Listen What I Gotta Say: Women in the Blues
Lesson 1
Hear Me Howl: Introduction to the Blues
6th grade–8th grade
What is the "essence" of the blues?
Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Waters Blues Band, photo by Jim Marshall. Arhoolie Records.
The question to consider in this lesson is . . .
Hear Me Howl: Introduction to the Blues
20+ MIN
30+ MIN
20+ MIN
Big Mama Thornton with Band, by Chris Strachwitz. Arhoolie Records.
What Is the Blues?
Path 1
20+ minutes
Big Mama Thornton at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA, © Jim Marshall Photography LLC.
King of Blues, Photo of a Guitar, by Libby Junior, CC0 1.0, via PublicDomainPictures.net.
Introduction to the Blues
How would you describe blues music?
Is it sad?
Is it happy?
Does it talk about life?
Is it all about sad love stories?
What's in a Name?
Blues Word Cloud, by Ty-Juana Taylor. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
Keeping the origins of this term in mind, what musical qualities and lyrics would you expect to hear when listening to blues music?
The term blues is derived from expressions like “feelin' blue,” “to have blue devils,” and “to have low spirits.”
These expressions refer to feelings, especially those relating to personal suffering, thoughtfulness, and feeling troubled or worried.
Attentive Listening
Listen to the first two or three verses of this song called “Session Blues.”
Big Mama Thornton Singing, by Chris Strachwitz. Arhoolie Records.
Does this recording match how you originally described blues music? If not, why?
Meet the Artist
Big Mama Thornton, Berkeley Folk Festival, photo by Kelly Hart; © Northwestern University. Courtesy of Berkeley Folk Music Festival Archive, Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University Libraries.
The singer on this recording was a famous blues musician in the 1950s and 1960s named
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.
About Big Mama Thornton
Big Mama Thornton with Purse, by Chris Strachwitz. Arhoolie Records.
Willie Mae Thornton (1926-1984) was born and raised in Alabama. At 14, she left home to tour with the Hot Harlem Review. No one ever formally taught her how to sing or how to play the harmonica and drums, but she learned from watching others. Around 1950, Big Mama Thornton made her first recording in Houston, which was released under the name of the Harlem Stars. Later, Big Mama recorded “Hound Dog” and it put her name on the map. The song was a hit. Big Mama found herself in high demand, touring from coast to coast. Later, Elvis Presley recorded the song and made a monster hit for himself utilizing mostly the same arrangement.
Text
A Brief History of the Blues
The blues became a prominent American musical form at the turn of the 20th century.
The style originated in communities of formerly-enslaved Africans, deriving from spirituals, field hollers, shouts, and chants.
Though formed 100+ years ago, the blues has been a major influence on American and Western popular music, inspiring ragtime, jazz, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip-hop, and country.
Discussion Question
Why do you think that one style of music has been able to influence so many other styles and genres of music for so many years after its creation?
Blues Topics
While the topics of blues compositions can be sad or melancholic, they are usually autobiographical in nature.
This means that they often deal with personal relationships and social issues, such as poverty.
However, they can also be joyous, sharing about a new love, a new job, a new instrument, or a favorite band / musician.
Listening for Musical Meaning
Listen to Big Mama Thornton’s “Session Blues” in its entirety.
Follow along with the lyrics and think about these questions:
What is this song about?
What do you think Big Mama was feeling as she sang this song?
How do you know? (Are there clues in the lyrics or in the musical sounds?)
Lyrics of "Session Blues" by Big Mama Thornton
Hey, I want you to listen what I gotta say (2x)
I've got everybody I need right here today
Hey Looka here baby I'm gonna be walking down your street one day (2x)
And I want you to follow me down to the lil oh country shack and that where we begin to play
The band is the swingelest in the land (2x)
I want you to listen babe, I want you to clearly understand
Buddy Guy he's a swinging guitarist (2x),
but when you hear him play you wanna run out in the pouring cold
Instrumental Break
Hey Hey I know everything gonna be all right this morning (2x)
I want everybody to know that I'm coming through their town and I might come through in the early dawn
Look out Eddie Boyd
Instrumental Break
I gotta let everybody know I've gotta end this song (2x)
When you hear the trumpet, I'll be in your town in just a lil short while and it won't be long
Instrumental Break
Generally Speaking .....
