Who wants to hear some stupidity?

[Freeze-Frame]

So I was talking to my friend, and he doesn't believe that modern music originated from the blues. I tried to reason with him, but he still doesn't believe. When he gave the arguemnt that Katy Perry (excuse me for saying her name) isn't a product of the blue's legacy, I told him, "first came the blues, then jazz, then rock and roll, then hard rock, then pop, then Katy Perry." He still doesn't believe.

 

Then again, he says he hates Rush and listens to weird Japanese crap, so his opinion shouldn't matter.

[Principled Man]

How old is this friend of yours?

[Freeze-Frame]

We're both 16

[hobo73]

oh man. This reminds me of the time in high school when my then-boyfriend pointed at my Stevie Ray Vaughan shirt and said "That's, uh....BB King, right?"

Not only was SRV clearly NOT a black blues legend, but HIS NAME WAS ON THE SHIRT.

 

I told him to just go away. I was flabbergasted lol.

Growing up, my dad always preached about the importance of the blues. He done good ;)

[Principled Man]

We're both 16

 

Give him time. He has just started learning about the music world. Check back with him when he's 30. He'll be wiser then......;)

[Lost In Xanadu]

Oh honey...

 

(sorry, HIMYM reference)

[Babycat]

Of course modern music originated from the blues. How else did it start?

[Lost In Xanadu]

The real question is... where did the Blues come from? And then where did that come from... and the one before that? Does it go back to that guy finding an ancient guitar in a cave?

[hobo73]

I say everything originated with classical music.

[umoveme]

It's very similar to the way the slaves did a type of singing. Kind of a sing and answer thing. I took an in-depth music origin class.

"Song and call"

It's completely American. well, African, I suppose.

 

Edited March 28, 2014 by umoveme

[Blue J]

It's very similar to the way the slaves did a type of singing. Kind of a sing and answer thing. I took an in-depth music origin class.

"Song and call"

It's completely American.

 

Exactly. Call-and-response, field hollers, etc...what are commonly called "work songs" now.

 

How the guitar came to be the accompanying instrument, though, I don't know.

[drbirdsong]

Modern time that exists in jazz, blues, rock and so on came from Louis Armstrong. The first generation jazz folks always said, "Pops showed us the way." Jazz is an original American art form that has roots in negro spirituals, African music, classical music and a little bit of everything that was around in the late nineteenth century. I suppose we could keep going back until we eventually get to Adam tapping his fingers on a rock, but you will never convince a stubborn 16 year old that anything existed before they were born. There's lots of years of discovery ahead for the young folks.

[Principled Man]

It's very similar to the way the slaves did a type of singing. Kind of a sing and answer thing. I took an in-depth music origin class.

"Song and call"

It's completely American.

 

Exactly. Call-and-response, field hollers, etc...what are commonly called "work songs" now.

 

How the guitar came to be the accompanying instrument, though, I don't know.

 

The guitar came to us from Spanish and Spanish-American influences, as well as from Bluegrass/Appalachian/hillbilly music. While upper classes focused primarily on symphony orchestras, ballets, and operas, the common folk had jug bands, hillbilly music, flamenco, Country & Western, etc. The guitar, fiddle and banjo were the main instruments of the common folk.

 

The earliest "rock & roll" bands used the saxophone and piano as lead instruments, but when electrically amplified guitars were introduced in the 1940's, bands quickly adapted and the "rock guitar" became the focal point of American popular music.

[Lost In Xanadu]

http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/206/338/206338467_640.jpg

 

Chuck! Chuck, it's Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Berry. You know that new sound you're looking for? Well, listen to this!

[Skin Bag]

So I was talking to my friend, and he doesn't believe that modern music originated from the blues. I tried to reason with him, but he still doesn't believe. When he gave the arguemnt that Katy Perry (excuse me for saying her name) isn't a product of the blue's legacy, I told him, "first came the blues, then jazz, then rock and roll, then hard rock, then pop, then Katy Perry." He still doesn't believe.

 

Then again, he says he hates Rush and listens to weird Japanese crap, so his opinion shouldn't matter.

 

Too bad your friend didn't attend last year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. That was like a 5 or 6 hour indoctrination of how "the blues gave way to rock and roll". And I'm sure if the night had lasted much longer we would have received a sermon about "the blues giving way to weird Japanese crap" too.

 

:D Of course I'm kidding somewhat about that. It was a fantastic evening, the best time of my life, but there was an excessive amount of complaining by some presenters and performers about how the blues are underrepresented in R&R HofF.

[Tinwoodsman]

very interesting! Edited March 30, 2014 by Tinwoodsman

[RushBoingo]

Well in a way I can see where he is coming from, because to the common ear, genres are quite different in style. When you look at instrumentation, lyrics, and mood, they seem starkly different. But in reality, looking at the musical theory of many songs could draw many connections, mainly how chord progressions have evolved and where they are used. To a point you could make a giant chart of the chords used in music, and draw connections between all different genres, and watch then shape differently as different genres interpret them differently. This is why many songs are covered by artists who have no genre connections to the source material, the songs can be adapted into the different genre because the chords progressions are familiar enough. Case and point, the I-V-VI-IV chord progression found everywhere, and documented by The Axis Of Awesome

 

 

Perhaps to show you're friend the connections, plays him the chorus (as painful as it may be) to I kissed a Girl by Katy Perry, then point out that the vocal line is the exact same (excuse the different key), as the Guitar Riff from Hemispheres that is heard around 2:35. Then play from the monsters section from La Villa (point out its from the same album for similarity) and then play him power house, where the riff was based. That should show how influences work to him at least.

Edited March 30, 2014 by RushBoingo

[Alsgalpal]

We're both 16

 

 

Based on your description of your friend, I would say there's only hope for one of you, and I will only give you one guess. ;) Good job, son!

[Freeze-Frame]

Well in a way I can see where he is coming from, because to the common ear, genres are quite different in style. When you look at instrumentation, lyrics, and mood, they seem starkly different. But in reality, looking at the musical theory of many songs could draw many connections, mainly how chord progressions have evolved and where they are used. To a point you could make a giant chart of the chords used in music, and draw connections between all different genres, and watch then shape differently as different genres interpret them differently. This is why many songs are covered by artists who have no genre connections to the source material, the songs can be adapted into the different genre because the chords progressions are familiar enough. Case and point, the I-V-VI-IV chord progression found everywhere, and documented by The Axis Of Awesome

 

Perhaps to show you're friend the connections, plays him the chorus (as painful as it may be) to I kissed a Girl by Katy Perry, then point out that the vocal line is the exact same (excuse the different key), as the Guitar Riff from Hemispheres that is heard around 2:35. Then play from the monsters section from La Villa (point out its from the same album for similarity) and then play him power house, where the riff was based. That should show how influences work to him at least.

 

The problem is that my friend doesn't know that much about music. The best he can do is play a few simple songs on his Spanish guitar and read tab. He pretends that he knows what defines a style or genre, but he doesn't really. I even admit to not knowing some things about musical style, but at least I know the basics. If I showed him the comparison between those two songs, he'll probably still won't have a clue.

[The Analog Grownup]

My daddy played the blues, so at least that's where it started for me.

 

Not a bad place to start, eh? ;)