What is the Blues

The Blues
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Institution
What is the Blues?
This defines a genre of music that developed from the African-American slave generation. It entailed work songs, chants, shouts and native ballads and majorly involved the use of acoustic guitars, pianos and harmonica. Traditionally, the blues were sung by Africa Americans during get-togethers and outings during those years of slavery. The main theme and role of the blues was to express the suffering, torment and hope of slaves for the more than a quarter century such as in James Baldwin’s blues related piece; Sonny’s Blues. Sonny confides to his brother/ narrator that the voice of the female singer, reminds him of the feeling heroin gives him when it is inside his veins (Miller, 2000). That it excites him while saddening him at the same time is no secret just like the feeling the Blues caused the African American during the post-slavery period.
After the First World War, the Blues as a genre underwent some modification to accommodate the changing culture and the interest that other races were posing. The artist dropped the use of antique instruments and started using electric guitars, standup bass and the harmonica. This new form was a reflection of an urbanized African American, who was moving from the southern region to occupy cities like Chicago. However, the underlying themes of suffering torment and disillusion never changed. In the blue related piece; Uses of the blues, it talks about the scare that people go through (Miller, 2000). It is based on the fact that someone can escape from a tricky and life threateni...