Expressing the Blues
Whatever the topic, the themes of blues compositions are often expressed in a powerful and somewhat raw (unrefined) manner—both in terms of the lyrics themselves and the way in which the lyrics are interpreted and delivered by the singer.
These qualities can be seen and heard in the lyrics of “Session Blues,” by Big Mama Thornton.
Big Mama Thornton, Arms Crossed, ©Jim Marshall Photography LLC.
Generally Speaking .....
Listening to the Blues
Each time you listen, think about a new guiding question.
Listen to excerpts (2 to 3 verses each time) from Big Mama’s recording of the “Session Blues.”
How does the singer interpret the lyrics (style)? Consider timbre, diction, projection, and so forth.
How does the singer engage with the other musicians?
What instruments do you hear? How would you describe their roles within the band? Do they help to tell the story?
?
?
?
Learning Checkpoint
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When did the blues become a prominent American musical form and what other musical styles has it influenced?
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What are some common topics in blues music and how are these topics expressed?
End of Path 1: Where will you go next?
The Blues Isn't Always Blue
Path 2
30+ minutes
Elizabeth Cotten, by Brian Lanker. National Portrait Gallery.
The Blues Isn't Always Blue
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Although the blues is often thought to be sad, it doesn’t have to be. The blues can encompass a wide variety of emotions.
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In this lesson, you will listen to two blues songs by two different artists that convey emotions and feelings besides sadness.
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As you analyze the musical characteristics of these songs, you will discover just how diverse the “blues sound” can be.
Attentive Listening Activity: Example 1
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First, listen to "Session Blues" by Big Mama Thornton
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As you listen, complete the first column of your “Blues Compare and Contrast” worksheet.
Listen for the ways in which Big Mama Thornton (and the members of her band) use musical elements and expressive qualities (time/rhythm, form, melody, harmony, instrumental and vocal timbre, texture, tempo, dynamics) to express ideas and emotions.
Lyrics of "Session Blues" by Big Mama Thornton
Hey, I want you to listen what I gotta say (2x)
I've got everybody I need right here today
Hey Looka here baby I'm gonna be walking down your street one day (2x)
And I want you to follow me down to the lil oh country shack and that where we begin to play
The band is the swingelest in the land (2x)
I want you to listen babe, I want you to clearly understand
Buddy Guy he's a swinging guitarist (2x),
but when you hear him play you wanna run out in the pouring cold
Instrumental Break
Hey Hey I know everything gonna be all right this morning (2x)
I want everybody to know that I'm coming through their town and I might come through in the early dawn
Look out Eddie Boyd
Instrumental Break
I gotta let everybody know I've gotta end this song (2x)
When you hear the trumpet, I'll be in your town in just a lil short while and it won't be long
Instrumental Break
A Different Kind of Blues: "Freight Train"
Next, watch this performance of a song called “Freight Train,” recorded by Elizabeth Cotten in 1957.
Freight Train. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.
What is unique about her playing style?
About Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten
Elizabeth Cotten with Guitar, by John Cohen. Courtesy of the John Cohen Trust.
She became known for a unique style of playing where she would fret the strings with her right hand and pick her left, opposite of how most people play. This meant she would thumb the treble strings while finger-picking the bass notes.
Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten (1895-1987) taught herself how to play the banjo and guitar.
About Elizabeth "Libba" Cotten
Elizabeth was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 as her style of playing was so influential.
This method of playing with the left hand, which was unique and influential, became known as "Cotten picking."
"Cotten Picking" Extension Activity
Two Unidentified Men Picking Cotton, Macon County, AL, circa 1930-1940, by P.H. Polk. Tuskegee University Archives.
Let's talk about what the phrase may mean:
The phrase "cotton-picking" has been used in conversation since the 1700s in the United States. Historically, it has been often used to replace the word "damned."
The task of picking cotton in the American south was done by African-American slaves, by machine, and by both Black and white sharecroppers and farm employees. It is a tedious, time-consuming, and painful task to do by hand.
"Cotten Picking" Extension Activity
Elizabeth Cotten Holding Her Guitar, Larry Ellis on the Left, by Mike Seeger. University of North Carolina.
