Blues

Musical Fingerprints

Instrumentation: Vocals, acoustic guitar, double bass/bass guitar, piano, harmonica, drums.

Harmony: Use of the 12 bar blues. This chart shows the pattern of chords that make up the 12-bar blues.

Melody/Lyrical Content: Use of call and response. Lyrics were mostly about hardship, work and suffering and were commonly written in an AAB structure. This means that the first two lines were exactly the same lyrics wise (not necessarily melody wise) with a differing set of lyrics in the third line. Use of ‘blue’ notes.

Rhythm: Use of syncopation.

Technological Fingerprints

In early recordings, due to the technology that would have been available at the time, only one mic would be been used to capture the full ensemble. While it was somewhat restricting in terms of balance and control, it allowed for the band to play together, which some musicians say helps to capture the energy of the music more effectively.

Distortion was often applied to guitars during the 1960's.