Blues

History and character

The blues is the music born among African Americans in the Southern United States (the "Deep South") between the 1860s and 1890s (the earliest evidence dates to around 1890), from the roots of spirituals, work songs, field hollers, and ring shouts. It is characterized by blue notes (the "worried notes": the lowered third, fifth, and seventh, or notes pitched between two semitones), the 12-bar form, and the AAB lyric (a four-bar line, its repetition, then a longer response: W.C. Handy said it avoided the monotony of three identical repetitions).

The milestones: W.C. Handy published "The Memphis Blues" (1912) and "Saint Louis Blues" (1914); "Dallas Blues" (1912) is the first copyrighted blues composition to be recorded; in 1920 Mamie Smith cut "Crazy Blues", the first blues record by an African American woman singer (75,000 copies in the first month), opening the 1920s era of female classic blues (Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Lucille Bogan). In parallel came the acoustic Delta blues of Mississippi (Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, Skip James), the Piedmont blues of the East Coast (Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell), Texas blues (Blind Lemon Jefferson), and boogie-woogie piano. With the Great Migration the blues moved North: in Chicago it went electric after Muddy Waters' "I Can't Be Satisfied" (1948), with Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, and Little Walter, on the Chess and Checker labels.

From the '50s and '60s: B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker; Muddy Waters' 1958 British tour inspired the British blues boom (Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies, then the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin); in the '70s and '80s came Texas blues-rock (Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds); today there are Gary Clark Jr., Joe Bonamassa, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, and Marcus King. The blues is the root of jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and roll ("blues with a backbeat"), soul, funk, country, and hip hop.

Scales and keys

Blues Scale (Minor)

• Formula: 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7 — 3H W H H 3H W.
• Example on A: A C D Eb E G.
• Characteristic note: the b5 (Eb), a passing blue note between 4 and 5; the b3 (C) played over a major chord (A7) creates the typical blues clash.
• Chords it "covers": I7 (A7), IV7 (D7), V7 (E7): the same scale works over the whole chorus.
• Use: guitar and harmonica riffs, solos, vocal melodies.
• Real example: B.B. King, Albert King, Stevie Ray Vaughan — Pride and Joy (E).
• Common mistakes: stopping on the b5; using the scale without bending the notes: in the blues the b3 is often pushed toward the 3 by a quarter tone.

Minor Pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — 3H W W 3H W. On A: A C D E G.
• Characteristic note: no semitones: an open, "vocal" sound. The pentatonic "box" is the basic fingering of every blues guitarist.

Major Pentatonic and "Major Blues"

• Major pentatonic: 1 2 3 5 6. On A: A B C# E F#.
• Major blues: 1 2 b3 3 5 6. On A: A B C C# E F#. Characteristic note: the b3 rising to the 3 (C → C#): the "sweet" blues of B.B. King and country blues.
• Use: phrases over I7, fills in ballads, "Texas" and "jump" style.

Major-Minor Mixture (the True Blues "Scale")

• Combined formula: 1 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 6 b7. On A: A B C C# D Eb E F# G.
• Use: guitarists move continually from the minor pentatonic to the major, targeting the chord tones of the moment (C# over A7, F# over D7 = its major 3, G# over E7).

Mixolydian

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — W W H W W H W. On A: A B C# D E F# G.
• Characteristic note: the b7 (G) that makes the tonic chord a dominant. Use: boogie riffs (1–3–5–6–b7), bass lines, harmonica.

Dorian and Natural Minor (Minor Blues)

• Dorian on A: A B C D E F# G. Aeolian on A: A B C D E F G.
• Use: the minor blues (B.B. King's The Thrill Is Gone in B minor): Dorian over the i7 chord, Aeolian when the harmony uses the VI (Fmaj7 in A minor).

Intonation and Blue Notes

Blue notes are not just "lowered notes": they are zones of intonation (the third between minor and major, the neutral seventh). With voice, guitar (bending, slide), and harmonica they are intoned microtonally; on the piano they are simulated with grace notes (b3 → 3).