Using the phrase "cotton-picking" can mean to slow down in addition to communicating a forceful statement. However, saying "cotton-picker" was used in the American south during the 1800s, when Elizabeth was born, and is offensive and racist as it referred to those picked cotton in a derogatory way.
Elizabeth's style of playing the guitar with her left hand and picking with two fingers became known as "Cotten picking." While it does not seem that Elizabeth named the style of playing herself, she does refer to the style as "Cotten-picking" in some performances and interviews.
"Cotten Picking" Extension Activity
Elizabeth Cotten at the 1969 Folklife Festival, by Diana Davies. Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
What does calling Elizabeth's style of finger picking "Cotten picking" do for how the term has been used over the course of history?
Listening for Meaning: "Freight Train"
Let's listen to the audio version of the song. As you listen, think about the following questions:
What is this song about?
What do you think Elizabeth Cotten was feeling as she sang?
Freight train, freight train run so fast.
Please don' tell what train I'm on,
They won't know what route I'm on.
When I'm dead, Lawd bury me deep,
Way down on old Chestnut Street,
So I can hear old Number Nine,
As she comes rolling by.
When I'm dead and in my grave,
No more good times here I crave.
Place the stones at my head and feet
And tell them all I've gone to sleep.
Freight train, freight train run so fast.
Attentive Listening Activity: Example 2
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Listen again to “Freight Train” by Elizabeth Cotten.
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As you listen, complete the second column of your “Blues Compare and Contrast” Worksheet.
Specifically, you will be listening for the ways in which Elizabeth Cotten used musical elements and expressive qualities (time/rhythm, form, melody, harmony, instrumental and vocal timbre, texture, tempo, dynamics) to convey expressive intent.
Complete the final column of your “Blues Compare and Contrast” Worksheet.
What similarities and differences did you notice between these two interpretations of the blues?
Compare and Contrast
After comparing the two examples, what did you find?
Similarities:
Others?
Differences:
Others?
Blues Form (Harmony)
Big Mama Thornton's "Session Blues" is based on a standard 12-bar blues chord progression.
| I | I | I | I7 |
|---|---|---|---|
| IV | IV | I | I |
| V | IV | I | I or V |
"Session Blues" 12-bar progression
"Session Blues"
"Freight Train"
"Freight Train" 8-bar progression
| I | V | V7 | I |
|---|---|---|---|
| iii | IV | I/V7 | I |
| iii | IV | I/V7 | I |
Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train" is based on an 8-bar blues chord progression with a 4-bar tag/repeat.
Blues Form (Lyrical Form)
Both blues songs are based on an AAB lyrical form.
Hey, I want you to listen what I gotta say
A
Hey, I want you to listen what I gotta say
I've got everybody I need right here today
Please don' tell what train I'm on, They won't know what route I'm on
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
B
"Session Blues"
"Freight Train"
A
A
B
A
Freight train, freight train, run so fast
Blue Notes, use of blue notes
Big Mama Thornton incorporated a stylistic technique known as “blue notes.”
Essentially, a “blue note” is a note that is lower than you would expect.
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In blues and jazz, the lowered 3rd, 5th, and 7th degrees of the major scale are considered “blue notes.”
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However, a “blue note” can also be less that a full semitone (the sound between a white and the closest black key on the piano).
"Session Blues"
Electric vs. Acoustic Blues
The “Session Blues” is an example of electric blues.
Electric blues refers to any type of blues music using electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified.
“Freight Train” is an example of acoustic blues.
Acoustic blues is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocals with acoustic finger-style guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in the early 1900s.
Learning Checkpoint
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What are some similarities and differences between Big Mama Thornton and Elizabeth Cotten’s interpretations of the “blues?”
End of Path 2: Where will you go next?
Singing with Big Mama Thornton
Path 3
20+ minutes
Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Waters Blues Band, photo by Jim Marshall. Arhoolie Records.
Attentive Listening
Listen to the first few verses of Big Mama Thornton’s recording of the “Session Blues.”
- Think about this guiding question:
What do you notice about Big Mama Thornton’s singing style?
Stylistic Considerations
In blues music, the pitches are not always absolute:
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The singer sometimes slides up to pitches, falls off them, or ornaments them.
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The pitches have a “bent” quality.
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This style of singing is different from choral singing.
Can you practice bending pitches with your voice?
Engaged Listening
Listen to this short excerpt again . . .
