 1927,playingbothguitarand reedpipes.
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But slowlythe guitarbecamemorecommonand popularamongbluesmusicians. Like it remained wereaccompanied minstrels, someearlysongsters by othermusiciansBut likemanybluessingers, performed mostsongsters aloneto theirown gulIaraccompanrn.renr
Playingthis tune TrySangsler s Tlireon the pianof.rst Countvery carefully, takingcarenot to rushthe syncopations. Whenyouarefamiliarwrthit, youcouldask especially a someone witha melodyinstrument, violin,to playthe top line.
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From ballads to blues in Europe. Manysongsters'ballads originated Theywereoftenveryslmplefolk tuneswith basic quite harmonies. Theywerealsorhythmically as they wereoften basedon the straightforward, rhythmsof Europeanfolk dances.Thefirst pageof bailad s|ngste(s Tuneis typicalof an earlysongster with European origins.
Songsters addedAfricanAmericanfeaturesto the ballads. Theyusedsyncopation, flattened notes fromthe bluesscalelseepage6),and highly ornamented vocallines.Thisgaveballadsa new character, makingthemoneof the mostdirect forerunners of blues Youcanhearthis on the secondpageof Songsler's Tune.
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Rags and ragtime Anotherforerunnerof blues,ragtimewasa dance ("ragged") rhythms musicbasedon the syncopated of AfricanAmericanmusic.It developedat the very mainlyout of the dances endof the l9th century, and marcheswrittenfor minstrelshows.Unlike songsters' balladsand otherpopularmusicstyles of the period,ragtimepieceswereoftenwrittenby trainedcomposers.
ln ragtime,the irregularsyncopations of African "smoothed gradually American musicwere out" into a fewstandardrhythmicpatterns.The most commonof theseappearsthroughoutDimeRag, in bars5 and6. and firstappears Today,ragtimeis usuallythoughtof as a styleof pianomusic,but therewerealsoragsfor bands and manyragtimesongs. andorchestras,
Playing DimeRag Tryplayingthe left handon its own a fewtimes untilyoucangetthe quaverbeatssteadyand even.Thenadd in the righthand,countingthe Playsmoothly, and don't carefully. syncopations be temptedto rush.
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Ragtimefirst reachedthe generalpublicat the Exposition, a tradefairthat World'sColumbian 20 million 1893. Over place in in Chicago took peoplevisitedthe event,andwereableto hearthe musicfor the firsttime.It rapidlybecamepopular Therewerea numberof the country. throughout BenHarney, including famousragcomposers, Scottloplinand lamesScott.
Thehugepopularity of ragtimehelpedearlyblues W. C. Handy'sMenpftis to reacha wideraudience. publishedin l9l2 with the subtitle"A Blues, SouthernRag',wasone of the firstgenuineblues all overAmerica. tunesto becomesuccessful Ragtimewasgoingout of fashionby the startof WorldWarI, but by this time blueswasan styleof popularmu:ic. established
Beeording he manresponsible forthe fir
the Blues
Establ'I-edperfo"ners d so p dyed a partin bringingnewartiststo the
Race records
pianistandcomposer Perry Manycompanies maderecords Bradfordln t920 L o n n i el o h n . o no c t u a l lw d s specially l orkea for the AfricanAmerican he convinced talent scoutsthemselves market. Thesewereknownas 'race theoKeh records(blackAfrica ns at that A growing industry recording timeottenreferred to themselves c o m p a n yt h a t I n t h ee a r l y1 9 2 0 sn e wb l u e s as "theRace) Theyweremarketed ,,,^.-. ,,^! ^r ^ -^, ^ ^r "^-^"-J wherever therewasa largeAfrican l a r g em ar k e t aboutonea week.Fewpeoplehad A m e r i c apno p u l a t i o n u s uaI l y radjosso buyingrecords for blues wasthe throughlocalrecordstores, wayto hearnervblues records. easiest newspapers and magazines songs.Theearliestbluesrecordings Other known c o m p a n r e sweremadeusinga process as acousticrecording. s o on r-rrdin. Sn'ne ' tch ac o tl4.tcL
followed O K e hs example
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Bluesformeda largepartof the racerecorocatalogues, especlally l u s i c i a nl isk e t h e m u s i co f r u r a m Weaver Sylvester and Papa CharljeJacksonBut racerecords werealsomadeby theatreand jazzmusicians, revueperformers, preachers and religious and si n g e r s .
sentmobilerecording unitsto recordthem.Theagents appointedby recordcompanies w e r eu su al l y w h i t eb u s i n e s s m e n , p a r l . c - l d r l oy ,a l ' e c o r dd e " . r New record companies w h ok n e ww h a tk i n do i m u s i c liked. t heirblackcustomers 1942, the American Federation 'liris 'jL1ri4ri,r'i ln l,r(rslar'.1rsa Lr,.i\ us,lil{rlr1)(ilaa Someagentsbecameexpert Musicians, America of s largest u?,?ltrr5n'.i /lirrrru/iialirrrrilrln(ri ar)ltr,'\ talentscouts.Henry organizationof professional Snicr< : mll
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SecondWorldWartherewasa shortage of shellacTherecord companies usedtheirstockstc o r e r .r e c o " db. v r h e i .b e - L- e l l r n g artists Veryfewof these performers werebluesmusicia ns, ..r blue.bepa-to be -eglertedby manylargerrecord c o m p a n r e sA. s a r e s ul t o f t h e s et w o factors,new, independent companies
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In 1920, Perry Bradford wrote two songs:Ihot lhing Colled Loveand You Con't Keepo GoodMon Down. He persuadedOKeh to allow a popularbluessinger,Mamie smith (1883-1946)to record them. The records attracted a lot of attention in the black community.Her secondrecord, Crozy Bluesand ltt Right Here For You( | 920) was the first ever blueshit, selling100,000copies in a month.
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record ing olues a r ti s t s .
