Question

Compare the music characteristics of classical blues and country blues

Answer 1

Country Blues:

* Spontaneous expression of thought and mood

*Wide range of subjects

* Non-European harmony, use of drones, tendency toward single chord accompaniment

* Unaccompanied voice, or most commonly solo performer accompanying himself on a guitar; in groups, reliance on folk and sometimes home-made instruments (guitar, harmonica, fiddle, percussion [foot-tap, washboard])


City Blues:

* Planned, arranged texts and music
* Concentration on love
* Precise classical form, predictable 12-bar structure
* Standard chord progressions, clearly defined use of tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords
*
A. For the accompaniment of the so-called "classic blue singers" of the early 30s, women like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith . . ., etc., the use of a group of formal instruments, piano, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, plus a rhythm section, playing in the idiom of the small jazz band of the 1920s

B. With the supplanting of the "classic blues singers" by mostly male performers, whose singing and playing were rooted in country styles, the use of some informal instruments for accompaniment, guitar, mandolin, piano, plus a rhythm section of drums and bass