Where did the Blues Begin?

Philip Newton

Unsolicited Press
Sep 4, 2018 · 3 min read

The blues had to begin somewhere. Or did it? Did blues really have a beginning, or was it a sort of timeless coming together, a weaving and a braiding of different sources, streams and threads, shuttling forward and backward in time?

The blues scale, with the flatted third, fifth and seventh has its roots in west and central Africa, as does the melismatic vocal pitch bending, which could also have had a North African and Middle Eastern influence. Regions in Mali, Senegambia and other West African countries gave us the familiar elements…

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