Ch.ssChan.ea d vee-lat/ !,trcamo q then r i ntlI pt 11 deI t recortl labels
W h i l es o m e
establishedartistslike S o n n yB o yW r l l i a m s o n , BrgBill Broonzy and Memphis Minniecontinued to workfor the m a l o rc o m p a n l em s a n yy o un g e r perlo'ner>bega" ei o'drnglol he newones Bythe 1950s, labels
Bluesrecordingtoday I n t h e 1 9 5 0 sa n d I 9 6 0 s t, h e a u d i e n c ef o r b l u e s c o n t i n u e dt o c h a n g e( s e ep a g e6 2 ) . l t s o r i g i n a l a u d i e n c ei n A m e r i c ad e c l i n e d ,b u t b l u e s b e c a m ep o p ul a r e l s e w h e r e I n d e p e n d e nct o m p a ni e s t o o k a d v a n t a g eo i t h e n e w a u d i e n c e s , i n v e s t i n gi n b l u e s r e c o r d i n gw h e n m o s t o f t h e l a r g e rc o m p a n i e s would not. Many independent c o m p a n i e ss t i l l s u r v i v e , c o n t i n u i n gt o f i n d n e w a r t i s t sa n d p r o m o t et h e i r w o r k .
MaRainey(l 886-| 939) is knownasthe Pridgettin Columbus, Georgia, she appearedin the Eunchof B/ackberies TolentShowat the age of 12.Shebecame a blues,jazzand vaudeville singer, touringwirh rhe RabbitFootMinstrels andthen with her own GeorgiaJazzBand. Ma Rainey mademorethan 100 recordingsfor the Paramount company.Today,her best remembered songsareprobably SeeSeeRider( | 924)and Soonthis Morning(1927).
B E S S I ES M I T H BessieSmith,known as the "Empressof the B l u e s "( 1 8 9 41- 9 3 7 ) , was probablythe most famousfemalebluessingerof all. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she beganher careersingingin the sameshowsas lYa Rainey.By the early 1920s,however,she was the star of her own shows,and toured all over America. Her first recording, Downheorted Biues( 1923)was an immediatehit. Her other hits includeJ.CHolmes 8/ues( 1925) and YoungWomon's 8/ues( 1925).
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Playing this tune Blues Swinginq forT!r0is a duet for a melody (suchasthe recorder, instrument fluteor violin)and piano.Youcanalsoperformit asa pianosolo, playingthe top and bottomlinesfrombar5. During the top-Inerestsin barsI I and 12,youcouldfill in the gapsby playingthe chordson the middleline
Blue notes on a piano ' l s L o u l dn o t a l t e rt h e p i l (h e . o n d B u e 5p r d r 5 p i a n o t o p l a y b l u e n o t e s ,b u t t h e y d e v e l o p e dw a y s . f r m i t r i i n o t h e n i t . h h , . n d c n f. g u l l d f l < - s a 1 0
singersTheydid this by playingtwo notesa semitoneapartand 'crushing" themtogetherAs p i a n o nthe1920s t h eb l u e s s t y l ed e v e l o p ei d quickly becameone of its most crushednotes r- \^r'r-t 'F..rtre(, Tharc ire noieS like f ht> in
Cracdull,q Bluc,shownas smallnote-heads
Playingcrushed notes Therearetwo waysto playcrushednotes.Fjrsttry s o u n d i ntgh es m a l ln o t es l i g h t l by e f o r e t h em a i n notethat followsit Thentry overlapping the small n o t ew i t ht h e m a i no n e s o t h a ty o uh e a rt h e m togetherIn quiettuneslikeCrctrelall4 Blurthe o v e r l a sph o u l db e s h o r t B u ti n e n e r g e tti uc n e s , piayingthe two notestogetherlor the entirebeat makesthe musicmorepowerfulTrythis in bars4 and8 of Tweirp-bar Stridc on the oppositepage
Stride piano Thistuneis in a styleknownas stride,which in Harlem,NewYork,around1910. and developed in the I920s.It is reached the peakoI its popularity \ l - n l . a rlt^O -r^d^ rgi *l^' T l eLO . J, + Iil -. ll ^d- rs^ -l e rd n o - a S T f Oe - L e n o > t c l ' i k i n gf e . l u r e e n e r g e t i.cv n c o p a t r o n T o f s t r i d ep i a n o i s t h e e l a b o r a t eb a s sl i n e ,w h i c h h a s w i d e l e a p sa n d d e e p ,e m p h a t i cb a s sn o t e s i n t h e l e f th a n d . ^:-:l^-
Playinga stride bass Practise the lefthandslowly,gettingusedto the largeleaps.{lt canhelpto "chop the lowestnote with the sideof yourfifthfingerbut dont hit the keystoo hard) Thenaddthe righthand Tryto 'ure p l a yr h et u n ea i t t l el a - t e re a c ht i m e .m a k i n g you keepthe rhythmsolid.Dont stopif you mrss the leaps' keepplayingto the end,thengo back and practise anybitsyou finddifiicult.
5
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A blues duet Thistuneis a duetfor two pianiststo playat one piano.lt will be easierto learnif bothplayers practiseboth parts.Thiswill makeeachperson familiarwithwhatthe otherhasto play.PartA is the higherpart,for the playeron the right.PartB is the lowerpart,for the playeron the left.To help you keepin time, counta fewbarsof 4/4together at the correctspeedbeforeyou startto play.
PartB shouldbe steadyand solid,with a clear, firm bassline. Givethe syncopated chordsin bars 2 and l4 a slightaccentto adda "kick".In partA, as try playingthe dottedquavers and semlquavers if theyweretripletquaversSplitthe crotchetbeat into threeinsteadof four,and playthe semiquaver on the thirdcount.Thismakesthe musicsound relaxed at the sametime. andenergetic
More about improvising Biues is a classic twelve-bar tune.The FaurHands f i r s t . t i mbea r sc o n t a i n d t u r n a r o u n da' ,p h r a s e that leadsbackto the starto[ the progres:ion Thismeansyoucanplaythe l2-barsection betweenthe repeatsignsas oftenas you like.If you do this,the personplayingpartA couldtry to (makeup a newsolopart).On the right improvise area fewtipsto helpyoudo lhis.
phrases Theright-hand in bars5, 6, 9 and l0 are called"fills".TheyIinkthe mainsections of the yourown fills.Ar firstyou tune Tryimprovising couldalterthe rhythmsof the writtenfilis,or changesomeof the notes.Listencarefully to the result.As you becomefamiliarwiththe effectsof youwill become changing the notesand rhythms, moreconfidentaboutimprovrsrng.
