Rock 'n' Roll and Blues Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Rock 'n' Roll and Blues Deck (16)
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1
Q

Where did blues come from?

A

Slaves singing of their hardships. 1860’s slavery abolished, combined sad lyrics

2
Q

Name some typical features of blues music

A
Blues scale
12 bar blues structure
Bending notes if "blue" or "dissonant" - blues notes & pitch bends
Walking bass line - crotchets
OR Boogie woogie bass
Syncopation, short jabs
Use of 3 primary chords - I, IV and V (C, F and G)
Riffs
Improvised electric guitar & piano
4 4 time
Jazz instrumentation - horns 
Syncopated rhythms
3
Q

What is a blues scale?

A

Major scale but with a flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th by a semitone (or sometimes just a microtone)
The 2nd and 6th notes are often left out

4
Q

Name some famous blues musicians

A
Chuck Berry
Bessie Smith
Fred McDowell
B. B. King
Sonny Boy Williamson
5
Q

What time period did blues start to become popular?

A

America, 1950’s

6
Q

What is a subgenre of blues music?

A

Surf Music - the Beach Boys

7
Q

What jazz (J) and blues (B) elements are often in rock and roll?

A

Jazz instrumentation (double bass, sax, lead & rhythm guitar, piano, drums)
Fills (J)
Jazz performance techniques (jabs, slides, smears, swells)
Riffs (B)
Blues notes
Pitch bends (B)
Improvised electric guitar & piano (B)
4 4 time

8
Q

Give a definition of swung

A

Pairs of notes aren’t the same length - shuffle

9
Q

Name some rock ‘n’ roll examples

A

Bill Haley
Elvis Presley
Buddy Holly
Little Richard

Early Beatles
The Who
The Rolling Stones

10
Q

What happened to the tempo in rock ‘n’ roll and why?

A

It increased to around 120-140 bpm - better to dance to

11
Q

What different ways can the piano be played?

A

Comping - playing chords?
Virtuoso (almost) - all sorts
Counter-melody
IMPROVISED

12
Q

Fill the blanks:
In normal, ‘________’ rhythm, the beats are split into equal ______.
In the blues, the first bit of the beat ______ some time from the second bit. The first beat becomes ______ and more ________. This is a _____ rhythm.
The blues also uses a lot of __________. You get a lively _______ sound by avoiding the main _____ - putting the oomph in unexpected places

A
Straight!
Halves
Steals
Longer
Accented (the book says oomph)...
Swung!
Syncopation!
Offbeat
Pulse
13
Q

How can you make the primary chords (used in blues) more blues sounding?

A

Adding minor 7ths?

14
Q

Give the definitions of:

a) A Walking Bass
b) A Boogie-Woogie Bass

A

a) Moves in steady crotchets up and down the notes of the chords
b) Uses the same notes as a walking bass, but played with a boogie-woogie rhythm

15
Q

Talk about rock ‘n’ roll

A

Up-tempo, clear beat, 4 4 - ideal to dance to
Lead singer, electric guitars, bass guitar, drum kit and sometimes a piano. EARLY BANDS - piano more lead role, sax too, double bass before bass guitar more common
Appealed to teens. America south, late 40’s early 50’s developing
HOOKS - key repeated lines

16
Q

What was the most common structure for early rock ‘n’ roll (larger than 12 bar blues)

A

Strophic - all verses had the same tune, see page 56)
AABA - (4 sections, 3 with same melody, 1 contrasting)
A lot of songs had at least 1 improvised instrumental section
LOTS of call and response between lead singer & band, most songs had a very catchy hook