Rock 'n' Roll and Blues Flashcards
Where did blues come from?
Slaves singing of their hardships. 1860’s slavery abolished, combined sad lyrics
Name some typical features of blues music
Blues scale 12 bar blues structure Bending notes if "blue" or "dissonant" - blues notes & pitch bends Walking bass line - crotchets OR Boogie woogie bass Syncopation, short jabs Use of 3 primary chords - I, IV and V (C, F and G) Riffs Improvised electric guitar & piano 4 4 time Jazz instrumentation - horns Syncopated rhythms
What is a blues scale?
Major scale but with a flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th by a semitone (or sometimes just a microtone)
The 2nd and 6th notes are often left out
Name some famous blues musicians
Chuck Berry Bessie Smith Fred McDowell B. B. King Sonny Boy Williamson
What time period did blues start to become popular?
America, 1950’s
What is a subgenre of blues music?
Surf Music - the Beach Boys
What jazz (J) and blues (B) elements are often in rock and roll?
Jazz instrumentation (double bass, sax, lead & rhythm guitar, piano, drums)
Fills (J)
Jazz performance techniques (jabs, slides, smears, swells)
Riffs (B)
Blues notes
Pitch bends (B)
Improvised electric guitar & piano (B)
4 4 time
Give a definition of swung
Pairs of notes aren’t the same length - shuffle
Name some rock ‘n’ roll examples
Bill Haley
Elvis Presley
Buddy Holly
Little Richard
Early Beatles
The Who
The Rolling Stones
What happened to the tempo in rock ‘n’ roll and why?
It increased to around 120-140 bpm - better to dance to
What different ways can the piano be played?
Comping - playing chords?
Virtuoso (almost) - all sorts
Counter-melody
IMPROVISED
Fill the blanks:
In normal, ‘________’ rhythm, the beats are split into equal ______.
In the blues, the first bit of the beat ______ some time from the second bit. The first beat becomes ______ and more ________. This is a _____ rhythm.
The blues also uses a lot of __________. You get a lively _______ sound by avoiding the main _____ - putting the oomph in unexpected places
Straight! Halves Steals Longer Accented (the book says oomph)... Swung! Syncopation! Offbeat Pulse
How can you make the primary chords (used in blues) more blues sounding?
Adding minor 7ths?
Give the definitions of:
a) A Walking Bass
b) A Boogie-Woogie Bass
a) Moves in steady crotchets up and down the notes of the chords
b) Uses the same notes as a walking bass, but played with a boogie-woogie rhythm
Talk about rock ‘n’ roll
Up-tempo, clear beat, 4 4 - ideal to dance to
Lead singer, electric guitars, bass guitar, drum kit and sometimes a piano. EARLY BANDS - piano more lead role, sax too, double bass before bass guitar more common
Appealed to teens. America south, late 40’s early 50’s developing
HOOKS - key repeated lines
