Lecture 6: Blues Flashcards
1
Q
The blues craze
A
- record sales slump, search for a new market to make money
- great migration builds an inherent demographic
2
Q
the great migration
A
movement of people from south into the cities and brought their music with them
3
Q
2 solutions for diversifying the market after the record sales slump
A
- race records
- hillbilly music
4
Q
race records
A
- black artists for black audiences
- term created by music industry
5
Q
Race records were primarily composed of 3 genres
A
jazz, gospel, blues
6
Q
hillbilly music
A
- by southern white artists for southern white artists
- term created by the music industry
7
Q
types of blues
A
- country blues
- classic blues
8
Q
country blues
A
- carying form
- black communities in deep south
- crossroad blues by robert johnson
- music of impoverished black work force
- aural tradition (not on sheet music, passed generation to generation)
9
Q
classic blues
A
- 12-bar blues form
- st. louis blues by bessie smith and WC handy
- composed
- professional songwriters, on sheet music
10
Q
classic blues vs country blues
A
- classic was more palatable, paved the way for coutnry blues
- eg of periphery vs centre
11
Q
12-bar blues
A
- 3 sets of 4 bars = 12 bars
- each bar contains 4 beats (emphasizes backbeat)
- tonic (1), subdominant (4), dominant (5)
12
Q
St.Louis blues
A
- Synthesis of Tin Pan Alley and Country Blues
- Bessie Smith and W.C. Handy
13
Q
Cross Road Blues
A
Robert Johnson
- 12 bar blues…with asymmetry
- Raw, personalized beauty
