The Origins of Blues Music
The origins of Blues Music are defined by the deeply rooted history of African song traditions and culture. Musical traditions such as spirituals, work songs, and field hollers. We’ve also covered many of these musical traditions in our class time. All of these musical traditions are significant and signify the wide array of emotions that Black people experience. These emotions range from positive to negative. The joys, struggles, and hopes of Black people are relayed through Blues Music, along with a multitude of musical genres.
Blues Music also has roots in the Post-Slavery era. After slavery was abolished, the Black community experienced a wide ray of emotional turbulence. Blues Music (as did many other genres) became a way for Black musicians to create music that helped to cope, express, and tell how emotional/impactful the Black experience truly is.
Where Blues Gained its Notoriety
Blues music gained its traction in Mississippi. The Mississippi Delta is almost always referred to as the birthplace of Blues music. After the Blues gained its traction in Mississippi, there was a significant wave of development in places like New Orleans, Louisiana, and Chicago. Although these places are all different in nature, they all played a role in how Blues music sounded and traveled across the world.
Different Types of Blues Music
Blues Music is identified by a wide variety of different types. These different types of Blues Music all share similarities but also have a very distinct sound that is specific to each of them.
- Delta Blues– Heavy guitar use and emotional lyrics
- Chicago Blues– Electric instruments, with a more urban feeling sound
- Texas Blues-A mixture of country music, swing music, and blues music
- Jump Blues– Upbeat tempo with a swing influence
- Soul Blues– Blend of blues, jazz, and gospel,
- Country Blues– Acoustic performances, with storytelling lyrics
- Contemporary Blues– Rock, jazz, funk, and hip-hop
