Blues

music · African-American history · rhythm and groove

Born in the South. Blues started around the 1860s among African Americans in the Deep South, growing out of spirituals, work songs, and field hollers that people sang while working.

Call and response. One of blues' coolest tricks is call-and-response, where a singer belts out a line and then answers themselves back, creating a conversation in the music.

The twelve-bar beat. Most blues songs follow a special pattern called the twelve-bar blues, which is like a musical recipe that repeats and gives the song its groove.

Blue notes sound sad. Blues uses special notes called blue notes that are slightly lower in pitch, usually on the third, fifth, or seventh note, which creates that emotional, soulful sound.

Built rock and jazz. Blues didn't stay in one place; it became the foundation for jazz, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues, meaning almost all modern music traces back to the blues.