African American Music Essay

African-American Music When one states that he or she has the blues they are usually referring to their emotional state of being. The blues is known as unhappy feelings that a person may be experiencing. The blues music as it was known in the late 1800’s came from depression, slavery, and the adversity that African Americans faced in their earlier days. Even though the music has African origins it was created in the United States.

The blues is a form of music that was brought about in the 19th century as a way for African Americans to verbally express how they felt. It was also a method that the slaves used amongst each other to communicate and only they understood what the other was talking about. They would sing aloud and work to the beat

In the earlier times, the artists would make instruments out of just about anything that would make noise. They would use spoons, tie strings to different objects, and even blow into bottles just to get a musical effect. The urban blues gained its title as the players started moving towards the urban areas and due to the different styles of music bands played. By time the urban blues came into effect a lot of the musicians migrated from the southern area to the northern states. This was the era that is known for its electrical guitar and smaller sized bands that is also known as the electric blues. This type of blues was known to be loud and the bands played in night clubs or at private parties. Artists such as Muddy Waters (which was his stage name) or McKinley Morganfield was known for initially playing the acoustic guitar to later playing the electric guitar. He was known as the father of Chicago blues and for his songs “Mannish Boy” and “Baby Please Don’t Go.” B.B. King was another artist that played the electric guitar and the urban blues and he is known for songs such as “Rock Me Baby” and “Blues Boys Tune.” The urban blues was the cause for the development of rock and roll

In some of the blues music the artist have clear vocals and you can understand everything they are saying, but some singers are not as clear as others. Other singers’ voices may be raspy and one may have trouble trying to understand what they are saying. It is common for the words in a blues song to be repeated several times in the song. This type of singing is known as the poetic form of the blues. Often the singer may sing the first versus twice before going to the second