Blues Instruments luesperformersuseda varietyof musical instruments.Someof theseweretradltiona lly popular amongfolkmusicians, while otherswerehomemade for a particular purpose. On page48 youcanfindout aboutthe piano, whichwasalsopopularwith bluesplayers
Guitars Cuitarsareamongthe most popularbluesinstruments. Easrlyportableand reasonably cheapto buy, guitars originated in Mexico andwereintroduced to the USAby Mexican workers.
Amplified blues gurtarsbecame Electric available in the i930s.Theywerepluggedinto amplifiers to makethemlouder. Manybluesmusicians playedin noisyclubs,so electric guitars quicklybecameimportantto them.
Mandolinsand banios Ma dahnshar'(d qubt, dehele soundIh4! [M|e eiqfl]sltinqs
violin to accompany b l u e ss i n g e r s .
tL:pe olquilar d Cibsotl E5335 hdsbettnplayedbt1nanq bluesntusicianslikeChuckBerrq
A Htirtiiar|uitat is plaqetlflat across th! kna.t vilh L1nrlal tubecalledu slide
Cuitarists alsousedthe neckof a h^ttlp
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Bluesmusicians used gultarsto producea varietyof sounds.A knifebladedrawn alongthe strings produced a whining sound.Thiswasprobably inspiredby a typeof guitar calledthe Hawaiian gultar.
Violins
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andolrnw s ,hi c ho r i g i nlal y tame from ltaly,wereoften used by bothearlybluesplayers and Southern stringbands Thebanio,an instrument of Africanongin.waspopularwith mi n s t r e lasn ds t r i n gb an d s .
Somebluesbandsused harmonicas knownas blues harpsA harmonica hasthe same rangeas a violin,but is cheaper, moreportableandeasierto learn A,harmanica is a sndll rilir flrr,trilft'r'ds
Homemadeinstruments M a n yb l u e sm u s i c i a n s especia lly thosein poor ruralareas.madetheirown instruments froma selection of everyday objects.
oitenwornon one finger,to producethiseffect.'Bottleneck ^. -li..l^ ^l^.,i-- '-^--*^ ^ !/r rluc prdynrg usLd||rE d
widespread technique among bluesguitarists.
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CHARLEY PATTON fug bands In the I920s,groupscalledjug They bandsbecamepopular. playedhomemade instruments inciudingthe largeearthenware jugsthat contained beeror wine.
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Thereweretwo maingroupsof jug bands,thosebasedaround M e m p h i .T e f f e s s eaen dt h o . ei n L o u r s vl ei .K e n t u c kIyn M e m p h i s . the bandswerefairlyprimitive, but bandswereoften the Louisville moresophisticated. Bothgroups werestronglyinfluenced by jazz minstrels andemployed players andothermusiciansThey includedbluestunes waltzes, -,,-i-
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\@/ ?"::ti];iiliffi:'." Tennessee, and hatedthe discipline of olantationIife. Patton had a gruff, unpolished singingvoice.He useda bottleneck,sometimesplayingthe guitaracrosshis knees,Hawaiian style.His recordingsfor the Paramountlabelincludedsongster tunes like Frankieand Albert(1929) and soirituals.His most famous bfuessong was PonyBlues(1929).
M E M P H I SM I N N I E Minnie Memphis ( 1896-| 973)was probably the most importantfemale bluesguitarist.Shegrew up in Memphis,Tennessee, and moved to Chicagoin 1928.Her first husbandwas the guitarist Kansas Joe McCoy, and together they recorded a series of vocal and guitar duets. She later worked with many other Chicago musicians. Her recordingsfor the Vocalionlabelincludedthe bestsellingBumbleBee(l 930) andJoe LouisStrut( 1935).
SONNY BOYWILLIAMSON SonnyBoy ( 1897Williamson 1965)wasoneof the greatestblues harmonicaplayers.He was born in Mississippi, andwas originally known as RiceMiller.When he beganto broadcaston the radio in 194I, he borrowed the name SonnyBoy Williamsonfrom anotherharmonicaplayer. Williamsonwas over 50 when he nradehis first recordings.In | 955 he had a hit with Don? Stort me to Tolkin',backedby Muddy Waters and his band.
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Playing this tune haspartsfor up lo Lhreeplayers BaJ Par(hBlues prano part,whichcar be playedor ParlB is the play the dottedquaversand its own.Trynot to in the left handtoo rigidly- thinkof semiquavers to getan them moreas groupsof tripletquavers authenticbluesrhythm. There arediaqrams in thistuneanpaqe63 for theguitarchotds
Abovethe music,thereareguitarchordsto addto different the pianopart.Youcoulduseseveral rhythmsfor them.Tryplayingon the secondand fourthbeatsof the baronly,or strumin timeto t h e l e l th a n do [ t h ep i a n o \ , 4 a k>eu r ey o u! L d n g e Iromone chordto t\e nextin tLe riph-n are
E B C D E
A solo part ParA l i s a s o l on e o d yl i - e Y o uc a np l a yi I o n a flute,violinor recorder, or anyothermelody instrument. It will alsosoundveryeffective on a guitar.Thetablaturenotationon the lowerstaff mayhelpyouto workout whichfretsto playon eachstring.
String bending If you playthe soloparton a guitartry bending the stringeachtime you playtop C. Thiswill help to createan authenticbluessound.Playthe note, thengentlymovethe fingerholdingthe string down,pushingthe stringtowardsthe centreof the g u i l a rn e c kT. h ep r r c \o f t h e n o t ew i l lr i : e: l r g h t l y .
