Singing The Blues - You Know It Don't Come Easy

I once had a slightly tipsy singer approach me at a show and ask in all seriousness how I could possibly be such an accomplished Blues singer since I have never been an alcoholic and had never taken drugs. Though my shows often turn into Mr. Kool’s House of Blues, I had to explain that substance abuse is not what the Blues is about. I will expand upon that scenario to lay bare the true facts on how to sing the Blues.

The literature of lyrics on the development of Blues may help explain some of the prerequisites for, and the importance of Blues to the development of popular music. According to legend, a famous philosopher (and Rock star) Richard Starkey wrote, “You got to pay your dues if you want to sing the Blues, and you know it don’t come Easy”. Yes this does indicate that the Blues finds its beginnings in hardship and deprivation.

The Blues musical style was the spawning ground for much of Modern music. The great commentator and Blues singer Muddy Waters wrote, “The Blues had a baby, they named the baby Rock and Roll”. Rock got it’s start in the Blues style of the 50’s. Many famous Rock artists such as Elvis, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin all started out doing Blues. The term R&B originally stood for “Rhythm and Blues”, not “Rap and Bad-lyrics” as it does today.

You don’t have to write Blues songs in Ebonics, but it helps. With that as our opening thought, let me s’plain how you too can be “singin’ the Blues”. Most Blues begin with: "Woke up this morning.....". Something happy like: "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something depressing in the line like, "I got a good woman but she got PMS". The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes....sort of.

"Got a good woman but she got PMS".

“Yea, got a good woman but she got PMS".

“When she gets mean,

she scares me half to death”.

The Blues is not about choice. “You stuck in a ditch... you stuck in a ditch... ain't no way out... better love that bitch.”

Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs and broken down pickup trucks. Blues don't travel in BMW's or Sport Utility Vehicles. Often Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and company cars ain't even in the running. But walkin' plays a major part in the blues lifestyle. So does fixin' to die.

Teenagers can't sing the Blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you “shot a man in Memphis”. Memphis by the way is the birthplace of the Blues. Ain’t nothin’ closer to Blues then “Walking in Memphis”.

Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just seasonal depression. Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis, New Orleans and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain. And we all know, “it never rains in Southern California”.

A man with male pattern baldness ain't the blues, you got to be completely bald. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you went skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg 'cause an alligator chomped on it is.

You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster. Good places for the Blues: Karaoke bar, Highway, Jailhouse, empty bed, bottom of a whiskey bottle. Bad places for the Blues: Nordstrom's, gallery openings, Ivy League Institutions, Golf courses.

No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old ethnic person and you slept in it... for two weeks. Best clothes for the blues is torn overalls, or a prison uniform. And of course you should be wearing a Kool Blues hat. Blues instruments are Harmonica, Blues Guitar and Saxophone. A Xylophone, Chimes and Violin won’t cut it.

Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if: You older than dirt, You blind, You “shot a man in Memphis”, You “can't get no satisfaction”, You a “Back Door Man”, You named your guitar after your ex-wife who left you for your best friend. No, if: You have all your teeth, You “once was blind but now can see”, The man in Memphis lived, You have a 401K or trust fund.

Blues is not a matter of color. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the blues. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you poison, it's the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are: Ripple, Whiskey or Bourbon, Muddy Water, nasty black coffee. The following are NOT Blues beverages: Perrier, Chardonnay, Snapple, Slim Fast or Diet Coke.

If death occurs in a cheap motel or a “rundown shack by a railroad track”, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse (but it’s not a requirement), and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

Some Blues names for women: Sadie, Hanna, Big Mama, Bessie, Fat Bottom Dumpling, and Caldonia. Some Blues names for men: Joe, Willie, Joe-Willie, Little Willie, Big Willie, Muddy, and Leroy. People with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Tiffany, Brooke, Brittany and Heather can't sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

If you want to sing the blues you need a good Blues singers name. You may adopt one. First take the name of a physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.) Then add the name of a fruit (Lemon, Melon, Cherry, Tomato etc. Yes tomato is a fruit, and a health food to boot). Then tack on the last name of a President (Johnson, Jefferson, Bush, etc.) For example: Blind Melon Jefferson, Jakeleg Lemon Johnson, Killer Tomato Bush, etc. (maybe Horny Cactus Clinton?).

Now that you are dully indoctrinated into the fine art of Blues singing, here is a little Blues tune to practice on:

“I got a woman never could be true”

“I got a woman she never could be true”

“plays jokes on me,

then hollers APRIL FOOL“.

