A clicker says it sounds like John Lennon...
Guitars? Click Here!
Big Shout Out to Dean from the Akatarawas who knows Paul Walker and also knows the way Blues works with pitch- see the artilce below as well...
Johnny Rockaway- a experiment with pitch
One of the motorcycle gangs in Marlon Brando's The Wild Ones was called The Beetles. George Harrison wanted to call the group that he was in by that name. John Lennon liked the idea and suggested a change in spelling- The Beatles...so the story goes
Check out
http://www.speakeasy.org/~shilad/jazz/doc/api/overview-summary.html
And check out an excellent summary of blues including a mentio of pitch on
http://www.wpsweb.com/performingarts/BrownBagJazz/blues.htm
Origins
The blues has often been called "the most important ingredient in American music." It has been used by many composers including George Gershwin, and elements of the blues are used in nearly everything that jazz musicians play or sing.
There is considerable controversy as to the origins of the blues. Historian Joseph Machlis says it is a native-American musical form. Alan Lomax claims origins in Africa. Like most forms of jazz, the blues mixes elements of both European and African traditions. We do know that it seems to have been first introduced around 1900. One of the earliest songs, "Mamie’s Blues," comes from this period. Some of the first published blues songs were "Jelly Roll Blues" written by Jelly Roll Morton (1905) and the "Memphis Blues," written by W. C. Handy in 1912. Then there is the word ‘blue,’ which is often associated with sadness, hard times, or depression.
Some of the melodic elements, such as the use of "blue" notes (see below, under blue scale), probably came from earlier types of Afro-American music. The music that we know as the blues probably evolved from a merging of African and European music that was initially sung by slaves responding to their oppressive environment. The call and response style, originating in Africa, derived from various forms of music including field cries in work songs, southern prison chain-gang songs, church music and spirituals, and oppressive living and working situations. Stylistically, the blues has many differences from "ragtime," which was another early type of African-American music, which will be pointed out below.
Blues Lyrics:
Blues is primarily a vocal form of music with instrumental accompaniment (unlike ragtime, which is purely instrumental). Blues lyrics are typically very personal, and often deal with the pain of betrayal, desertion, unreturned love, or other sad situations. The structure is usually several verses, each verse having three lines or phrases. The same text is often repeated for both lines 1 and 2 to a similar melody for the second line, although the harmony changes (see harmonic structure below). The third line has a completely different text and melody.
Blues Scale:
Lowering the 3rd and 7th scale steps (called "blue" notes) and omitting the 2nd and 6th scale steps easily form the blues scale. In G Major, it would become the following in its simplest form, which is actually the same as the "la" pentatonic scale:
G B flat C D F natural G
la, do re mi so la
Other forms of the blues scale became more complex, and could include the 2nd and 6th steps, and also a flatted fifth step--another "blue" note. In G major:
G A B flat C D flat D E F natural G
The blue note on the 3rd, 5th, and 7th, also was not always completely flatted, but often performed somewhere in the middle between the "regular" note of the major scale and the "flatted" note. Often singers would slide between various notes, making the actual pitch somewhat unclear.
Harmonic Structure:
The most common harmonic structure is the 12-bar blues progression, one chord for each "bar" or "measure." Every four bars make up one line (or phrase) of the song. As you can see from this chord progression, the blues relies on the three primary chords of I, IV, and V.
I I I I / IV IV I I / V IV I I
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Despite the debate about the origin and growth of the blues style, a wealth of written information is readily available. Students usually enjoy learning about the blues because of its emotional appeal. The activities that follow are appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students of many ability levels, and can be related to the two blues songs at the end of this packet ("Good Morning, Blues," and "Joe Turner Blues").
Blues classroom activities and Learning Standards (MA Arts Framework):
A. Sing expressively with appropriate dynamics, phrasing and interpretation.
1.8 Sing music representing diverse genres and cultures.
B. Echo and perform easy rhythmic, melodic, and chordal patterns.
3.10 Play by ear simple melodies and accompaniments.
C. Improvise "answers" in the same style to rhythmic and melodic phrases.
D. Create and arrange short songs.
E. Perceive, describe, and respond to basic elements of music.
F. Use appropriate terminology in describing music
G. Investigate how artists create their work.
H. Describe the roles of artists in specific cultures and periods.
I. Identify characteristic features of native and immigrant groups.
J. Perform or create works inspired by historical or cultural styles.
10.1 Integrate knowledge of music to learning other disciplines.
Orff Activities for "The City Blues"- Jerry Silverman:
Write the harmonic progression on the board.
Have students write in letter names of notes in the key of a blues song (see back of packet).
Invite students to choose unpitched percussion instruments and improvise their own rhythms. Notate on board.
Teach students a simple accompaniment on Orff instruments with unused bars removed.
When they are confident, replace the non-chord tones that were removed and have students improvise.
Have students write new lyrics to the song; perform.
Keyboard activities for the blues (for students with little or no keyboard background):
Start with single notes, having students play the 12-bar pattern on whole notes while teacher plays melodic patterns. Then move to half notes, etc.
Moving to chords, use colored dots for the three chords used in the 12-bar blues pattern. (The same thing works with Orff instruments and guitars.)
Begin by having different groups (or individuals) of students play just one chord while performing the 12-bar pattern. Lead to each student being able to play the whole pattern.
Teach simple melodic patterns to enhance the chordal accompaniments.
Have students improvise melodic patterns.
Additional music classroom activities:
Have students do a visual representation of the 12-bar blues form.
Ask students to think of an incident in their lives where they felt sad. Have them write a short verse of blues lyrics to describe how they felt. Perform it.
Use unpitched rhythm instruments to demonstrate the harmonic progression of 12-bar blues.
Use movement to illustrate chord changes in the 12-bar form.
Compare and contrast blues sung by different artists.
Collaboration/integration:
Work with the art teacher on visual representations of the blues form.
Develop a time line of the blues working with the social studies teacher.
Also with the social studies teacher, work out a map of the US showing "hot spots" for blues performances and birthplaces of blues performers.
Language arts – analyze rhyme schemes of blues lyrics.
Arrange for a "blue" assembly integrating all of the above.
Social agendas – Given that the blues is a whole basic system, have students think of values, traditions and rituals that are part of their lives. Use the blues chord structure as a metaphor to tell about their daily rules for living.
Blues Bibliography: (Books for students)
Cook, Bruce. Listen to the Blues. New York: Da Capo, 1995
Lomax, Alan. Land Where the Blues Began. Dell, 1995
Murray, Albert. Stomping the Blues. New York: Da Capo, 1989.
Palmer, Robert. Deep Blues. Viking, 1982.
Shapiro, Nat and Nat Hentoff, editors. Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya. Dover Press, 1966.
Brief Discography:
Chess Blues. Four CDs. Chess; CHD4-9340.
Johnson, Robert. Complete Recordings. Two CD set. Columbia/Legacy; C2K-46222.
Smith, Bessie. Complete Recordings. Four sets of 2 CDs. Columbia/Legacy; C2K47091, 47471, 47474, 52838.
Water, Muddy. Best of Muddy Waters. Chess; CHD4-31268.
This page was prepared by Springfield, MA, music teachers:
Vera Baker, Irina Dohzhenko, Diane Goldstein, Julie Jaron.
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