Feeling Blue by Jadah Best

By: Jadah J. Best

Background

As a result of the slaves being freed many of them decided to move up North. With their migration they brought along the “Blues” which originally came from deep within the South. The Blues unlike the musical genres that came before weren’t spiritual. The lyrics usually describe some type of heart break, an unfortunate event or bad fortune. Often time the “Blues” are categorized by it’s call and response like pattern . The Blues are often described as portraying a depressed/ sad feeling.

The Structure

Traditionally the Blues were a single line that was sung over 4 times. However, now for the most part the songs are composed of 12 bar-lines. Within the last couple of lines there shouldn't be any lyrics. AAB is the form in which the Blues are written in.From the beginning to the end of the song a story is supposed to be told. The main detail of the story will be presented by the 12th line.

Types of Blues

Delta Blues

Delta Blues are known to be the oldest type of blues. in most instances the harmonica and guitar is the musical instrument that is played. This style of the blues is greatly influenced by the region in which it was created. It is called the Delta blues because it comes from the Mississippi Delta. The songs are sung with an abundant amount of soul.

Classical Female Blues

Classical Female blues also known as vaudeville blues were sung by woman during the 20’s. A small jazz ensemble or piano usually performed along with the female singer. This type of the blues were the first to be recorded.

Dirty Blues

The Dirty Blues is the only type of blues that wouldn’t be considered to be appropriate for all audiences. In this type of blues; sex, murder and drug use are frequently expressed. There have been times were those type of songs were banned from the radio.

The other type of Blues are Chicago Blues, Twelve-Bar Blues,Country Blues, Texas Blues, Jug Band, Memphis Blues and Gospel Blues.

Important Blues Artist

These artist have built a name for themselves through this genre. Their voices told stories of pain and sorrow heard by thousands.

B.B. King is considered to be “The King Of Blues” because of the incredible influence he had over this genre of music. King was a producer, guitarist, as well as a singer- song writer. His song “3 o’clock Blues” was his first record to reach number 1 on the Billboards.

Bessie Smith aka “The Empress of the Blues” was one of the, if not the most popular female Blues singer. Her first record ” Downhearted Blues” was a hit and allowed for her to become a house hold name.