The Roots of Blues Music Essay Example For Students

The Roots of Blues Music Essay The Roots of Blues MusicBlues is a very important type of music. Most music that you hear todayhas some form of blues in it. If it wasnt for the blues there wouldnt be anyrock and roll, country, rap, pop, or jazz . Blues is also important for AfricanAmerican culture. African Americans were also the people who started the blues. The Blues started in the late 1800s in levee camps or plantations inplaces like Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were many African Americans lived. The blues of that time was called country blues. It was a mixture of Africanmusic, field hollers, work songs, religious music, and ragtime. We will write a custom essay on The Roots of Blues Music specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The main influence of blues music was African music which has a strongand steady beat using drums or other instruments. Its beat and singing showedin the blues. Work songs and field hollers were an influence on blues. They were mostlymade up as the musicians were singing. They were a mixture of story tellingand talking with a definite call and response. Religious music was very important in forming blues music. Because mostblacks went to Christian churches from an early age and were exposed toChristian hymns. Ragtime was an influence that came later and is a faster blues played withthe piano and someone singing which was usually played in bars called barrelhouses. The first country blues that was written and published was Memphis Bluesby W.C. Handy in the early 1900s. The first recorded blues was Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith in 1915. Most country blues were played with an acoustic guitar and with someonesinging. It also has a definite call and response between the voice and guitar. Guitars were used because they had a broad range of notes, they wereportable, affordable, and they were permitted by slave owners at that time. Theslave owners didnt permit drums because they thought the drums could be used tosignal to each other. There were many beginning Blues musicians but only a few had their songswritten, published, or recorded. The few who did became very popular. Oneexample is Blind Melon Jefferson who started recording in 1926. His recordsoutsold every other male musician at the time. Other popular musicians wereRobert Johnson, Son House, Ma Rainy, and the most famous Charlie Patton who iscredited for being the founder of the Delta Blues. In the end you can say that Blues came from many places, played animportant part in African American culture, And was and still is a popular formof music for everybody. Music and Movies