History Of Rock And Roll

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Field Holler

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A type of work song in which a solo singer shouts out or “hollers” a melody very loudly so that it is picked up by other workers in far fields. In some cases, it was said that the field holler of the post-Civil War Reconstruction era was a means of communication between various field hands. The melody, which starts out at a high pitch and descends in pitch by the end of the line, contributed somewhat to the development of blues singing.

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Call and Response

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A practice in singing in which a solo vocalist (the call) is answered by a group of singers. Also heard in instrumental music, or between vocalists and instrumentalists, the style is vocal in origin. Also
referred to as antiphonal singing.

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blue note

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The altered pitch or pitches of a blues scale or song.

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Blues Progression

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One of the most identifiable characteristics of the blues, the blues progression (also called the 12-bar blues progression) consists of a particular organization (and variations) of tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords. The blues progression is basic to the blues and is prominently used in rock and roll.

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Ostinato

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A motive, phrase or theme that is constantly repeated while other musical elements change; a riff.

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Barrelhouse rhythm

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The bouncy, long-short rhythm (dotted eighth note and sixteenth note) that is associated with boogie woogie. The name is derived from the place where boogie woogie flourished: bars or "barrelhouses."

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downbeat

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The first beat of a measure. The term has also been used for the regular accented beats in a 4/4 measure, beats one and three.

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strophic

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A song form in which each verse of the text is sung to the same music. The music for each verse remains the same while the words change. Most blues songs and folk songs are strophic forms. (Compare with standard song form and through-composed form.)

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String Band

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A musical ensemble associated with Southern country music, originating in the 1920s. The typical string band consisted of acoustic guitars, a string bass, fiddles, and a banjo, perhaps also a mandolin. String band is also sometimes used to describe a blue grass ensemble or a folk ensemble. The string band was combined with the swing band rhythm section (piano and drums) and horns in Western swing.

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Race Records

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Term that refers to all music recorded by African-American form the 1920s through the 1940s, including blues, jazz, and ragtime. Race records were usually from small independent labels and were distributed by the record company owners themselves, often from the trucks of their cars. Outlets for race records were owners themselves, often from the trunks of their cars. Outlets for race records were any type of store that serviced black customers. Race records became referred to as rhythm and blues records during the late 1940s.

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Cover (recording)

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A recording that has been recorded and released after the original version. A cover may or may not follow the style of the original and sometimes the lyrics are changed. In the early days of rock many rhythm and blues songs, originally recorded by black performers, were covered by white performers. The cover versions were often “cleaned up,” meaning that objectionable or risqué lyrics were changed to more “acceptable” language. Also, it was possible to air the white cover version on more radio stations throughout the country.

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Standard song form

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A musical structure that typically consists of two musical parts (A and B) played in four sections. Each section is generally 8 measures long, resulting in a 32-measure form. The A part is played and repeated (8 + 8 measures), followed by the B part or bridge (8 measures), and a return of the A part (8 measures) for an overall form of A A B A in 32 measures. In some rock songs the A A B A form is borrowed with a great deal of freedom and combined with strophic song form: in some cases the A part further divides into a verse (a) and chorus (b), while the B part retains its bridge function.

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Subdominant

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The fourth pitch of a major or minor scale. Subdominant also refers to the chord that is built on the fourth pitch of a scale.

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Rockabilly

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Another term for the style of rock ‘n’ roll that developed in and around Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-1950s, Memphis country rock. Rockabilly is derived from the combination of rock ‘n’ roll and hillbilly, or country music.

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Griot (jali)

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A singer/musician from the Senegal and Gambia regions of western Africa. The griots are the oral historians of their people and accompany themselves on string instruments, particularly the kora. Blues historians consider the griots to be forerunners of the blues singers. The African name for these historians is jali (plural jalolu).

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two-beat bass

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A type of bass accompaniment in which the bassist plays the root of the chord on the first beat of a measure and the fifth of the chord on the third beat of a measure. Associated very strongly with county music.

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tonic

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The main or central pitch of a major key. Tonic also refers to the chord that is built on the first pitch of a scale and is therefore the main or central chord, or home chord, of a major or minor key.

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backbeat

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Placing a strong accent on the offbeats. In a four-beat measure, the drummer typically emphasizes beats 2 and 4, creating the basic rhythm of rock music.

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slapped bass

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"slap bass" usually refers to a percussive playing technique most commonly used in funk, disco, soul, jazz, Latin, pop, and many other genres. The style sounds much more percussive than regular fingering of notes with the plucking hand, and is also usually louder and more distinct than the sound of a bass guitar played with the usual plucking techniques. The slap sound comes from the combination of two elements: striking the string with the side of the bony joint in the middle of the thumb, a harder surface than the pads of the fingers (used in plucked fingering); and intentionally allowing the vibrating string to come into contact with the metal frets, producing a "toney" or buzzing sound that is normally avoided in plucked/fingered bass.

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"Bo Diddley" rhythm

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Bo Diddley was well known for the "Bo Diddley beat," a rumba-like beat similar to "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes.[40] Somewhat resembling "shave and a haircut, two bits" beat, Diddley came across it while trying to play Gene Autry's "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle".[41] Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley", a song that closely resembles it, "Hambone", was cut by Red Saunders' Orchestra with The Hambone Kids.Bo Diddley was well known for the "Bo Diddley beat," a rumba-like beat similar to "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes.[40] Somewhat resembling "shave and a haircut, two bits" beat, Diddley came across it while trying to play Gene Autry's "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle".[41] Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley", a song that closely resembles it, "Hamb

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Turnaround

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A melodic and harmonic formula that is played at the end of a larger chord progression to prepare the performers and listeners for another repetition of the progression. Turnarounds typically end with a half cadence.

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Walking bass

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A type of bass line in which each beat of a measure is different tone. The bass line is usually a conjunct type of melody that enables the bassist to go from one chord to the next.

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Blues Shouter

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a blues singer, often male, capable of singing with a band. The singer must project, or "shout", to be heard over the drums and musical instruments of the band. Blues shouting was a major pathway by which jazz music edged over into rock and roll. It was also popular before the advent of microphones.
Notable blues shouters included:
Big Joe Turner — whose style hardly changed at all between 1938's "Roll 'Em Pete", and 1954's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" — Turner was arguably the greatest exponent of the art.

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"Smooch" tenor

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Jump Blues Ballads

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slide/bottleneck guitar

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a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide is in reference to the sliding motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides, which were the necks of glass bottles. Instead of altering the pitch of the strings in the normal manner (by pressing the string against frets), a slide is placed upon the string to vary its vibrating length, and pitch. This slide can then be moved along the string without lifting, creating continuous transitions in pitch.
Slide guitar is most often played (assuming a right-handed player and guitar):
With the guitar in the normal position, using a slide called a bottleneck on one of the fingers of the left hand; this is known as bottleneck guitar.
With the guitar held horizontally, with the belly uppermost and the bass strings toward the player, and using a slide called a steel held in the left hand; this is known as lap steel guitar.

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Bend

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To slightly alter the pitch of a note by pilling on a string, raising or lowering the voice, or tightening or loosing the embouchure, or mouth position, on a horn. The bent note is often considered a blue note.

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Dominant

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The fifth pitch of a scale. Dominant also refers to the chord built on the fifth pitch of a scale.

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Fill

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An instrumental embellishment played during breaks (rests) in a vocal melody. The standard 12-bar blues from has an instrumental fill at the end of each sung line. Fill also refers to anything played by a drummer other than strict time-keeping.