How to Choose

Harmony

The 12-Bar Form

Three dominant seventh chords (I7, IV7, V7): the harmony is neither major nor minor, because they all have the b7 and the melody uses the b3. Scheme: I7 (4) – IV7 (2) – I7 (2) – V7 (1) – IV7 (1) – I7 (1) – V7 (1, turnaround).

Variations

• Quick change: IV7 in the second bar.
• 8- and 16-bar blues (Key to the Highway, many gospel blues).
• Minor blues (i–iv–V7 with VI–V7 in bar 9).
• Jazz blues with richer ii–V and turnarounds.
• One-chord blues (Hill country, John Lee Hooker: Boogie Chillen).
• "Irregular" forms of the Delta blues (13, 13½ bars: the singer decides).

Turnarounds

The last two bars lead back to the beginning: I7–IV7–I7–V7 or with a chromatic descent (A7 A7/G D/F# Dm/F A/E E7) or with the classic "descending" guitar lick.

Chords and Voicings

• Guitar: 7, 9, and 13 chords (A9 = A C# G B), boogie patterns on the low strings (A–C#–E–F#–G), "Chuck Berry" double stops.
• Piano: chords in triplets, left-hand boogie, tremolos and grace notes.
• Organ: sustained chords with swells.

Harmonic Rhythm

Slow and predictable (the form is the same every chorus): the tension lies in the voice and the solos.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Shuffle

The most typical feel: eighth notes in triplets (the first long, the second short: dotted eighth–sixteenth "in triplet"), accent on 2 and 4. Often written in 12/8 or in 4/4 with a swing marking.

Slow Blues

In 12/8: four pulses per bar, each divided into three; piano and hi-hat play all the triplets; tempo 50–75 per dotted quarter note.

Other Feels

Boogie (repeated swung eighth notes, "eight to the bar"), straight eighths (rock blues and late Chicago), "Texas shuffle" (shuffle with the snare on the third triplet), funk blues, rumba blues (Otis Rush, Magic Sam), two-beat in country blues.

Microtiming

Relaxed, "behind the beat" feel; the voice and the lead guitar anticipate and delay. The band stops and restarts (stop-time) to give space to the voice.

Drums

Principle

Blues drums support the singer and the soloist with a simple, solid groove: shuffle or 12/8, heavy backbeat on 2 and 4, few notes, and great attention to dynamics (the band plays softly under the voice and grows in the solos).

Shuffle

• Ride or hi-hat in triplets: first and third triplet of each quarter note ("dum-da, dum-da").
• Kick on 1 and 3 (or lightly on all four).
• Snare on 2 and 4 (full backbeat); in the Texas shuffle the snare adds the third triplet of each quarter note (Chris Layton with Stevie Ray Vaughan).
• Double shuffle: both hands in shuffle triplets.

Slow Blues (12/8)

• Hi-hat or ride on all the triplets (12 hits per bar).
• Kick on the 1 (and the 3) of the pulses.
• Full snare on 2 and 4.
• Triplet fills on the toms at the end of choruses.

Percussion

Rare: tambourine, sometimes hand claps.

Dynamics and Velocity

Wide: verses soft (closed hat, light snare), solos loud (ride, crash, backbeat 120+). The drummer "reads" the singer.

Interaction with Bass and Voice

Bass and kick in unison; stop-time with the band; the drums follow the guitar's "hits" (accents in the turnaround).

Sections

Intro (often a turnaround or 4 bars), sung choruses (restrained dynamics), solo choruses (crescendo), final chorus, coda with a fermata on the V7 or the I9.

Fills

Short, in triplets, at the end of the choruses (bars 11–12) or before the solo.

Sounds

1950s–'60s kit (22" kick, deep 14" snare, dark ride), natural, "in-the-room" sound; in blues rock more compressed and powerful.

Typical Mistakes

"Limping" shuffle (irregular triplets), drums too loud under the voice, long rock fills, kick that doesn't lock with the bass.

Bass

Sound

Upright bass (Willie Dixon in Chicago), then the Fender Precision electric bass; warm, round sound.

Typical Lines

• Boogie: 1–3–5–6–b7–6–5–3 in shuffle (A C# E F# G F# E C#).
• Walking in jazz blues and slow blues.
• Root–fifth–octave in shuffle.
• Unison riffs with the guitar (Muddy Waters: Hoochie Coochie Man; Howlin' Wolf: Smokestack Lightnin').

Relationship with the Kick

Unison on the strong beats; the bass carries the notes of the triplet.

Examples

Willie Dixon, Tommy Shannon (Stevie Ray Vaughan), Duck Dunn (Albert King), Jerry Jemmott (B.B. King).

Harmonic instruments

• Rhythm guitar: boogie patterns on the low strings (shuffle with alternating fifth and sixth), ninth and thirteenth chords, double stops.
• Lead guitar: bending, vibrato, slide (bottleneck), call-and-response phrases with the voice.
• Piano: boogie-woogie, chords in triplets, tremolos, grace notes (Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins).
• Hammond organ: pads, swells, sustained chords (soul blues, B.B. King).
• Harmonica: amplified (Little Walter) as a solo and rhythm instrument.
• Horns: sections in Memphis and Texas blues (B.B. King, Albert King, Bobby Bland).

Melody and vocals

Voice

Expressive, often rough voice, with blue notes, glissandi, shouts, melismas, falsetto (Skip James), spoken passages. The AAB lyric is sung in the first two bars of each 4-bar phrase, leaving two bars for the guitar or harmonica response (call and response).

Range

Men typically between G2 and A4 (with higher shouts), women between E3 and D5; the blues favors the chest register.

Guitar and Harmonica as a Second Voice

They answer the voice, imitate the singing (bending = the guitar's "voice"), and play short, melodic solos.

Backing Vocals

Rare in traditional blues; present in soul blues and gospel blues.

Effects

Spring or room reverb, slapback (1950s Sun and Chess), vocal often recorded "warm" with dynamic microphones.

Instruments

• Voice
• Acoustic guitar (including resonator and slide), electric guitar
• Harmonica (acoustic and amplified)
• Piano, Hammond organ
• Upright bass, electric bass
• Drums
• Horns (sax, trumpet) in urban blues

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• B-3 V — Hammond: Blues organ with Leslie: drawbars 888000000 or 886000000, slow Leslie in the verses and fast in the solos; swells with the expression pedal.
• Piano V — Piano: Upright or grand for boogie and slow blues; a bit of room, wide velocity for tremolos and grace notes.
• Wurli V — Wurlitzer: Blues and soul color (Ray Charles): light drive.
• Stage-73 V — Rhodes: Soul blues and modern blues (B.B. King in the '70s).

Song structure

Form

• Intro: 4 bars (the last 4 of the chorus) or a turnaround, or a 12-bar instrumental chorus.
• Sung choruses (2–3) of 12 bars.
• Solo (1–3 choruses): guitar, harmonica, or piano.
• Final sung chorus.
• Coda: final turnaround with a fermata on the V7 or the I9 (often the "tag" with the chromatic descent).
• Length 3:00–6:00 (live slow blues even 8–10).

Arrangement

Building dynamics: first chorus soft and "intimate", louder solo, last chorus with the full band; stop-time and breaks to give space to the voice; in urban blues, horns enter in the last choruses.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic Goal

A natural, warm sound, with the lead guitar and voice up front, the band "in the room", full bass, and simple, solid drums. References: B.B. King — Live at the Regal (1965), Stevie Ray Vaughan — Texas Flood, Gary Clark Jr. — Bright Lights, Joe Bonamassa (modern side). Loudness: −14/−11 LUFS (classic blues), −10/−9 (modern blues rock).

