Tjaz

Born in the African American communities of the Deep South, the blues shaped nearly every form of popular music that followed.

Which region is most often called the birthplace of the blues?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. The Mississippi Delta, between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, produced many of the earliest blues musicians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Incorrect

The answer is the Mississippi Delta. Its plantation communities produced early blues figures such as Charley Patton and Son House.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

How many bars long is the standard blues chord progression?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. The 12-bar blues, built on the I, IV and V chords, is the most common blues form.

Incorrect

The answer is 12 bars. The 12-bar blues uses the I, IV and V chords and became the foundation of much rock and roll as well.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Who is known as the "Father of the Blues"?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. W.C. Handy published influential blues compositions such as "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues" in the 1910s, helping bring the style to a wide audience.

Incorrect

The answer is W.C. Handy. He did not invent the blues, but his published songs, like "St. Louis Blues," popularized it nationally.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Which bluesman is famously linked to the legend of selling his soul to the devil at a crossroads?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. The legend grew around Robert Johnson's sudden mastery of the guitar, and songs like "Cross Road Blues" fed the myth.

Incorrect

The answer is Robert Johnson. His rapid improvement as a guitarist and his early death in 1938 helped the crossroads legend take hold.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Which Chicago record label recorded Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. Chess Records, founded by Leonard and Phil Chess, became the home of Chicago electric blues in the 1950s.

Incorrect

The answer is Chess Records. Run by brothers Leonard and Phil Chess, it defined the sound of postwar Chicago blues.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

What did B.B. King name his guitars?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. B.B. King named his guitars Lucille after a woman two men fought over during a 1949 dance hall fire he narrowly escaped.

Incorrect

The answer is Lucille. King took the name from a woman at the center of a fight that started a fire at a club where he was playing.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Which singer was known as the "Empress of the Blues"?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. Bessie Smith was the most commercially successful blues singer of the 1920s and earned the title "Empress of the Blues."

Incorrect

The answer is Bessie Smith. Ma Rainey, her mentor, was known as the "Mother of the Blues."

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Blue notes are typically created by lowering which scale degrees?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. Flattening or bending the third, fifth and seventh degrees gives the blues its characteristic expressive sound.

Incorrect

The answer is the third, fifth and seventh. Lowering or bending these degrees produces the blue notes central to the style.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

Which instrument did Little Walter revolutionize in Chicago blues?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. Little Walter amplified the harmonica through a microphone and amplifier, creating a powerful, saxophone-like tone.

Incorrect

The answer is the harmonica. Little Walter played it through an amplifier, transforming its sound and influencing generations of players.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

What is the typical lyric pattern of a traditional blues verse?

or press Enter ⏎
Correct

Correct. In the AAB pattern, a line is sung, repeated, and then answered by a concluding line.

Incorrect

The answer is AAB. A first line is stated and repeated, then followed by a different line that resolves it.

To get feedback you first need to answer the question above.
or press Enter ⏎

How would you rate this quiz?

 
or press Enter ⏎

Share this quiz with others who appreciate the blues.

Edit this quiz
or press Enter ⏎
Please turn on JavaScript