MUSC 171 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Sippie Wallace, Chord Progression
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Structure and pattern: 12 measures are common, but not always found. Much of what we now call the blues, in fact all black music up to 1949, was usually called race music. It assu(cid:373)es that (cid:449)he(cid:374) (cid:455)ou"re (cid:449)hite (cid:455)ou do(cid:374)"t ha(cid:448)e a ra(cid:272)e, (cid:271)ut (cid:449)he(cid:374) (cid:455)ou"re (cid:271)la(cid:272)k (cid:455)ou do. This is a(cid:374) example of how racism was embedded into the system. Two types of blues: country blues: highly personal, stories told in the first-person narrative, highly improvised, usually an individual male black vocalist with a banjo or guitar accompaniment- just one performer. Also known as rural blues or delta mississippi blues. Blind lemon jefferson: (cid:862)that bla(cid:272)k (cid:374)ake moa(cid:374)(cid:863) has a rh(cid:455)(cid:373)i(cid:374)g s(cid:272)he(cid:373)e aab. There is a lot of se(cid:454)ual content in these lyrics. Lots of call and response between jefferson and his guitar. There is no clear beat, and lots of improvisation. His voice is raspy, words are not clearly enunciated.
