Origins of the blues and its influence on modern music

¶ … blues" is a commonly understood term used to describe a content and style of urban music which became popular in the 1930's. This paper will cover the following areas: the origins of "Blues" and the expansion and meaning of the Blues for contemporary music.

The central intention of the paper is provide insight into not only the history of Blues, but also its significance for modern music.

The "blues" is a term that we have become accustomed to associating with a particular style and form of modern music. Yet, the term has become somewhat vague in its usage and is also linked to modern jazz styles as well as many "crossover" forms of music such as blues and hip-hop and blues and rock. The Blues as an art form has it origins in the essential meaning of the word "blue" as denoting a state of sadness or depression that is translated into musical forms. Besides this aspect, the Blues also has a distinct style and classical blues music has a fixed rhythmic musical pattern.

The Blues has also been extremely influential in the development of many forms of modern music. Its influence extends from rock and pop to jazz to Motown as well as to many other contemporary musical developments including rap. However, its origins and roots are an important part of the Blues that is always evident to some degree in the many developments of the Blues format. This paper will explore these origins and some of the results of its artistic marriage with other musical forms.

2. The Origins and the Blues

Many musical commentators and critics emphasize that the origins of modern music are deeply indebted to the Blues.

Virtually all modern music in the West owes a profound debt to the American black man. If not for the soul and expression imported so cruelly from Africa there would be no blues, no soul and no jazz - and hence no R'B, no rock and roll, no rap, no hip hop and no funk.

Story of the Blues)

As one critic states, the influences of the blues are sometimes not very obvious in many contemporary musical forms, but it is nevertheless a foundation of almost every modern musical style.

Not that you'd imagine there was a direct connection between fat, black ladies wailing gospels to Jesus and say, Alanis Morissette screaming on stage. But it's there. You just need to go back a hundred years and take a look at the evolution of modern music. Everything from the style of singing to the chord progressions to dancing on stage was invented by black American artists. (ibid)

The origins of the Blues are therefore important in understanding the origins and development of most forms of modern music. The Blues, as the name suggests, has its true roots and origins in the African slave trade and the suffering of the slaves who were brought to America to work in the plantations. While cements of the Blues therefore have their deeper origins in African culture, the type of music that developed for the confusion and suffering of the slaves was unique with many influences and motivating factors. "Joseph Machlis says that the Blues is a Native American musical and verse form, with no direct European and African antecedents of which we know.... In other words, it is a blending of both traditions. (Baker, R.M.)

It is hard to imagine the sense of loss and despair that must have been felt by the first slaves landing on the shores of the New World, with all their personal, cultural and historical ties obliterated.

They were mixed in with tribes who didn't speak the same language, families were divided and they were forced to convert to Christianity. Drums and horns were forbidden as it was feared they would communicate with other slaves." (Story of the Blues)

The only form of expression and communication open to the slaves was music and song as they labored in the fields. Church and religion became the one area where a spirit of togetherness and community could develop and be fostered. The slaves creatively used the traditional hymns of the Church and recreated them in their own spirit and according to their own musical perspectives. Another factor that fostered the development of music among the slaves was that some were encouraged by their white masters to play musical instruments such as the banjo. Thus the Blues was created out of an admixture of the expression of suffering and the sense of community and togetherness in Church gospel music.

It is important to realize that the distinctive style and nature of the blues was a result of innovative change and creativity that the African slaves brought to the music that surrounded them. An essential part of understanding the origins of the Blues was the emotions and experiences of the African-American people that were woven into the lyrics as well as into the actual structure and forms of the music itself. This was one of the reasons for the "wailing tonalities" and the change and adaptation of traditional musical scales that were to provide the "riffs" and other characteristic elements of a Blues song. Some claim that the first Blues song produced was 'Dallas Blues" published in 1912 by a white violinist named Hart Wand. However, the first popular versions of the Blues to be published were by W, C. Handy during 1911-1914. These included songs such as "Memphis Blues" (1912) and "St. Louis Blues" (1914). (ibid.)

Conclusion

It is amazing and an indication of the power of creativity that a relatively simple form of music which has a twelve-bar structure, should develop into such a rich and endlessly entertaining form of art. This is possibly one of the central characteristics of the Blues - its potential for innovation and imaginative development - while still retaining the essential emotions of its origins.

Blues remains with us in contemporary American culture, and as a traditional musical form it has been subjected to countless revivals and reinterpretations. Its current practitioners often integrate the sounds and instrumental pyrotechnics of rock music and the sheen of urban soul; but the twelve-bar form, variations on the blues chord progression, and emotive lyrical content remain relatively unchanged. (What is the Blues?)

The Blues also relates to our contemporary culture in that its emotive and creative origins in suffering have been used to express, not only the experiences of the past but also the experiences of people in the contemporary world. Many modern Blues compositions relate specifically to social problems that are part of the modern world and therefore still fulfill a social as well as a musical function.