About the Author

DJ Kool Karl has been a Disc Jockey and KJ for over ten years. His articles have been published in Karaoke magazines and on various internet disc jockey sites. He can be found DJ-ing at clubs and private parties around Orange County California. To get your own Kool Karl articles, DJ/KJ shows, parties or special events call 714-544-2614
Email: Karaoke@TheOffice.net
Or check out:

http://home.earthlink.net/~karyll/karaoke/

http://www.wedding-dj-in-orange-county.com/

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karl_Siwek

Rap Is More than Music

by All The Lyrics

This is a style that stays aside all the other music trends. Not aside, but somewhat deeper. The reason is it is a reflection of the race, the plurality of people united by roots and origin. Rap is the culture of Afro-Americans, the continuation of their language and traditions. Rap is a mixture of speech and music, actually it is speech laid on music or beat it’s better to say. And when we claim that people are united through music, meaning every single human being on this planet, rap unites the ones close to blood by music and then everybody else, either welcoming or being hostile to a newcomer. What attracts people in rap? Is it catchy? Maybe. Those non-natives to rap often state the flow of speech is too quick and it is difficult to differentiate the words. Sometimes it seems rap music is only for those from the cradle. Foreigners are not invited.

Rap is classified as urban poetry of lyrical resistance. Thus it is not the music for village like country music. It is the gathering power of those united by music in big cities. The aim is to resist the grieves because misfortunes are more dramatic and numerous in urban areas.

Rap does not only speak to the mind and emotions, but speaks to the society all around people, for people. If the words or courage to say those words are not there, the subconscious takes over and the Rap lyrics kick in.

But once captured by the beat, most people - mainly younger ones - begin to hear the words, and the words may describe just how they are feeling that day. If the boss came to work with an agenda to screw everyone, some people will "feel" the words and the beat, especially when enclosed in a car doing 70 on the freeway. It’s something about riding with the music turned full-blast that has a way of absorbing the mind and supplying a means of temporal escape.

Some songs have innocent words that impress upon the mind to be released later at the water cooler. Some choruses are catchy and when sung by certain artist will stay within the subconscious long after. Various rappers have unique voices that some people find attractive or along the same vocal tone as their own voice, which it makes it easier to sing along.

First goes the beat, and then goes the lyrics! It is not as smooth and tender as classical music, not as glossy as pop, but it has the scream of pain of real emotion of the world’s harshness. One may even state that rap is the most pain expressing music style. Those who sing it or it is better to say read it revive their feelings not only concerning love, as most of the other styles do. Their message is about life and the problems, especially the ones of the Afro-American people. The music of pain and oppression, rap is a remedy to the latter. Let all the pills be like that!

About the Author

All The Lyrics is a site which gives you access to huge database of music lyrics, lively music forum and some articles about different aspects of single Music. Go and look here: http://www.AllTheLyrics.com.

Source: GoArticles.com

12 Bar Blues - How to Play Boogie Blues

by Alana LaGrange

12 Bar Blues is a universal set of chord progressions using the I, IV and V Chords.

Formula for 12 bar blues using the key of C:
4 measures of C Chords (the I chord)
2 measures of G Chord (V chord)
2 measures of C Chord
1 measure of G Chord
1 Measure of F Chord (IV Chord)
2 measures of C Chord.
This equals 12 measures. If you know the 7 chords you can use the C7 chord, G7 and F7 in place of the 3 note chords.

Now you know the pattern, you can play with any musician around the world.

What's fun about playing the 12 bar blues is that it is simple enough where everyone can start learning to play rhythms, and begin improvisation.

I am going to give you some ideas of how to play the blues. This will be very simple to learn and is excellent for playing hands together if you are a new piano student, it will strengthen your hands and fingers, and start you playing rhythm. OK, here we go. Starting with the left hand, let's learn a boogie woogie. The left hand will be played in quarter notes, in 4/4 time.

How to play each chord in boogie:

Left hand C chord:
beat 1, play C and G together
beat 2, play C and A together
beat 3, play C and B flat together
beat 4, play C and A together.

Left hand G Chord Boogie:
beat 1, play G and D together
beat 2, play G and E together
beat 3, play G and F together
beat 4, play G and E together.

Left hand F Chord Boogie:
beat 1, play F and C together
beat 2, play F and D together
beat 3, play F and E flat together
beat 4, play F and D together.

