BLUES GUITAR PERFORMANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF NATIONAL INFLUENCES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/facs-2024-4-13Keywords:
blues, guitar performance, Hawaiian guitar, Spanish guitar, electric guitar, microintonation, national influences.Abstract
The paper focuses on the specifics of national influences on the formation of blues guitar performance in its functional, constructive, and expressive aspects. The purpose of the paper is to trace the development of scientific thought on the influence of various national traditions on the formation of blues guitar performances. The research methodology is based on historiographical analysis. It ensured the identification of the range of relevant scientific literature on blues art and the search for information on the influence of national guitar schools and traditions on the formation of blues guitar performance. The contextual analysis revealed the mechanisms of interaction between different traditions. The comparative analysis allowed us to identify certain national and racial differences in guitar performance, intonation and style analysis provided the specifics of musical expression. The scientific novelty of the article is represented by the introduction of a significant range of the latest sources (2007–2020) into the scientific circulation of Ukrainian art history, and clarification of the essence of the processes that took place throughout the history of blues guitar performance. Conclusions. The analysis of scientific research on blues guitar performance demonstrates the presence of various national influences on it, among which Hawaiian traditions related to the design features of the “horizontal” guitar and the slide method of sound production were especially pronounced. Spanish and Latin American performing influences can be traced in the following finger techniques of guitar playing and specific dance and genre rhythms. The researchers consider the internal regional and inter-racial specificity somewhat separately, which was also reflected in blues guitar performance, because “white” bluesmen brought to their work a more developed playing technique and an understanding of harmony enriched by musical education, and African Americans provided micro-intonation inherent in their musical culture and what is considered a “blues tone”. The development of blues guitar performance was particularly influenced by the electric guitar industry in the United States, which forever changed the role of the guitar in blues music.
References
Baily, J., & Driver, P. (1992). Spatio-Motor Thinking in Playing Folk Blues Guitar. The World of Music, 34(3), 57–71. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43563264 [in English]
Bennett, A., & Dawe, K. (Eds.). (2020). Guitar cultures. Routledge. [In English]
Bromell, N. (2000). “The Blues and the Veil”: The Cultural Work of Musical Form in Blues and ’60s Rock. American Music, 18(2), 193–221. https://doi.org/10.2307/305248 [In English]
Carr, D. (2001). Can White Men Play the Blues? Music, Learning Theory, and Performance Knowledge. Philosophy of Music Education Review, 9(1), 23–31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40495450 [In English]
Cushing, S. (2018). Pioneers of the Blues Revival. University of Illinois Press. https://doi.org/10.5406/j.ctvw04fkw [In English]
Dann, D. (2021). Guitar King: Michael Bloomfield's Life in the Blues. New York, USA: University of Texas Press. https://doi.org/10.7560/318775 [In English]
Dawe, K., & Bennett, A. (2020). Introduction: Guitars, cultures, people and places. In Guitar cultures (pp. 1–10). Routledge. [In English]
Evans, D. (2020). The Guitar in the Blues Music of the Deep South1. In Guitar Cultures (pp. 11–26). Routledge. [In English]
Gussow, A. (2020). Whose Blues?: Facing Up to Race and the Future of the Music. University of North Carolina Press. [In English]
Kellett, A. (2017). The British Blues Network: Adoption, Emulation, and Creativity. University of Michigan Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.2969715 [In English]
Lacava, J. D. (1992). The Theatricality of the Blues. Black Music Research Journal, 12(1), 127–139. https://doi.org/10.2307/779286 [In English]
Madura, P. D. (2001). A Response to David Carr, “Can White Men Play the Blues?: Music, Learning Theory and Performance Knowledge.” Philosophy of Music Education Review, 9(1), 60–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40495455 [In English]
Narváez, P. (2002). The Influences of Hispanic Music Cultures on African-American Blues Musicians. Black Music Research Journal, 22, 175–196. https://doi.org/10.2307/1519948 [In English]
Obrecht, J. (2015). Early Blues: The First Stars of Blues Guitar. University of Minnesota Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt17xx5pz [In English]
Sakakeeny, M. (2011). New Orleans Music as a Circulatory System. Black Music Research Journal, 31(2), 291–325. https://doi.org/10.5406/blacmusiresej.31.2.0291 [In English]
Smith, S. G. (1992). Blues and Our Mind-Body Problem. Popular Music, 11(1), 41–52. http://www.jstor.org/stable/853226 [In English]
Springer, R. (1976). The Regulatory Function of the Blues. The Black Perspective in Music, 4(3), 278–288. https://doi.org/10.2307/1214536 [In English]
Tallmadge, W. (1984). Blue Notes and Blue Tonality. The Black Perspective in Music, 12(2), 155–165. https://doi.org/10.2307/1215019 [In English]
Troutman, J. W. (2013). Steelin’ the Slide: Hawai‘i and the Birth of the Blues Guitar. Southern Cultures, 19(1), 26–52. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26216194 [In English]
van der Bliek, R. (2007). The Hendrix Chord: Blues, Flexible Pitch Relationships, and Self-Standing Harmony. Popular Music, 26(2), 343–364. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4500321 [In English]
Weinstein, D. (2013). Rock’s Guitar Gods – Avatars of the Sixties. Archiv Für Musikwissenschaft, 70(2), 139–154. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24467204 [In English]
Weisethaunet, H. (2001). Is There Such a Thing as the “Blue Note”? Popular Music, 20(1), 99–116. http://www.jstor.org/stable/853697 [In English]
