MUNM 287 (questions & answers) A+
graded 2025/2026
Blues Lyric Form - correct answer ✔✔3 line stanza with rhyme scheme A-A-B
Field Hollers & Call and Response - correct answer ✔✔-The vocal music of blacks throughout
the rural south was influenced by the combination of work songs, field hollers and the music of
the street musicians.
Roots & Sources of Blues - correct answer ✔✔The "blues" has several meanings. It can describe:
-Music which projects a sadness.
-A rhymed poetic form.
-A type of chord progression
The Work Song and the Blues:-The cries and calls of the field were highly individualized
expressions, for communication, for relieving loneliness, for giving vent to feelings, or for simply
expressing the fact of ones existence. The embryonic blues scale is so apparent in some of these
calls that it serves as a reminder of the close relation between the calls and the primitive rural
blues. -These early sources became a solo vocal style that was accompanied by banjo or guitar. -
The lyrics may seem simple on the surface, but the complexity becomes apparent upon careful
examination.
Regional Styles of the Blues - correct answer ✔✔-Raw sound both vocally and instrumentally
-Makes them the most somber in tone and expression
-Highly improvisational
-Imitative of the work songs, field hollers, call and response-all forms of communication from
slavery days
, -The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. The Delta Blues are considered the
most primitive form of the art.
Charley Patton - correct answer ✔✔Who is considered the "father of the Delta blues?"
Son House - correct answer ✔✔-Son House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong,
repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar. His singing often incorporated
elements of southern gospel and spiritual music. -He did not learn guitar until he was in his
early twenties. Prior to that, he was determined to become a Baptist preacher. -House
associated himself with Delta blues musicians Charlie Patton and Willie Brown, often acting as a
sideman. -He was recorded by John and Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941 and
1942. -He moved north to Rochester, New York, where he remained until his rediscovery in
1964, spurred by the American folk revival. -His influence has extended over a wide area of
musicians, including Robert Johnson, John Hammond, Alan Wilson (of Canned Heat), Bonnie
Raitt, The White Stripes, and John Mooney.
Robert Johnson - correct answer ✔✔A Delta blues man who supposedly sold his soul to the
Devil for his musical abilities. Not a commercial success in his lifetime, but rediscovered in the
1960s after his death, and would become one of the most well-respected early blues musicians
of the 20th century.
-Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues
style.
-Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much
legend and myth.
Characteristics of the Blues - correct answer ✔✔-Raw sound both vocally and instrumentally
-Makes them the most somber in tone and expression
-Highly improvisational
-Imitative of the work songs, field hollers, call and response-all forms of communication from
slavery days.
graded 2025/2026
Blues Lyric Form - correct answer ✔✔3 line stanza with rhyme scheme A-A-B
Field Hollers & Call and Response - correct answer ✔✔-The vocal music of blacks throughout
the rural south was influenced by the combination of work songs, field hollers and the music of
the street musicians.
Roots & Sources of Blues - correct answer ✔✔The "blues" has several meanings. It can describe:
-Music which projects a sadness.
-A rhymed poetic form.
-A type of chord progression
The Work Song and the Blues:-The cries and calls of the field were highly individualized
expressions, for communication, for relieving loneliness, for giving vent to feelings, or for simply
expressing the fact of ones existence. The embryonic blues scale is so apparent in some of these
calls that it serves as a reminder of the close relation between the calls and the primitive rural
blues. -These early sources became a solo vocal style that was accompanied by banjo or guitar. -
The lyrics may seem simple on the surface, but the complexity becomes apparent upon careful
examination.
Regional Styles of the Blues - correct answer ✔✔-Raw sound both vocally and instrumentally
-Makes them the most somber in tone and expression
-Highly improvisational
-Imitative of the work songs, field hollers, call and response-all forms of communication from
slavery days
, -The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. The Delta Blues are considered the
most primitive form of the art.
Charley Patton - correct answer ✔✔Who is considered the "father of the Delta blues?"
Son House - correct answer ✔✔-Son House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong,
repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar. His singing often incorporated
elements of southern gospel and spiritual music. -He did not learn guitar until he was in his
early twenties. Prior to that, he was determined to become a Baptist preacher. -House
associated himself with Delta blues musicians Charlie Patton and Willie Brown, often acting as a
sideman. -He was recorded by John and Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941 and
1942. -He moved north to Rochester, New York, where he remained until his rediscovery in
1964, spurred by the American folk revival. -His influence has extended over a wide area of
musicians, including Robert Johnson, John Hammond, Alan Wilson (of Canned Heat), Bonnie
Raitt, The White Stripes, and John Mooney.
Robert Johnson - correct answer ✔✔A Delta blues man who supposedly sold his soul to the
Devil for his musical abilities. Not a commercial success in his lifetime, but rediscovered in the
1960s after his death, and would become one of the most well-respected early blues musicians
of the 20th century.
-Johnson is now recognized as a master of the blues, particularly of the Mississippi Delta blues
style.
-Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given rise to much
legend and myth.
Characteristics of the Blues - correct answer ✔✔-Raw sound both vocally and instrumentally
-Makes them the most somber in tone and expression
-Highly improvisational
-Imitative of the work songs, field hollers, call and response-all forms of communication from
slavery days.