Next apply the left hand to the 12 bar blues, playing the correct chord in each measure. Practice and memorize the left hand boogie following the formula for the 12 bar blues.

What will the right hand play? The right hand can play the 3 notes chord. C chord = C-E=G, F chord = F-A-C, G chord = G-B-D. I would suggest when you first add the right hand to the boogie, play the right hand chord only on the 1 beat, until you can play hands together easy. After practicing the simple hands together, try to play the right hand chords in any rhythm that sounds good to you. For example, you could play a right hand chord on the 1 beat, and play eighth notes of the 4 beat. Now you have a rhythm. Once you start a rhythm, continue the same pattern throughout the 12 bars.

About the Author

Alana LaGrange is the founder of Music and You An online piano lesson website teaching beginning, Intermediate, music arranging and jazz. She has published piano lesson books, and is also an arranger and recording artist.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alana_LaGrange

Jazz Saxophones

by Kristy Annely

Saxophones are musical instruments belonging to the woodwind category. Saxophones were generally used in the military and in big orchestras, but are now found in smaller bands as well. They are generally used for big band music, pop music and jazz. A saxophone is as complex as a classical instrument and as unconventional as a non-classical instrument. People who play saxophones are called saxophonists.

The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax, a Belgian, in the 1840s. Later, many people made their own alterations to the instrument. There are many kinds of saxophones but the most commonly used are: Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Baritone saxophones. The smaller alto saxophones are ideal for first-time players. The tenor saxophones are generally preferred by jazz musicians, especially soloists. The alto is the next preferred model. There are also vintage saxophones available.

Saxophones are generally associated with jazz music, but they are also suitable for classical music. The saxophone often complements the French horn since both of them have a similar range and timbre. Jazz saxophones use high-baffled mouthpieces. Their configuration allows the baffle, or ceiling, to be closer to the reed for a brighter sound. The sound should be bright enough to cut through the other big instruments in a band or an orchestra. The baffle and the tone depend on the shape of the mouthpiece. Those with larger tip openings allow for greater flexibility in the pitch for "bending" notes. This is very useful in jazz and pop music. Lower baffles and smaller tip openings make the pitch more stable and give a darker sound. This is more suitable to classical music.

The local music store, mail-order service, a private party or the Internet are popular sources for buying saxophones. The main aspects to be considered are the quality, service, price and the model. The Internet is a good place to find information about jazz saxophones, but it is wise to test a few of them before buying.

About the Author

Saxophones provides detailed information on saxophones, jazz saxophones, soprano saxophones, alto saxophones and more. Saxophones is affliated with Violin Music . Source: GoArticles.com

Jazz

Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. It is characterized by blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythms, and improvisation. Jazz has been described as "America's Classical Music," and started in saloons throughout the nation.

History

Jazz has roots in the combination of Western and African music traditions, including spirituals, blues and ragtime, stemming ultimately from West Africa, western Sahel, and New England's religious hymns and hillbilly music, as well as in European military band music. After originating in African American communities near the beginning of the 20th century, jazz gained international popularity by the 1920s. Since then, jazz has had a pervasive influence on other musical styles worldwide. Even today, various jazz styles continue to evolve.

The word jazz itself is rooted in American slang, probably of sexual origin, although various alternative derivations have been suggested. According to University of Southern California film professor Todd Boyd, the term was originally slang for sexual intercourse as its earliest musicians found employment in New Orleans brothel parlors, with the word deriving from the term 'jass'. The term "jass" was rude sexual slang, related either to the term "jism" or to the jasmine perfume popular among urban prostitutes. Lacking an attentive audience, the musicians began to play for each other and their performances achieved aesthetic complexity not evident in ragtime. The musicians would typically play songs of the time, including gospel, and "jass it up" by playing around notes, changing timings, and generally change the overall feel of the song.

At the root of jazz is the blues, the folk music of former enslaved Africans in the U.S. South and their descendants, heavily influenced by West African cultural and musical traditions, that evolved as black musicians migrated to the cities. According to jazz musician Wynton Marsalis:

Jazz is something Negroes invented, and it said the most profound things -- not only about us and the way we look at things, but about what modern democratic life is really about. It is the nobility of the race put into sound ... jazz has all the elements, from the spare and penetrating to the complex and enveloping. It is the hardest music to play that I know of, and it is the highest rendition of individual emotion in the history of Western music.