Blrres five to fJP
Playing this tune Up to fivepeopleeanplaytl- s IUnetogelher.Here abouthowto do this: aresomesuggestions As a solo:Youcanplaythe pianoparton this p a g eo n i t so w n T h er h y l h m: h o u l db e r e g u l . r but put a veryslightaccenton the firstquaverof eachpair.Thiswill makethem"roll"a little. when youarefamiliarwiththe music,try to play boththe top and bottomlineswith the left hand you carefully, only.lf youworkout the fingering c a nd o t h i : l o r m o < lo f l h e l u n e O n c ey o uc a n manageit, try addingthe melodylineon the oppositepage.It may be hardto readfrom both pagesat once,but it will becomeeasierwith practice. recordthe musicon this Alternatively, page,eitheron tapeor in the sequencer of an electronic keyboardThenaddthe melodyline overthe top. Tl1erc arcdiaqrams f|r thequilar.ha s i l[1islu e a paqe63
As a group: Geta guitaristto strumthe chords abovethe pianopart,usingthis rhythm' 4t \r, ' t I '.. 4 )
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As longas someoneplayseitherthe pianoor guitarpartson this page,youcanadd anyor all of you like. on anyinstruments the partsopposite, played witl' Thene ody lrneopoo.rte-ould be to one handby anotherpianist.Or asksomeone - harmonica (see playit on a melodyinstrument oppositeJ, flute,violin,or recorder. Belowthe melodytherearepartsfor two rhythm instruments. Useone,suchas a drum,for the noteswith stemsgoingup,and another,suchas a tambourinefor noteswith stemsgoingdown.Or b l n wi n r h y t h mo v e | h e n e . ko f a l a r g eb o t t l et o imitatethe soundof a jug band(seepage33)
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Bluesharmonica
Playingthis tune on a harmonica
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instruments, one for eachkey.Often,insteadof usinga harmonica in the keyof the tunetheyare playing, theyuseone in the keya fifthbelow.This is calledplaying"cross-harp". Forexample,lJpto FiveBLres is in the keyof G, but a bluesscaleon G containsF natural,whichis not available on a harmonica in C. So you haveto u s e a C h o r m o r < a' , , ' h i t h p l a l ' l n a l l a l a n dp a 1 cross-harp Most 'mouthorgans" available from t^\/ !r^ra!
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Holdyourharmonica so the holethat playsthe highestnotesis at the right.Mostbluesharps haveten holes,whichmaybe numbered upwards fromIeftto right.In the music the numbersabove the notesshowyouwhichholeto play.Thearrow pointingrightmeans"blow";the arrowpointing left means"draw'.So for the first note,you blow youdrawthrough throughhole6 Forthe second, h o l e5 . Whenyouplay,put yourlipstightlyoverthe holes.Thiswill helpyou directthe airflow.You canbendthe noteson the drawby stoppingthe holewithyourlip or tongue.Whenyouclearthe holeafterthis,the notewill bendupwards. Try you alteringthe way breatheand experiment with blowing d i f l e r e rht o l e -t o o L os e ew r r . r r r a k e ' the rrelodysoundrrostexpreq
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The top line Youcanplaythe top lineof this tuneon any instrument, but a slideguitarwouldsoundbest (seepage32).Forthis tune,you Usea bottleneck will onlyneedthe D andG strings.
Eachtime you haveto repeatthe noteA, slideup to the notefromslightlybelowit. Thiswill bend l h e mn o r ee x p r e s : i v e . t h e n o l e ss l i g h yt m a k i n g Youcando this withthe top C too.
Playing this tune Youcanplaythis as a pianosoloby readingthe two lowest l i n e so r a d dr h er o pl i n eo n a m e l o d yi n s t r u m e nr st e eb e l o w r Thebeatof this tuneshouldveryrelaxed. Clipthe lastnotein gl pdge get very edchlriplet slightly{5ee to a goodrhyLhrr.
More about improvising sectiona fewtimes,the If you playthe repeated person p l a y i n tgh e m e l o d yl i n ec a ni m p r o v i sae solopart.Basethis on the writtenline,but try the rhythms. addingin othernotesand changing
At frrst,not everynoteyou playwill soundgood w i t hl h e a c c o m p a n i m eint t a k e st i r r et o l e a r r whichnotesfit best.Themoreyou listenand experimentthe easierimpro\isi'rgbecones
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partsof America. different In the 1930sa styleknownas country bluesbecamepopular.lt was b a s e do n t h e n u s i r o f t h ee a r l i e , t n r . n r u r aa r e a s b l u e 'p e r f o r e but it becamepopularthroughout AmericaTherewerethreemain centresof countryblues:the Mississippi, Texasandthe East Coast(seemap).
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Mississippi or TexasManyblues Texasblues to \/ielchrrro Th]<.:rc: i< nltcn artistsfromthisareahada relaxed Texasblueswasa stylethat considered to be the birthplace m u s i c aslt y l eT. h e yi n c l u d e Blind n f h l , r e < T h p n n n r r l e ti r , n u , : < B l a k eB, l i n dw i l l i eM ' T e l lB u d d y originated in the Southwest of majnly madeup of black M o . . B l n d B o 1F u l J earn d B r o r r n i eAmericaManyTexasbluessongs plantationworkersThoughthese M'Chee. aremorestronglybasedon peoplewereno longerslaves, storiesthan Mississippi blues manyof themstill livedin severe songsSub jectsincludedversions povertyand hardship. o f t h eb aI l a d s
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Blindperformers haveaIways playedan importantpartin b l u e sm u s i cU . n a b l teo d o manualwork,they turnedto musicto e a r na l i v i n gW i t ht h e enhancedsenseof h e ar i n gt h a tb l i n d nannla
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ROBERTJOHNSON Texasis verycloseto Mexico,so Texasbluesplayerswerevery f o m i l i owr r l hM e x i L am r u s i . .T h i b influenced the playingof Blind LemonJefferson and manyothers.
