... to move to the northern states. As its popularity spread, the sound diversified, an what was once played with a single acoustic guitar or piano became electrified, played in groups. Once the blues made its way north, artists Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf dominated the Chicago blues scene, ... depot in Tutwiler, Mississippi, in 1903. Handy is the first person to publish a composition with the term "Blues" in the title and utilizing "blue notes, " which are flatted thirds and sevenths. The two famous songs that first brought the genre to the mass public are, "Memphis Blues," published in 1...

• Word Count: 2036
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... scheme in three four-bar segments--each one part vocal, part instrumental response--using a I-IV-V chord progression, including chords with flatted "blue" notes, usually thirds and sevenths. ...a musical state of mind. All true, none of them true enough. The origins of the blues precede recorded music ... the human voice--and the banjo. The form began coalescing just around the turn of the century, with the more familiar guitar and piano gaining currency. Musicologists' best guesstimates place the blues as chiefly arising in three regions: Texas, Georgia/the Carolinas, and, most notably...

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

... only influenced how jazz sounded, but also how jazz was played. Ragtime, a syncopated and cheerful form, invoked loose dancing styles from its piano centered music. In contrast, blues conjured emotions connected to the past and brought a more soulful sound to listeners. Despite the differences between ragtime ... "ragged" style and pursued a music career that made him not only popular, but also respected. Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught during his lifetime. Despite becoming known as "the King of Ragtime Writers," Joplin did not see ragtime develop into the ... musician that em...

• Word Count: 1458
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography

... , the correlation, between the lullaby sung by Zulu women, and the performance of blues singer, Bessie Smith, is striking in its similarity. Also, the African scale, which contains notes flatted on the 3rd, 7th, and sometimes 5th degrees, is directly translated into blues music, which also incorporates slides into its instrumental form. The inception of this particular singing style ... into the mainstream, blues was also being combined with another African influenced genre, ragtime, to create early jazz style in New Orleans. Primarily instrumental, ragtime was commonly performed on pia...

• Word Count: 1710
• Approx Pages: 7

... brother was in the army, he let Sonny stayed with his wife and her parents. Where he was going to school, and practicing his piano as well. He was doing just fine till Isabel started getting bad reputation letters from his school. The letters were about Sonny not going ... Sonny wasn't ready to accept it. So they had long conversation about Sonny's career. In the middle of a long conversation on page 94, Sonny's brother notes, "I simply couldn't see why on earth he'd want to spend his time hanging around nightclubs, clowning around on bandstands, while people pushed each other around a ....

• Word Count: 1272
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School