Kick

HP 40 Hz; 60–90 Hz +2 dB; 300–400 Hz −3 dB; 2–3 kHz +1 dB; compression 4:1 2–3 dB; center.

Snare

HP 90 Hz; 180–220 Hz body; −2 dB at 600 Hz; 4–5 kHz crack; compression 3–4 dB; plate or room 1–1.4 s (clearly audible reverb in slow blues).

Hi-Hat, Ride, Cymbals

HP 300 Hz; clear ride (2–4 kHz and "wash" above), hat 20–30%.

Bass

HP 35 Hz; 70–100 Hz +2 dB; −2 dB at 250 Hz; 700 Hz–1 kHz +1/+2 dB; opto 4–5 dB; center, mono.

Lead Guitar

• Miked amp (dynamic SM57 close to the cone + ribbon or condenser at 30–60 cm + room).
• EQ: HP 80–100 Hz; −2 dB at 250–400 Hz if "muffled"; presence 1.5–3 kHz (the guitar's "singing"); −2 dB at 4–6 kHz if piercing; LP 8–10 kHz.
• Compression: light (2–3 dB) or none: the blues lives on pick dynamics.
• Space: spring or plate 1.2–2 s; analog delay 300–450 ms (or dotted eighth) at a low level in slow blues.
• Pan: center or slightly to one side if there is a rhythm guitar.

Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Organ, Harmonica

• Rhythm guitar: HP 100 Hz; presence 2 kHz; pan opposite the lead (30–60%).
• Piano: HP 50 Hz; −2 dB at 300 Hz; 3 kHz; moderate stereo pan.
• Organ: HP 60 Hz; −2/−3 dB at 300–500 Hz; stereo Leslie; keep it below the voice.
• Amplified harmonica: HP 150 Hz; 800 Hz–2 kHz "mid honk"; amp saturation (Bullet mic into a small tube amp); compression 3–4 dB; slapback 100–150 ms.

Vocal

HP 80 Hz; −2 dB at 300 Hz; presence 2–4 kHz; de-esser 6 kHz; 1176 (4:1, 3–5 dB) + opto 2–3 dB; tape/tube saturation; plate or spring 1.2–1.8 s, slapback 90–130 ms for 1950s blues.

Horns

HP 100 Hz; presence 1.5–3 kHz; bus 2–3 dB; plate; fan-shaped pan.

FX

Spring and plate as the main reverbs, tape slapback, analog delay for the guitars.

Buses and Groups

Drum bus (2 dB), band bus with tape and 1 dB of glue.

Sidechain

None.

Master

Chain: EQ (HP 30 Hz) – compressor 2:1 1–2 dB – tape – limiter. Target −13/−11 LUFS integrated for classic blues, −10/−9 for blues rock, true peak −1 dBTP.

Common Mistakes

Lead guitar too distorted and compressed (it loses expression), vocal buried by the guitar, organ that muddies the mids, modern rock drums, bright digital reverbs instead of spring and plate.

Mix Reference Tracks

B.B. King — The Thrill Is Gone; Muddy Waters — Hoochie Coochie Man; Stevie Ray Vaughan — Pride and Joy; Albert King — Born Under a Bad Sign; Gary Clark Jr. — Bright Lights.

Reference listening

• Mamie Smith — Crazy Blues (1920)
• Bessie Smith — St. Louis Blues (1925)
• Robert Johnson — Cross Road Blues (1936)
• Muddy Waters — I Can't Be Satisfied (1948)
• John Lee Hooker — Boogie Chillen' (1948)
• Muddy Waters — Hoochie Coochie Man (1954)
• Howlin' Wolf — Smokestack Lightnin' (1956)
• Albert King — Born Under a Bad Sign (1967)
• B.B. King — The Thrill Is Gone (1969)
• Stevie Ray Vaughan — Pride and Joy (1983)
• Gary Clark Jr. — Bright Lights (2011)