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RobertJohnson ( 1 9| l - 1 9 3 8w ) as born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi. In the mid-1930she recordedmany songswith field unitsin Texas, includingHellhoundon my Trail (1937), I Believel'll Dustmy Broom (1936) and Ramblin'on my Mind ( 1936.He died at the ageof 26, probablyfrom poisonedwhisky. Johnson'svoiceand bottleneck guitarstyle influencedsome importantbluessingers,notably ElmoreJamesand MuddyWaters.
BluessingerSon House(Eddie James, 1902-1988)is thought by manybluesexperts to be a typicalMississippi blues performer.Onlyfour of his recordings wereissuedin his lifetime. Theseincludehis masterDiece Preachin' the Blues ( | 930),with its half-shouted lyrics guitar playing. andbottleneck The recordssoldso poorlythat a copy of one of them hasnot yet been found.Housewasrecordedagain by the Libraryof Congressin l94l and 1942.
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L E M O NJ E F F E R S O N The best known Texas bluesperformeris BlindLemonJefferson ( 1 8 9 71 - 9 3 0 )H . i ss i g h t had deterioratedduringhis childhoodand he madea livingby singingon the streetsof various towns throughoutTexas. With his high,clearvoice he mademore than 80 records between 1925and | 929. His besrknown songsincludeB/ockSnoke Moon (1927) and Motch 8ox Elues ( | 927).His songswere recorded by manyother bluesartists.
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Playing this tune to singor playthe top line,or learnto singit Asksomeone ) o u r - e l f T o d ( c o n - p d - \ i l . u s e L h ep ' d n o o o r l o r l h e g - l l d r
playthe tuneon the pianoalone, chords,or both.Alternatively readingthe top andbottomlines.Addsomeof the chordsfrom the middlepartduringthe gapsin the top line.
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A new kind of bass line ln Bla&CatBlues, the melodyis in the bassline,so playthe lefthandclearlyand firmly.Keepthe right-hand chordsevenand fairlyqulet,and fit the syncopated basspartaroundit. Thismayieela bit trickyat first,but it will geteasierwith practtce. There arediagrums h lhistuneonpaqe63 fo/ lhequitar.hords
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Other ways of playing this tune Thereareguitarchordsabovethe music,which youcouldasksomeoneto strumwhtleyou play part.Or aska cellistto playthe leftthe left-hand handpart,and accompany it withthe right-hand ol the pianopartor the guitarchords.
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Minor-key blues progressions Mostbluestunesarebasedon majorkeys,but (seepagel9) do existin minor bluesprogressions keys.Prison CellBlues hasminorchordsin placeof the usualmajorchordson the firstand fourth noteof the scale.
Playingthis tune Playthis pieceas a pianosolo.Makethe crotchet but not too loud Once chordsfirm and steady, you arefamiliarwith the tune,you couldadd the or get someone words.Eithersingthemyourself, play you elseto singwhile
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Piano Blues sldles\^here f n lhe Soufhern Boogie woogie b l u e s o r i g i n a t ep d i d n o \w e r e I I m a i n l yf o u n de i t h e r n Whijebarrelhouse developed in r L u r c h eosr r n b a r . A s a r e . u l l ruralareasanotherrtyle ooogie p i a n ob l u e si s c l o s e l lyi n k e dt o ^ o o q ' ew . a rp e r f o ' n e oi n t i l y o a r . c h u r c hmu s i ca n dt h e m u s i ct h a t and clubs.Boogiewoogieis faster waspopuiarin bars. and rhythmically morecompiex Mrrir! lrl&.spi.txisls/prtrntl Ia plau in than barrelhouse Jtacquiredjrs B:tplisl chrlt. h$ p roridit,4 t1o: pd' nt usiclrtr namefromthe 1928recording pinf \Nooqie Tops Baaqie by Clarence " P i n eT o p 'S m i t h ( j 9 0 4 1 9 2 9 T ) .h e s t y l er e m a i n epdo p u l aur n t j lt h e e a r l y1 9 4 0 s ;o m eb l u e sa n dj a z z p i a n i s tsst i l lp l a yt u n e si n a boogiervoogie styjetoday
BDoqbn,1aqtc pldl|d dl p|rtits tllt u,.re |,L:ts otttl\tztd bu poor Ah.tc.lnAnericltls Io rai.r naneqta partthpu.rerl
JIMMYYANCEY JimmyYancey(1894I95l) firstworkedasa tap dancer,but retired from showbusiness in
Barrelhousepiano ManyAfricanAmericans worked iellingtreesin the forestsof Texasand Louisiana. Afterwork theywentto localbarscalled barrelhouse T sh.er o u g hd, r i v i n g pianostylethat developed there is knownas barrelhouse. Two famousbarrelhouse pianistswere W i l lE z e lal n dC h a r l i S e pand. T0 d.t d lorid lorrr'falsoLord tliatc|uLl b. /r.iiri ir ['r r 6.r,t//iofis.li.t/iiils cft(il put ttl.L\,spdpt!r l)dtitltll/tr,slrirds 0r rIfful lii.,ii i,t l/r. /i.i rkr5
1925to becomea groundskeeper ' for the ChicagoWhite Sox,a baseballteam. He developeda serene. melodiousversionof boogie woogie.He first achievedfame in 1936when the pianoplayer Meade Lux Lewis recorded his composition YanceySpeciol(l 936). After this, Yanceymademany recordings,includingYancey's BugleColl (1940).
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Slim,sangand a c c o m p a n i ehdi m s e lof n t h e p i a n o . His playingwas in a rough, powerful style that had its roots rn rural barrelhousemusic. At the ageof 24 he hitcheda ride to Chicago,where he workeo as a pianistin Big Bill Broonzy's band.He toured Eurooein the 1950sand eventuallybecamea regularper{ormerin LesTrois Maillets,a club in Paris.
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About boogie woogie T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n tf e a t u r eo i b o o g i ew o o g i e i s t h e b a s sl i n e ,w h i c h i s a n e l a b o r a t ev e r s i o no f t h e w a l k i r gb a , * r q e t pr d q e7 r N , l a n^ya r l r b o o g i eb a s l i n e sw e r ei n e v e nq u a v e r sl ,i k et h e o n e i n t h i s t u n e . l n l a t e r b o o g i ew o o g i et u n e s ,t h e b a s s r h y t h m sw e r eo f t e n m o r e c o m p l i c a t e dl i k e t h e o n e s o n t h e n e x t F o u rp a g e s .
1
Playingthis tune Boogiewoogiebasslinescanbe fairlydifficult. Practise this one slowlyuntilyouaresureof the notes.Tryto "roll"yourhandacrossthe octave leapsas smoothlyas youcan.(lf youcannot playbothquavers stretchthe octaves, on the lowernoteof eachpair.JWhenyoucanplaythe left-ha-p d c l rc o r l i o p r l l yt ' y b o l l -h o r d . o g e ^t e r
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Playing this tune lf youplaythe dottednotesexactlyaswritten,theywill soundtoo rigid.But if youdividethe beatintotriplets, as on page30,it will makethistunesoundtoo relaxed. A true boogiewoogierhythmis somewhere in between the two - not too strict,but not too lazv.
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44
A classicboogie bass line partin thistuneis Thedottedrhythmleft-hand oneof the mostcommonboogiebasslines."Roll" yourlefthandacrossthe keys,makingthe bass notesringout. Practjse it slowlyat first,then speedup whenyou aresureof the notes.Cliooc}ioo Booqir soundsbestplayedat around. = I 10, thoughmanyboogieplayers wouldhaveshownoff theirtechnique by playingit farfasterthanthis.
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Special effects Manyboogietunescontained specialeffectsor "novelty"passages. ln Choo ChooBooqid thereare j r r l o l i o n so f t h ew hj s te 5o n A m e r i c a' nr e i g l - t trains.Thesignbetween the stavesin bars17,l9 and23tellsyouto alternate between the G sharp andthe B flat,as quicklyasyoucan,for the whole bar.Thistremoloeffect,whichis oftenheardin b l u e so i a n op a Si n g r . r i lrle e da l i l l l ep r a c ct e
Baorlie forTwois a duet for two peopleat one piano.Playthe left handof PartB an octavelowerthan written
I 12- 134
S e ep a g e5 I f o r a n e x p l a n a t i oonf t h e s l g ni n b a r s l - 3 5 , 7 9 a n d 11 o f t h i s p a r t
Blues in the City T n t h ee a r l yp a r to f t h e2 0 t h I century'.manyAfrican I Americans movedfromrural areasof the Southto major c i t i e sm , a i n l yj n t h e n o r t ha n d east.As a result,the character of blueschanged
City entertainment Manymigrants to the big cities iacednewhardshipsrvhjchwere mainly causedby overcrowding and poverty.
Migration
Chicago Chicago became the focusof b l u e sd u r i n gt h e 1 9 2 0asn d l 9 3 0 s A serjesof duetsby the singer L e r o yC a r r( | 9 0 5 1- 9 3 )5a n dt h e guitaristScrapper Blackrve ll ( I 903-1962 amongthe first ) \.\,ere recorded examples o[ cityblues.
In the 1890s809/. of the total population AlricanAmerican livedin the ruralareasof the American South.Butgradually the e \\erefeuerand fewerjob> there.Plantationsclosed,or becamefarmedby machinery T h ed a y so f r a i l r o abdu i l d i n g wereover,andtherewasless rd workbecause dockya there werefewercargoboatson the rivers.ManyAtricanAmericans movedto largecitiesin the industrialNortheast of the USA A {i,1)r}t 0f fiusiri4r(pld!,ll. Ihrfs d!lsrdf a ,1rrr-dor|rr nprirlfirrrlfrlorii
T h e s eL o u g hL o f d r l r o n sp r o d u c e d a - e \ ^ f y p eo f b l u e . .k n o " , , n c i l y ". b l u e s .C i t yb l u e sw a sa m o r e a g g r - . s s i vset y l et h a n c o u n t r y i-1,,^-
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groups,with instruments suchas saxophone or trumpetlshown below) Bluesbecameless
feelof countryblues, expressive but theirmelodies weremore regular. Therhythmsweremore i n s i s t e natn du r g e ntth a nm a n ) / countrybluesrecords.
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arranged,with musicians playing together.
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Theywantedto findlobsanda betterstandard oi living.and hopedto escape the raciaI discrimination that wascommon in the South By 1950, only20"/" n m e r . L d r, sL i ' l r v e di n o f A f r i c aA the Southern states. Thishugemigration of people ch an g e dt h es o r i a l a n d ic econom structure o[ America. It wasone of the importantfactorsin the growthof bluesasa majorform of popular music.
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BIG BILL BROONZY p l a y e r s i,n c l u di n g M u d d y W a t e r s( s e eS t a r F i l e ) ,L i t t l e W a l t e r ,a n d H o w l i n gW o l f.
Blues elubs betame vertlpoptLlar in all .ities tfu n6iarAmerican
Big Bill Broonzy (William LeeConley Broonzy,1893-1958) grew up on a farm in Arkansas,before settling in Chicago in 1920.There he learnedto play rhe guirarwirh a light,liltingsyle.In the 1930she becamea leading figureamongbluesguitaristsand vocalists,providingmusicthat peoplecould danceto. Broonzytoured Europein the | 950s.His hits includeJohnHenry ( f 95l) and Blocl<" Brownand White(l 951), a protest song.
MUDDYWATERS
I n t h e i a t e 1 9 4 0 st h e r e w a s
increasing demandfor blues. Therewerebluesclubsand r a d i os t a t i o nisn a l l t h em a j o r cities,and salesof blues recordscontinued to grow.
