Most of what we hear today, in essence, probably developed from the blues. The word "blue" has been associated with the idea of melancholia or depression since the Elizabethan era. To have the blues meant that you had a depressed mood or felt things that weren't going your way. The American writer, Washington Irving is credited with coining the term "the blues." The earlier (almost entirely Negro) history of the blues musical tradition is traced through oral tradition as far back as the 1860's. (Priestley, 79) The way they expressed their feelings often came out as music. That music took on the name "blues." (Shirmer, 1) There are a number of different ideas as to what the blues really are: a scale structure, a note out of tune or out of key, a chord structure or quite possibly a philosophy. The blues is a form of Afro-American origin in which a model melody has been harmonized with Western tonal chords. In other words, wehad to fit it into our musical system somehow. A major problem was that the blues weren't sung according to the European ideas of even tempered pitch. Blues incorporated three common practices that were fundamental to African American society. The first is cross rythms, which are simple polyrythms and are considered the foundation of African American drumming. Secondly, are "blue notes", which are the express rising emotions with falling pitch, a blending or flattening of certain notes of the diatonic scale. These notes are with a much freer use of bent pitches and otherwise emotionally inflected vocal sounds. (James, 278) These blue notes are considered one of the defining characteristics of the blues. The final practice used are vocal techniques such as coarse tones, slurs, and melisma. (Marshall and Basquiat, 43) By the mid-twenties, instrumental blues were common, and "playing the blues" for the instrumentalist could mean improvising a melody within a blues chord sequence. Brass, reed, and string instrumentalists...