Needless to say, the view of jazz as simply and solely "black music" is controversial. Numerous non-black musicians (Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, John Zorn, Harry James, Zoot Sims, Gerry Mulligan, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Dave Brubeck, and Charlie Haden among others) have made important contributions to jazz. In addition, it could be argued that jazz would not exist without both instruments invented or developed by Europeans (the trumpet, saxophone, trombone, double bass, etc.) and the previous work of Europeans in music theory, which was explored in different ways by jazz musicians, such as increased use of the seventh chord and extended chords. The origins of jazz are multicultural, not entirely "pure," and perhaps reflect the hybrid nature of American culture more than any other art form.

readmore here

Beautiful Dreamer, Stephen Foster, America's First Folk Song Writer

by Garry Gamber

“Beautiful Dreamer” was written by Stephen Foster just before his death in 1864 at age 37. The song became one of his most famous and most popular. However, as with the approximately 200 other songs that Foster wrote during his brief lifetime, he did not receive the recognition or financial reward that he deserved.

Stephen Foster was America’s first great songwriter, yet he died with 38 cents in a leather poke and a scrap of paper on which he had written a bit of song lyric, “dear friends and gentle hearts.”

Stephen Collins Foster was born near Pittsburgh on July 4, 1826, the same day that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died. Foster died in 1864 when he suffered a fall at home while weak from fever. The fall cut open his head and he died in New York’s Bellevue Hospital shortly thereafter. Foster had been suffering from alcoholism for years prior to his accidental death.

Young Stephen was able to play tunes on the guitar at age two, and at age ten he performed popular comic songs with local boys. By age 18 he wrote blackface minstrel songs which were the popular folk music of the day. At age 21 he composed the minstrel song, “Oh! Susanna,” which became a hit, resung, repeated, and whistled across the country. In fact it became the unofficial anthem of the California Gold Rush two years later.

Music publication was in its infancy in those days and music recording didn’t even exist. Stephen Foster did not receive royalties or fees for the many publications or arrangements of “Oh! Susanna” over the next few years. Indeed, he gave away the rights to the song and never received a penny for it.

Over the next ten years Foster wrote many songs, including “The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home),” “Camptown Races,” “Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair,” “Old Black Joe,” “Nelly Bly,” “Old Dog Tray,” and “My Old Kentucky Home.” Stephen Foster earned a little money by selling his songs outright, some for as little as one dollar. It’s been said that his songwriting earned him about $20,000 during the 15 or so years of his songwriting career.

In 1935 Florida adopted “The Swanee River” as the official state song, though Stephen Foster never visited Florida nor saw the river. He chose “Swanee” because the two syllables fit the music he had written. Foster sold E.P.Christy of the “Christy Minstrels,” a blackface minstrel show troupe, the authorship rights to “The Swanee River,” a regrettable decision.

The song became a popular international folk tune and has been credited with starting the tourist industry in Florida. Beginning in the 1880’s millions of people traveled to Florida to view the famous northern Florida river.

In 1928 Kentucky adopted “My Old Kentucky Home” as their official state song. In 1986 Kentucky changed the second line of the song, “’Tis summer, the darkies are gay;” to “’Tis summer, the people are gay;” for obvious reasons.

Because of the popularity of “My Old Kentucky Home” and “The Swanee River,” many people have the impression that Stephen Foster was a southern gentleman. However, he visited the South on only one occasion, a steamboat trip to New Orleans in 1852.

Stephen Foster spent his life mostly in Pennsylvania and New York. His father, William Foster Sr., spent many years in politics, working for President Harrison and winning election to two terms as mayor of Allegheny, Pa.

Prior to the Civil War Stephen Foster helped James Buchanan become President by becoming the musical director of the Buchanan Glee Club and by writing musical pieces for the campaign effort.

During the Civil War Stephen Foster wrote about 70 songs, mostly patriotic war songs which sold poorly. During the war Foster’s alcoholism deteriorated his health until his poverty-stricken death in 1864.

Two months after his death, Stephen Foster’s “Beautiful Dreamer” was published in New York.

Beautiful Dreamer by Stephen Foster

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
Sounds of the rude world heard in the day,
Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away!

Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
List while I woo thee with soft melody;
Gone are the cares of life's busy throng, --
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea
Mermaids are chaunting the wild lorelie;
Over the streamlet vapors are borne,
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.

Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
E'en as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart, --
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

About the Author

Garry Gamber is a public school teacher and entrepreneur. He writes articles about real estate, health and nutrition, and internet dating services. He is the owner of http://www.Anchorage-Homes.com and http://www.TheDatingAdvisor.com.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Garry_Gamber

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