The blues is The meaning of the word "blues"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Blues is a special musical form that reflects the state of a person's soul. It has a pronounced jazz basis. Blues music originated at the end of the 19th century in the southeastern lands of America, on the territory of the "cotton belt". At that time, the plantations were cultivated by hundreds of blacks brought by slave traders from the African continent. The work from dawn until sunset was hard, everything had to be done by hand, and the black slaves suffered. The emotional experiences of the slaves demanded a way out, and against this background the first and main kind of blues arose - "spirituals".

Blues is a true folklore art, rooted in the very depths of human existence. Therefore, a direct path to the stage was opened for a new musical direction from the cotton plantations. The first performers in the style of "spirituals" appeared. And since true art is never monotonous, then parallel directions began to develop: "soul", "swing", "boogie-woogie" and others. The meaning of the word "blues" has become multivariate,more and more of its varieties appeared.

The new colorful music spread throughout America, gaining hundreds of thousands of fans. After some time, the blues split into two categories - the Mississippi Delta and the Chicago blues. One style involved guitar accompaniment, the other preferred harmonica accompaniment. Musical instruments organically complemented the song vocals. The orchestra included percussion instruments, double bass and trombones.

Soul direction

The blues style "soul" (Soul) necessarily includes a group of wind instruments. Most of them are trumpets or saxophones. The most striking example of Soul's performance is Wilson Pickett's "She's Lookin' Good", in which the dialogue of two guitars is complemented by the synchronized grace of four pipes.

Soul performers, the most popular Aretha Franklin and Anna King, do not allow themselves multi-layered instrumental accompaniment. Franklin has the same four pipes and backing vocals, Anna King has a double crescendo in the middle of the composition. It's about the blues classic - "Night Time Is The Right Time" - in both cases.

Black slaves went to church on Sundays, it was an obligatory ritual. And since church services have become a part of the life of the "working Negro people," music has not been dispensed with here either. There was "gospel", the most interesting direction in the blues. Gospel is church hymns, mostly Christmas. They could be choral or solo. classicgospel is considered the Christmas song "Silent Night, Holy Night" ("Silent Night, Holy Night").

Blues is the best way to have fun

But back to the black founders of the blues. In addition to working on plantations and Sunday church visits, people wanted to relax, have fun, dance. Against the backdrop of these simple human desires, another direction of the blues was born - boogie-woogie. The style is super-major, very expressive, and most importantly - ideal for dancing. Boogie-woogie was based on the repetition of six musical phrases of different arrangements, but they were played in a strictly defined order. Thus, the boogie-woogie formula was created. The blues is the best way to have fun, and the piano was immediately recognized as the best instrument for playing it, and it worked well on the jazz six-string guitar. Percussion instruments were also in place. The double bass organically complemented the entire musical picture.

Who plays the blues

By the middle of the twentieth century, the main performers of the blues were determined. These were black singers and guitarists. The peculiar syncopated rhythm of blues compositions required natural talent - it was impossible to learn this. Meanwhile, they did not try to teach, there were always plenty of nuggets in music, especially in folklore. In the blues, talented performers were immediately noticed by the ubiquitous impresario, they offered contracts, and thus the art developed.

Blues is "sadness in the soul", if you use the exact translation fromEnglish. The melodies really sound sad and melancholic. But there are also blues compositions in the style of "rhythm and blues", which means "fun rhythms in the soul", and they sound joyful and serene. The diversity of the genre is impressive. Blues is also "swing" (swing), which means "escaping, running away." Swing melodies can be listened to endlessly, they never get bored. Only experienced musicians can perform them.

Rockabilly

Following the classic blues in the early 50s of the twentieth century, the "rockabilly" style appeared, that special kind of rock and roll that no longer corresponded to the "black" canons. However, the origin of the new genre was not in doubt - the source was the blues. Rockabilly was played and sung mostly by whites, the most notable performer of this genre is Wanda Jackson, a young singer, protégé of the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley. Wanda's voice was described by music critics as "emery", you can't say otherwise. And the singer's popularity continues to skyrocket today. she takes first place in any music ranking.

Blues in the USSR

In the stagnant Soviet times, the blues seeped into the USSR with difficulty. Any Western music was banned. Homegrown Russian musicians tried to portray blues compositions on their instruments, but the results were more than dubious. This is understandable: if culture is alien to the Soviet mentality, how can you play here? However, gradually young performers in the post-Soviet spacesucceeded in capturing the most important nuances of the blues, and many instrumental ensembles began to perform Negro music. Compositions like "Autumn Blues", "Night Blues" and the like sounded.

Mentality and music

The Soviet performance was not even close to the original, and in some cases it was pure profanity. How else? After all, for example, Ray Charles, a blues singer, would never have thought to perform the Russian folk song "In the garden, in the garden." There is a good proverb for all occasions: "Not in your sleigh - do not sit down." Nevertheless, if the "Autumn Blues" performed by Russian musicians brings joy to someone, this means that it can and should be performed. And skill will follow.

A whole layer of North American musical culture is the blues. Songs, ballads, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Blues, sad and reckless, perky as a youth and pensive as an old man. The blues is music in the grandest sense of the word.