Early Jazz

The earliest roots of jazz are found in the combination of African rhythms and Western harmony.

Characteristics of African music- Call and response

Polyrhythmic

Repetitive with improvisation

Pitch bends

Music existed for a purpose, not just entertainment

The Blues

Why do people sing the blues? Because they’re sad

Why do people listen to the blues? To make themselves feel better. It lets people know that they’re not the only ones with problems.

The blues follows a standard chord progression, either 12 or 8 bars long:

I IV I I *

IV IV I I

V IV I V *

Write out (in chord letter names) a blues progression in the key of D.

D G D D ABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG

G G D D

A G D A

Melodically, the blues features a Flat 3, a Sharp 4, and a Flat 7. ABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFG

Write a blues scale in the key of C.

C D Eb F# G A Bb C

The blues, as is a lot of jazz, is largely improvised. How does this work?

Since the progression repeats, you know what’s coming next, so you can play notes that will sound good with that chord.

Bessie Smith- Song St. Louis Blues. Nicknamed the Empress of the Blues, she grew up hard and sang about what she knew. Her loud, powerful voice could fill a room even in the days before microphones.

Robert Johnson- Song Rambling on my Mind. Early guitarist and blues singer influenced nearly every blues musician who followed. His nickname is the King of the Delta Blues.

B. B. King- Song Bad Case of Love. The reigning king of the blues, B. B. King is still on the road singing and playing guitar. He began recording in the late 1940’s, and is still a popular recording and live artist. He has inspired countless musicians. His guitar (every guitar he’s played, actually) is named Lucille.