12 Bar Blues Form

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MUSC3004 Assignment I Student: Josh Coomansingh (60622) Instructor: Aidan Chamberlain Course: Form & Structure II February 3, 2015 Coomansingh 1 Question: Discuss the formation and development of the Blues, including notable figures in the genre. The blues is the label given to both the musical form and genre originating from the South of the USA by the African-Americans towards the end of the 19th century. The blues genre is based on the blues form, but possesses other characteristics such as lyrics, bass lines and instruments. The blues has evolved into a variety of styles, including jump blues, classic blues, country blues, boogie-woogie and Chicago blues. The blues as a style has three recognisable features which are: the so-called blue note or sad feel, an AAB three-line lyric structure, and a particular pattern of call and response between the lyrics and the instruments. The model blues form incorporates a basic twelve-bar lyric structure reflected by a standard harmonic progression that subdivides into three groups of four bars each usually in a 4/4 time signature. Three blues chords associated to a twelve-bar blues are typically a set of three different chords played over a twelve-bar scheme. For instance for a blues in C, the chords used would be C is the tonic chord (I), F the subdominant (IV) and G the dominant (V). The typical chord progression of the blues over a twelvebar format is I I I I, IV IV I I, V IV I I. The blues structure consists of two different lines, with the first line being repeated to form a three-line AAB pattern. The lyric line is typically sung over the first half of a MUSC3004 Assignment I Coomansingh 2 four-bar line. After the lyric line (the “call”), an instrumental response is commonly played, also consisting of approximately two bars. The dominant chord, marks the transition to the beginning of the next
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