The Birth of Popular Music - The Blues

This unit offers a deep dive into one of the most influential periods in music history. You will investigate the cultural, theoretical, and performative roots of the blues, a genre that not only defined an era but laid the foundation for nearly every form of popular music that followed. You will examine the evolution of the blues through the lens of musicology, tracing its African-American origins and its role in shaping early 20th-century American identity. You will also engage with music theory and music technology, analysing the harmonic structures, scales, and rhythmic patterns that define the blues sound. And through music performance, you will gain hands-on experience playing, interpreting, and improvising within the blues tradition.