The blues is: ...an African-American folk music idiom, a forerunner of jazz and a major influence on 20th century American popular music. ...a song-form with an AAB rhyming scheme ... developed into songs. Anglo-Saxon church music and folk-ballads were also transformed into forerunners of blues and gospel songs, again drastically influenced by the ex-slaves' African musical heritage. Another strain entered the mix with the jumped-up dances and songs popular in medicine shows. Initially, the blues instruments of favor were the harmonica ... --cheap, easily portable, and, in the African manner,...

• Word Count: 1753
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate