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5 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Arrival in America |
So... as you know African Americans arrived in the states due to being shipped in what is commonly known as the Triangle trade created by the British Empire. The main area that the African-Americans came from were from the western parts of Africa and shortly after being captured were shipped to the Americas to be sold as slaves.When African Americans came to what we call now the United States of America they weren't seen by the Europeans as humans but much less. Europeans saw them as pagans that needed to be converted to Christians. This viewpoint presented by the Europeans in effect is what kept blues in secret for so long. |
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Where did it start |
Blues began on the southern plantations of the Mississippi in the early 1800's and at first wasn't really classified as a particular genre of music, but rather these songs were work songs. These songs helped the workers push through the hardships mainly because that is exactly what they sung about. All African-Americans were singing blues during this time but mainly among themselves to avoid being killed by their masters. |
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Where was blues sung |
They were singing these songs in church, on the plantations, while they were working etc. The blues became apart of the culture of the African-Americans. (show youtube example) Blues was very different from conventional music during this time due to the musical structure of blues. With blues there is a seemingly infinite possibility to improvise across various scales. The current major and minor system that was put in place by the europeans was beautiful but it was still restricted in what was possible. With blues the possibilities of creating songs are endless. The pentatonic scale used just asks for musicians to improvise. This is why I believe that blues has survived. Although we may not hear the blues in all we hear it is still present. |
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When did it get popular |
It wasn't until the reconstruction era that blues started becoming popular. This was mainly due to slaves being "free" in that they weren't bound to a master by slavery despite being in a large amount of debt in the beginning of the reconstruction era. However it was during this era though that blues really started to become popular not just among the African-American population but also among the entire population. They had the freedom to perform their music without being lynched most of the time. |
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Why is it important |
The reason why I wanted to present this to you is mainly because without blues our culture music wise wouldn't be what it is today. Without blues we would've never had amazing musicians such as BB King, Jimmy Page, or Louis Armstrong. Without blues we wouldn't have the music that we love so dearly today. Blues is the inspiration for all music and its backbone. Rock is built upon blues. The only reason why Rock is different is because of obvious things such as tempo. But if you look at the very roots at which the guitar riffs are built you would find that these riffs are pulled straight from the pentatonic scales I mentioned earlier whether it is metal or country. Well thats my presentation and I would like to thank you for listening. I hope you liked the presentation. Thank You |
