Mississippi Delta Blues: A case study in intensity - cultural, social, geographical, and musical elements - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Blues as an original American music genre has been widely appreciated and adored by music enthusiasts all over the world. Being a product of authentic American social and ethnical background, this style implies the character of African American inhabitants of the area considered its cradle. In the result of blues evolution, we have a range of its styles and varieties, which are played not only by black, but also by white American citizens.
Nowadays blues is mostly associated with romantic moods and sentimentality, but, in fact, blues in its original guise had little to do with romance and mystery. As far as each music style (actually, similar to other forms of art) responds to society’s needs and frames of mind existing in the certain historical period and in certain political, economic and cultural conditions, blues – and delta blues as one of its earliest forms – is no exception. Delta blues emerged as an artistic way of reflecting hardships and contemporary life of the Negro workers in Mississippi area and, therefore, the “fundamentally black aspect” (O’Connell) separates it from the traditional cultural heritage of whites and emphasizes the nature of Delta blues as acutely social (and even related to racial discrimination) rather than romantic. However, Delta blues unfolded its romantic nature in later decades and eventually produced immense impact on formation of modern song themes, playing techniques and music styles. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More