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Blues is a music genre [3] and musical form that originated amongst African-Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. [2] Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African-American culture. The blues form is ubiquitous in jazz, rhythm and blues ...
- Work Songs
Definitions and categories. Records of work songs are as old...
- Blues (Disambiguation)
The blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on...
- List of blues standards
Blues standards come from different eras and styles, such as...
- Work Songs
May 8, 2024 · Learn about the origins, characteristics, and influences of blues music, a secular folk genre created by African Americans in the early 20th century. Explore the history and notable musicians of the blues, from W.C. Handy to Bessie Smith, and the different regional styles and forms of the blues.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- What is the blues?The blues is a form of secular folk music created by African Americans in the early 20th century, originally in the South. Although instrumental ac...
- Where did the blues get its name?In the 19th century the English phrase blue devils referred to the upsetting hallucinations brought on by severe alcohol withdrawal. This was later...
- How did the blues begin as a musical genre?The origins of the blues are poorly documented, but it is believed that after the American Civil War (1861–65), formerly enslaved African Americans...
- Why is the blues considered the “Devil’s music”?In the early 20th century the blues (among several other popular genres of music) was considered seductive and destructive by parents and clergy wh...
- How does blues music sound?The blues has a distinct melancholic and somber tone, which is achieved through vocal techniques such as melisma, rhythmic techniques such as synco...
Many of these blues elements, such as the call-and-response format, can be traced back to the music of Africa. The use of melisma and a wavy, nasal intonation also suggests a connection between the music of West and Central Africa and the blues. The belief that blues is historically derived from the West African music including from Mali is ...
The blues is a form of music that started in the United States during the start of the 20th century. It was started by former African slaves from spirituals, praise songs, and chants. The first blues songs were called Delta blues. These songs came from the area near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Many African Americans were taken to the ...
Paul Oliver, a scholar of the blues, traces the origins and development of the music from field recordings in the American South. He explores the influences of African, European, and folk traditions on the blues and its artists.
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Blues - African American, Delta, Jazz: The origins of the blues are poorly documented. Blues developed in the southern United States after the American Civil War (1861–65). It was influenced by work songs and field hollers, minstrel show music, ragtime, church music, and the folk and popular music of the white population. Blues derived from and was largely played by Southern Black men, most ...
