Blues Music Essay

Blues is such an interesting genre of music because of it’s range of possibilities that the artist have. In the beginnings of blues in New Orleans, there were multiple variations of beats played in the songs, but eventually the standard blues songs would fit into a 12 beat frame. I specifically use the word ‘fit’ because there is so much emotion and heart that is played out in the blues. In the earlier half of blues popularity, the songs seemed to be a yell for help from these black men with sorrowful tones and soft but slow rhythms. This would make sense because of the time they have lived in unequal segregation with little to no means to live.

The blues is very diverse, so diverse that in fact two blues songs could have absolutely no similarities, yet still share the same category. This plays into the individuality of each performer and how their unique life experiences is played out in songs. Songs that are centered around sadness, joy, pity, anguish, love, and desire. With such wide range, the blues then spread from rural areas to the urban cities which would then change culture of the blues. The vocals of the blues became secondary and the instruments would substitute/ portray the voices, becoming the centerpiece to the music. I found that this worked well with especially slow mournful songs, because the instrument would take the speed of the lyrics into account.

The top blues performers would use the “white man’s” instruments like the trumpet and clarinet, however many black people, which where the only people who would initially here the music, could not afford those instruments. They instead created their own instruments which where the kazoo, the jug (which mimics the base), and the washboard(which would mimic the drums). This shows me that music truly comes from the individual and not just the instrument that creates such beautiful