As more and more people began to travel during the 18th and early

1900s, new ideas began to develop as one culture mixed with another.
The boat was still an essential means of transport and so port areas
were alive with many different races as people arrived and settled here.
New Orleans is a large port area in America, this is where many black
Africans were shipped to as slaves, and so it is by no coincidence that is
was here that a new style of music called Blues, began to emerge.
Early Blues was brought from Africa by the slaves and sung in the days when they were still chained and
working in the cotton fields. Ordinary black Africans sang the blues as a way of expressing themselves.
Although the music came from Africa, it took ideas from European and white American music to help it
develop into blues as we know it today.
The lyrics would often tell stories about the conditions of the African Americans who although free (no
longer slaves fate 1867) were still often unemployed and poor. These stories would reflect the many
issues that affected them including poverty, unemployment, love, memories of slavery and even the use
of drugs.
A typical blues song would be made up of three short lines, two the same and the third different. Each
line would rhyme;
e.g. gonna lay my head down, on the railroad track
gonna lay my head down, on the railroad track
cause ma baby, she wont take me back
Each line of the verse would last 4 bars. The following pattern of chords was developed to accompany
these words;
C
C
C
C
F
F
C
C
G
F
C
C
l
l
l
l
lV
lV
l
l
V
lV
l
l
This is known as the TWELVE BAR BLUES
The blues flourished in the early part of the 20th Century and has influenced all other styles of music,
including Jazz, RocknRoll and even Pop music.
COPY the sentences below and complete
1.
The people associated with the Blues are
2.
The country the Blues developed in was
3.
A typical job that slaves would be forced to do was ..
4.
The Blues took ideas from and to help it develop into the style we know
today
5.
Most Blues lyrics were about .
6.
The chord pattern known as the Twelve bar blues is ..(copy the pattern from the sheet)
7.
Some styles that have been influence by the Blues are
8.
Port areas helped in the development of new styles of music because..
9.
Complete the following blues lyrics (remember!! 2 lines the same third line different)
Well I work up this mornin feeling mighty bad
My Homeworks on the table and I dont know what to do
My bones are near to breakin and my shoes are wearing thin
*** NOW make up your own 3 or 4 verse Blues Song to perform in class ***