There's all kinds of popular music out there. There's rock, and funk, hip-hop, and country, jazz, and folk, and... Plus lots of music that doesn't have a category.
But when exactly does a style of music become "blues music"?
You might say... "Someone knows blues music when they hear it." But I bet if you asked 5 folks if a song was a genuine "blues song" you may get 5 different answers.
- Is it about a certain subject that the song is about?
- Is it about a certain scale structure or tonality?
- Is it about certain chords that may be called"blues chords"?
- Is it even any sort of technical reason at all... Or is it just the "feel" of the song?
I don't believe you can actually answer this question. The music called "blues" is usually different things to different folks. What might be blues to one person could be rock and roll to somebody else. If you're a very serious blues lover you may have a set line between music that YOU call the blues and other types of music.
And others might be awfully imprecise about what they call "blues" and not be very particular about their definition.
The truth is, a blues song is usually played in a certain way. There are grooves that are obviously linked with the blues. And there are specific chords that are linked with the blues. It does not imply that these rhythms and these chords can't be used in other kinds of music. It is simply that barely will you hear a blues song that isn't a particular tonality or rhythm.
But if you want to play a slow blues a la B.B. King, then you will possibly be talking about certain chord types and tonality and maybe even defined rhythms. If you examine B.B. King songs closely you will see some similarities. There is not an unlimited number of sorts of songs that he plays. You will not catch him playing a polka as an example. Naturally not. That is not a blues style song.
So...
I guess to be "blues" we ARE talking about certain styles of music. There's shuffles and rhumbas and slow blues that are played in certain grooves. That is just the way it is.
But that does not imply that the blues doesn't evolve.
Remember the famous Muddy Waters line... "The Blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll."
That nearly sums it up. You can take a typical blues chord progression and add something else to it to turn it into something else again. Isn't that what Elvis Presley did? Isn't that what many early rockers did? They took black rhythm and blues and turned into something a little different.
Some would argue it was just white folk attempting to play black music, and when the white folks liked it, the record companies gave it a new name... So it might sell.
Well we could have that discussion all day 24x7. Where did rock and roll come from? Who really invented it? Is it really just blues songs played "white"?
Naturally, not. There were plenty of great black rock and roll artists too. Chuck Berry, really the King of Rock'n'roll, would state that rock'n'roll was far from only white. And who can argue that Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley were not some of the best rock and rollers ever.
And you might simply disagree that they all came out of the Blues Custom.
So , to those that say that rock and roll is just The Blues repackaged... Well they just could be right.
But when exactly does a style of music become "blues music"?
You might say... "Someone knows blues music when they hear it." But I bet if you asked 5 folks if a song was a genuine "blues song" you may get 5 different answers.
- Is it about a certain subject that the song is about?
- Is it about a certain scale structure or tonality?
- Is it about certain chords that may be called"blues chords"?
- Is it even any sort of technical reason at all... Or is it just the "feel" of the song?
I don't believe you can actually answer this question. The music called "blues" is usually different things to different folks. What might be blues to one person could be rock and roll to somebody else. If you're a very serious blues lover you may have a set line between music that YOU call the blues and other types of music.
And others might be awfully imprecise about what they call "blues" and not be very particular about their definition.
The truth is, a blues song is usually played in a certain way. There are grooves that are obviously linked with the blues. And there are specific chords that are linked with the blues. It does not imply that these rhythms and these chords can't be used in other kinds of music. It is simply that barely will you hear a blues song that isn't a particular tonality or rhythm.
But if you want to play a slow blues a la B.B. King, then you will possibly be talking about certain chord types and tonality and maybe even defined rhythms. If you examine B.B. King songs closely you will see some similarities. There is not an unlimited number of sorts of songs that he plays. You will not catch him playing a polka as an example. Naturally not. That is not a blues style song.
So...
I guess to be "blues" we ARE talking about certain styles of music. There's shuffles and rhumbas and slow blues that are played in certain grooves. That is just the way it is.
But that does not imply that the blues doesn't evolve.
Remember the famous Muddy Waters line... "The Blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll."
That nearly sums it up. You can take a typical blues chord progression and add something else to it to turn it into something else again. Isn't that what Elvis Presley did? Isn't that what many early rockers did? They took black rhythm and blues and turned into something a little different.
Some would argue it was just white folk attempting to play black music, and when the white folks liked it, the record companies gave it a new name... So it might sell.
Well we could have that discussion all day 24x7. Where did rock and roll come from? Who really invented it? Is it really just blues songs played "white"?
Naturally, not. There were plenty of great black rock and roll artists too. Chuck Berry, really the King of Rock'n'roll, would state that rock'n'roll was far from only white. And who can argue that Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley were not some of the best rock and rollers ever.
And you might simply disagree that they all came out of the Blues Custom.
So , to those that say that rock and roll is just The Blues repackaged... Well they just could be right.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart has played guitar for a few years and is an experienced blues guitarist. He's played in numerous bands and now helps others learn blues guitar chords on his guitar instruction website.
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