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morerelaxedstylewasmade popularby artistssuchas T BoneWalker. l n M e m p h i sb,l u e sr a d i o stationsandthe record industrymadebluesvery popular.OneMemphisDJ became the mostlmportant post-warbluesmusician, B. B. King (seeStarFile).
post-warbluessingers.He starced playing bluesin Mississippi. In 1943he movedto Chicago andbeganto record.He successfully adaptedthe bottleneck styleto the amplifiedguitar,usinga slide.Touringextensively, he was later particularlypopularwith whiteaudiences. Hisrecordings includeI m vourHoochie Coochie rVon( | 953)andGotmy Mojo Working( | 955).
B . B .K I N G Probablythe best known bluessingerof any period is B.B.King (RileyKing,b. | 925). His initialsstandfor "BluesBoy" He worked in Memphisas a DJ and madehis first record in 1949.He taughthimselfto playthe guitar. King performedwith a mixture of speechand song.In the 1960s,he becamethe idol of Britishrock musicians suchas Eric Claptonand MickJagger.His album"There Must Be a Better World Somewhere"won a Grammy Award in 198| .
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In manybluessongs,oneof the musicians, such d ( a g u i l d r i 5oLr k e y b o a rpdl a y e ri m . p r o v . s ea . solopartin the middle.Thisoftenlastsfor the ' . r s te . g h lb a r so l h e l 2 b a ' p r o g r e . s i oar n d the singerjoinsin againfor the lastfourbars.Bars 17to 24 of thistunearewrittento soundlike this typeof solo,but youcouldimprovise your own Makeit lasteightbars
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Blues Today ln T n t h e l d t el q 5 0 st h ea u d i e n ( e AlbertCollins11932-19931. performers t o b e g d n d e c l i n e . Chicago, several f o r b l u e s I "* adaptedB B King'sguitarstyleto I o t h e rl y p e :o [ m u s i cb e . a n e popularwithAfricanAmericans C L c a o , -h l , P \ . , f l ' n p h e i . r r r > i c Manybluesperformers loundthey " W e s tS i d eS o u l " .M a g i cS a m l e d couldno longerselllargenumberst h e f i e l d i n t h e d e v e l o p m e not [ t h i s f a s t - f i n g e r egdu i t a rs t y l e .H e of recordsin the faceof fromnewstylesof w a s l a t e rf o l l o w e db y O t j s R u s h , competition s n d M a g i cS l i r r musrclikerock-a nd-roll. l i m m yD a w k i n a interestin blues However Modern blues increased amongyoungwhite particularly audiences, Artistswho havecometo students, bothin prominence sincethe late 1980s Americaand Europe. includethe TexansKennyNeal This encouragedblues ( b . 1 9 5 7L)a, r r yC ar ne r a n d artistslikeB B. King, S o nH o u s ea n dl o hn L e e H o o k e rt o
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aud iences. As people investigate the roots of rockan d - r o l l , E/i,isPr.t[,q they realized that it haddeveloped fromblues. Thisled newaudiences to discover popular. it remained blues,so Manyrockmusicians of the 1960s wereheavilyinfluenced by blues
JOHN LEEHOOKER JohnLeeHooker (b. l9l7) grewup in Mississippi but later movedto Detroit.
Particularly adeptat combininghis voice and his rather limited guitar playinginto a singleinstrument, he is also given to accompanying himselfwith his tappingfoot, to hypnotic effect. Long recognizedas an influential bluesfigure,in the 1990she suddenlybecamea superstarwith a series of recordings includinglhe Heoler( 1990) and Mr. Lucky(1990).
Guitar stars
ROBERTCRAY
l n t h e 1 9 7 0tsh e r ew a sa f a s h i o inn bluesfor instrumental solosby ''guitarstars. Thesemusicians includA e l b e rK t i n g( 1 9 2 3 - 1 9 9 2 r , FreddyKing 11934'1976) afi
Roben Cray (b.1953) is probably the bestknown bluesstar of the 1980s.He was born at Fort Benning,Georgiaand grew up playingjazzand soul beforediscoveringthe blues. A talentedsinter and guitarist, he formed the Robert Cray Band in 1974.They releasedtheir first album,Who'sBeenTolking,in 1980.Their pure bluesstyle has popular. becomeincreasingly Cray hasregularlyplayedwith Eric Clapton,Keith Richards, B.B.King,and Chuck Berry.
