the blues 布鲁斯音乐

Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. Blues has been a major influence on later American and Western popular
music, finding expression in jazz, rhythm and blues(R&B), rock and roll and country music, as well as conventional pop songs and even modern classical music.
In total, the blues is a real big fellow in music circle.
Origins
Do you know what the blues refers to? That is, what’s the nickname of the blues? The term "the blues" refers to the "blue devils", meaning melancholy and sadness. Because it reflects the singers gloomy feeling and makes the listener sad or somber. The origin of the term of was most likely derived from mysticism involving blue indigo, which was used by many West African cultures in death and mourning ceremonies where all the mourner's garments would have been dyed blue to indicate suffering. In Chinese culture, in the death or mourning ceremonies, people are always in which color? Black or white.
The first publication of blues sheet music was Hart Wand's "Dallas Blues" in 1912. The first recording by an African American singer was Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" in 1920. But the origins of the blues date back to some decades earlier, probably around 1890. They are very poorly documented, due in part to racial discrimination within American society, including academic circles, and to the low literacy rate of the rural African American community at the time.
Lyrics
In lyrics the blues is often used to describe a depressed mood and relate troubles
experienced within African American society.
The lyrics of early traditional blues verses often consisted of a single line repeated
four times, which is very monotonous; it was only in the first decades of the 20th century that the most common current structure became standard: the so-called AAB pattern. One of the first published blues songs, "Saint Louis Blues"(1914), was featuring the AAB structure.
Musical impact
Blues musical styles, forms, melodies, and the blues scale have influenced many
other genres of music, such as rock and roll, jazz, and popular music.
The blues scale is often used in popular songs, blues ballads and even in orchestral
works.
In popular culture
Like jazz, rock and roll, heavy metal music, hip hop music, country music, and pop music, blues has been accused of being the "devil's music" and of inciting violence and other poor behavior. In the early 20th century, especially as white audiences began listening, the blues was considered disreputable. On that time, W.C. Handy was the first to popularize blues-influenced music among non-black Americans.。