African slaves brought their musical traditions with them when they were transported to work in the North American colonies. Early types of African American music included spirituals (religious songs using vocal harmony) and work songs.

Work songs were sung rhythmically in time with the task being done. They used call and response in which phrases from a lead singer were followed by the other singers. African music combined with the folk music of the white European settlers to produce new styles of music.

The blues emerged towards the end of the 19th century. This early style of blues was known as country blues and was usually a solo singer accompanied on guitar or piano sometimes with added harmonica or drums. Well-known blues musicians include Bessy Smith, Blind Willie Mctell and Robert Johnson.

 

 

 

LOs:  To  listen  to  unfamiliar  Blues  music  and  identify  the  style/genre  To  accurately  describe  musical  elements,  musical  contexts  and  musical  language  within  the  Blues    To  take  part  in  performing  and  composing  activities  to  reinforce  the  learning  of  the  musical  features  of  Blues    NAME:   ………………………………………………         DATE:………………………  

Origins of Blues

 

     

AoS3: Traditional Music

Topic: ‘BLUES FROM 1920s - 1950s’

MAIN MUSICAL FEATURES OF BLUES: METRE: 4/4 STRUCTURE: 12 Bar Blues, Call and response, use three four-bar phrases (AAB) MELODY: Blue notes, improvisation, Scat, riff, ostinato, pitch bend HARMONY: The most common chord structure uses three chords – the tonic (chord I), the subdominant (chord IV) and the dominant (chord V). Use of 7th chords (same chords with an added 7th)

Blues lyrics The lyrics are raw and full of emotion, dwelling on love and loneliness. They tell of injustice and hopelessness, and the longing for a better life. They were passed on from musician to musician through oral tradition. They often use slang and double meanings. Blue notes Compared with the major scale, some notes, known as blue notes may be flattened by a semitone or ‘bent’ by a smaller interval. Blue notes are usually found on the third, fifth or seventh degree of the scale.

PERFORMING TASK: THE 12 BAR BLUES

THE CHORDS

 

THE BLUES SCALE  

 

 

(Optional) BASSLINE PATTERN

EXTENSION TASK: Learn the seventh chords and perform the 12 bar sequence using these instead.

 

 

   

Y E A R 8 U N I T 4 – J A Z Z I M P R O V I S A T I O N S P 8

W W W . M U S I C A L C O N T E X T S . C O . U K

Performing Seventh Chords 1. Learn the following three SEVENTH CHORDS

C7 F7 G7

2. Now, learn to perform the TWELVE BAR BLUES chord sequence using the above SEVENTH CHORDS

C7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /

F7 / / / F7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /

G7 / / / F7 / / / C7 / / / C7 / / /

Bb G E C

Eb C A F

F D B G

C      /        /        /   C      /        /      /   C        /        /        /   C        /        /      /  

F      /        /        /   F      /        /        /   C      /        /        /   C      /        /      /  

G    /        /        /   F      /        /      /   C      /        /        /   C      /        /        /  

FEEDBACK:    

 BLUES: MUSICAL VOCABULARY

Blue  Notes    

Call  and  Response    

Improvisation    

The  Blues    

Scat    

Riff    

12  bar  chord  sequence  

 

Tonic  chord    

Dominant  Chord    

Subdominant  Chord    

7th  Chord    

Pitch  bend    

   

AoS3: Traditional Music

Topic: ‘BLUES FROM 1920s - 1950s’

SELF-­‐EVALUATION    

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR WORK?

YES

A LITTLE BIT NOT AT ALL

I know a few facts about the origins of Blues I can recognise Blues when I hear it I can identify features in the music I can perform the 12 bar blues chord sequence I have improvised using the blues scale I can use some of the vocabulary to describe the Blues style  

I learned the following VOCABULARY:

Ostinato, riff, Improvisation, oral Tradition, call and response, work songs, pitch bend, Blue notes, scat, tonic chord, dominant chord, subdominant chord, 7th chord, 12-bar Blues sequence, Chord Progression

Are  you  able  to  describe  and  define  these  words?  

All                                                      Most                                                  Some                                                None  

Do  you  understand  these  words?  

All                                                      Most                                                  Some                                                None  

 

 

Grade   What  grade  are  you  working  at?   Tick  

9  -­‐  7   . perform  the  12  bar  blues  sequence  fluently  and  with  sensitivity.  Effective  use  of  7th  chords  . improvise  in  time  using  the  notes  of  blues  scale  with  style,  creating  effective  musical  ideas  

and  sustaining  interest    . demonstrate,  through  aural  identification,  accurate  knowledge  of  a  wide  range  of  musical  

elements,  contexts  and  language  within  the  Blues  style  . evaluate  music  to  make  convincing  judgments  using  musical  vocabulary  accurately  and  

effectively  

 

 5  -­‐  3  

. perform  the  12  bar  blues  sequence  with  some  technical  challenges  broadly  fluently  with  some  sensitivity.  Use  some  7th  chords  

. improvise  in  time  using  the  notes  of  blues  scale  with  coherence,  creating  musical  ideas  and  developing  interest  with  some  success  

. demonstrate,  through  aural  identification,  mostly  accurate  knowledge  of  a  range  of  musical  elements,  contexts  and  language  within  the  Blues  Style  

. evaluate  music  to  make  clear  judgments  using  musical  vocabulary  appropriately  

 

2  -­‐  0   . perform  the  12  bar  blues  sequence  with  limited  fluency  and  sensitivity  . improvise  in  time  using  a  limited  number  of  notes  from  the  blues  scale,  creating  musical  

ideas  with  some  appeal  and  limited  development  . demonstrate,  through  aural  identification,  some  knowledge  of  musical  elements,  contexts  

and  language  . evaluate  music  to  produce  simple  reflections  with  inconsistent  use  of  musical  vocabulary