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Index 24 acousticrecording. A k i c a ni n f l u e n c e ls0 - l I Alexander, Texas40 A m e r i c aC n i v i l W a rl ,6 l 7 b a l l a d sl ,6 2 l 4 0 b a n j o2 0 , 3 2 barrelhouse,48 b e n d i n g , 63.5 B e r r yC, h u c k , 3 2 Blackwell, Scrapper. S4 B l ' n dB l a k e , 4 0 otues amplified,32 c i t y 5 45 country40-I downhome,54-t EastCoast 40-I i m p r o v i s a t i o4nl 9 instruments.32-3 M i s s i s s i p p4i0 -| n o t e s , 61. 9 , 2 8 o r i g i n sl 0 , - I L l 6 -1 7 p i a n o 2. 2 .2 8 .4 7 .4 8 .4 9 .5 1 progressions. 4, 19.45.59 recordin5 g ,. 1 3 ,1 5 .2 4 - 5 4, 0 .4 l . 5 5 r h y t h m s7, 9 , 1 4 scales,6 l9 s o n g s1 9 ,5 7 Texas.40 B o h e eJ a m easn dC e o r g eI.6 boogiewoogie,48,49,5l boogiewoogierhythm,5l bottleneck. 32.33.38.40.4l Bradford. Perry.24,25 BroonzB y ,i gB i l l . 2 5 . 4 85, 5 B r y a nM t i n s t r e l sl 6, L a r r o r n t a) ) 2 c a l l - a n d - r e s p os n o sn eg s1. 0 ,l l , l 2 l 4 l 8 Carr.Leroy,54 CaseU l6 lofies. C h i c a g o5 , 5 4 5 5 6 2 C o l l i nA l b e r t6 2 c o t t o np l a n l a t i o n sl 0, l 6 4 0 .5 4 countryblues,40-l C o x .l d a .l 7 Cray.Robert,62 cross-harp,37 crushednotes,28,47
I|ute.27.35.36 Franhie andlohnnie, 16 F u l l e rB. l i n dB o y , 4 0 C a r n e rL a r r y , 6 2 C i b s o n8 S 3 3 54 , 3 2 C r e e nS. i l a s l,7 g u i t a r4 . 2 0 ,3 2 3 4 3 8 . 4 3 H a n d yW, C . 1 6 .1 7 , 2 3 h a r m o n i c 4a . 1 2 .3 6 .3 7 H a r n e yB. e n . 2 3 Hawaiianguitar,12,33 H e n d r i xJ.i m i6, 2 h o l l e r sI 0 l l , l 3 homemadeinstrumen 3 t2s- 3 H o p k i n sL,i g h l n in' 40 H o u s eS o n ,2 4 4 0 ,4 l l l o w l i n gW o l f t 5 i m p r o v i s a t i o1n9. .3 l . 3 9 .5 9 instruments.32-3 l a c k s o nJ.i m 4 . PapaCharlie.24 lackson. l a m e sE, l m o r e4. l l a m e sS, k i p 2 4 4 0 B,l i n dL e m o n4, 0 ,4 l lefferson , 16 lot TurnerBlues Mafl,16.20 )IhnHennjthesleel-dririh l o h n s o nL, o n n i e2 4 l o h n s o nR, o b e r t4 l l o p l i nS . cott.23 i u gb a n d s3, 1 .3 6 lumplimCrow,16 Kcxsns Cil!,Birrs,4 King,Albert.62 K i n eB , B. t5,62 King.Freddy62 l6 Leadbelly, Lewis Furry,I6 L e w i sM e a d eL u x , 4 8 Littlewalter.55 Louisville,5,33
EastCoastblues,40-I 24 electricalrecording. l6 EthiopianSerenaders. E u r o p e am n u s i c6. . 1 6 .l 8 E z e l lW . i l l ,4 8
MagicSam,62 M a g i cS l i m , 6 2 m a n d o l i n s3 2 J\{'Chee, Browni,40 M ' T e l lB, l i n dW i l l i e4 0 m e d i c i n seh o w s1 7 M e r n p h i s5 , 3 3 ,4 0 5 5 Memphis Blues23 M e m p h iM s innie,25,33 M e m p h iS s l i m .4 8 m i n s t r e l s1.6 .1 7 .1 8 ,l 9 s h o w sl,6 - 7 .2 2 .3 2 Moss,Buddy,40
flanenednotes,2l
NealK , enny.62
D a w k i n sl i m m y6 2 Dixie s Land,l6 d u e t s t 4 2 6 ' 7 .3 0 - l .5 2 ' 3 16 DainqCautboA,The
N e wO r l e a n s5,, l 7 NewYork,5. 29 P a t t o nC, h a r l e y2 4 3 3 , 4 0 PetersonLucky62 p j a n ob l u e s2, 2 .2 8 4 7 ,4 8 ,4 9 5 l 48 PifiaIops Boagb\'Joaqie RabbitFootMinstrels17.25 racerecords24 ( a g t i m e1. 7 . 2 2 . 2 j . 2 9 R a i n e yM. a .2 5 recordcompanies,24-5 j5,36 tecotdet,27, recordin5 g 1 3 1 5 , 2 45 . 4 0 4 l , t 5 r e c o r d i nugn i t s , 2 4 . 2 t r e l i g i o um s u s i c l 0 -l l , 4 0 K t c el,n o m a 5u , t o r i n g - s h o ul 0t - l l R o b e r t s oS nherman,62 r o c k - a n d - r o5l.l 6 2 R u s hO . tis.62 S c o t tl.a m e s . 2 l s h e l l a c2,4 .2 5 s l a v e s1 0 ,l l , ] , 2 ,l , 4 , 1 6 s l i d eg u i t a r3, 2 3 8 > r n t I .f u e 5 5 r e2 r Smith,ClarencePineTop" 48 5 mt t n .M a nt' et 2 ) s o n g s t e r Is6, , I 7 , 1 9 ,4 0 S p a n dC h a r l i e4 8 S p i e r sH. e n r y . 2 4 s p i r i t u a l sI ,L I 2 Blues. l6 St.lawss lnlirmarq l6 Sld.[O'L??, stridebass.29 stridepiano,29 stringbands 40 s t r j n gb e n d j n g3 t s y n c o p a t j o8n ,] ' 8 . 2 1 , 2 94 7 t e n ts h o w sl,7 1 9 ,2 4 ThomasHenry20 t r i p l e t s , 95, 7 twelve-bar blues.19.57.59 The.16 UnforlualcRake, Vicksburg,5.40 v i a l i n2 1 , 2 7 . 3 23 5 3 6 W al k e rT B o n e . 5 t walkjnb g a s s7 W a t e r sM. u d d y3, 3 4 l 5 5 WeaverSylvester24 W e sS t i d eS o u l , 6 2 Williamson S.o n n yB o y 2 , 5 .l 3 w o r ks o n g s1. 0 .l l . 1 4 Yancey. Jimmy.48
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64
LEARN TO PLAY
BLU
Learnto PlayBluesisa complete introduction to the bluesfor young musicians, tracing thefascinating history of oneof theworld'smost popular photographs, styles Words,archive of music. detailed illustrations andover30 tuneschartthedevelopment of bluesfrom the worksongsof AfricanAmerican throughto the present slaves day. Thetunescovera widerangeof bluesstyles, andaresuitable for playing on a pianoor electronic keyboard. Manyalsohaveadditional partsfor melody instruments, aswellasguitarchords, lyrics, percussion ideasandsuggestions for groupperformance. Specific bluestechniques, suchaspianostride, slideguitarandthe "cross-harp" harmonica stylearecarefully explained, asaremore general ideaslikebluesharmony andimprovisation.
ISBN 0-?'lh0-Ih?8-h
f 8.99 lsBN0 146016786 JF AIVIJJASOND/95
madewith paperfromsustainable forests
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