Music · Music
Jazz & the Blues
Born from African American experience in the South, the blues gave American music its form (12 bars) and its sound (blue notes); jazz added improvisation and swing, evolving from New Orleans to swing, bebop, cool and modal jazz.
Step 1 of 6 · Overview35 min read ·
Key idea
Prereqs: How music works; Classical: Bach to Beethoven. Next: Rock & pop. Modeled on Yale's Listening to Music, Ken Burns's *Jazz* and Ted Gioia's *The History of Jazz*.Next: 1. The blues