- This time, can you pat or clap along on 2 and 4?
Optional Extension Activity: Turn your body into a drum set!
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Tap your toe on 1 and 3.
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Pat with one hand on 2 & 4.
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With your other hand, pat on the steady beat or a basic swing pattern.
2
3
4
1
Generally Speaking .....
Discussion Question
How did Big Mama Thornton learn to sing and play the blues?
Big Mama Thornton with Muddy Waters and Band, ©Jim Marshall Photography LLC.
Generally Speaking .....
In the liner notes of one of her albums, Big Mama talked about her musical style and training:
Is Big Mama Thornton’s musical background/training similar to or different from your own?
"I Don’t Sing like Nobody but Myself"
I like my own old down-home singing, with the feeling. I learned to sing blues by myself. My singing comes from experience. My own experience. My own feeling. I got my own feelings for everything. I never had no one to teach me nothing. I never went to school for music or nothing. I stayed home to take care of my mother who was sick. I taught myself to sing and to blow harmonica and even to play drums by watching other people. I can't read music, but I know where I'm singing! If I hear a blues I like, I try to sing it in my own way. It's always best to have something of your own. I don't sing like nobody but myself.
Generally Speaking .....
Learning "By Ear" (Aural Transmission)
Blues music is often learned “by ear”
- It is an oral/aural tradition that is passed on from one generation to the next.
Click to the next slide to learn the first verse of the “Session Blues” by ear.
Generally Speaking .....
Learning "By Ear" (Aural Transmission)
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The teacher (or Big Mama) will sing the first line and you will echo/repeat.
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Once you are comfortable, sing the first verse together as a class.
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Next, pat or clap on beats 2 and 4 as you sing.
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Finally, play the recording and sing the first verse along with Big Mama Thornton.
Lyrics:
Aye I want you to listen what I gotta say (2x)
I've got everybody I need right here today
Generally Speaking .....
Suggestions and notes:
Extension Activity: Learn the whole song!
- Sing the whole song with the recording.
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This recording is in the key of A major (using a blues scale, with the third, sixth, and seventh scale degrees frequently flatted).
- If possible (when singing without the recording), sing in the key appropriate to the voices of the students (e.g. C, for young voices, with middle C being the lowest pitch, and the song having a range of an octave).
- Teachers (or students) can consider adding piano or guitar accompaniment (especially at first, keep it simple!).
- Discuss performance criteria as a class . . . Remember to sing expressively.
- Learn a blues scale and practice improvising short melodic riffs.
- Practice, refine, and perhaps even perform for an audience.
Lyrics of "Session Blues" by Big Mama Thornton
Aye I want you to listen what I gotta say (2x)
I've got everybody I need right here today
Hey Looka here baby I'm gonna be walking down your street one day (2x)
And I want you to follow me down to the lil oh country shack and that where we begin to play
The band is the swingelest in the land (2x)
I want you to listen babe, I want you to clearly understand
Buddy Guy he's a swinging guitarist (2x),
but when you hear him play you wanna run out in the pouring cold
Instrumental Break
Hey Hey I know everything gonna be all right this morning (2x)
I want everybody to know that I'm coming through their town and I might come through in the early dawn
Look out Eddie Boyd
Instrumental Break
I gotta let everybody know I've gotta end this song (2x)
When you hear the trumpet, I'll be in your town in just a lil short while and it won't be long
Instrumental Break
Learning Checkpoint
- How is blues music usually learned?
- Which beats are emphasized in blues music?
- How does blues singing differ from traditional choral singing?
End of Path 3 and Lesson Hub 1: Where will you go next?
Lesson 1 Media Credits
Audio courtesy of
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Video courtesy of
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Images courtesy of
Chris Strachwitz / The Arhoolie Foundation
Jim Marshall Photography LLC
National Portrait Gallery
John Cohen Trust
Northwestern University Libraries
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Tuskegee University Archives
University of North Carolina
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections
© 2023 Smithsonian Institution. Personal, educational, and non-commercial uses allowed; commercial rights reserved. See Smithsonian terms of use for more information.
This Pathway was funded in part by the Smithsonian Youth Access Grants program and received Federal support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. It also received in-kind, collaborative support from the Society for Ethnomusicology and the National Association for Music Education.
For full bibliography and media credits, see Lesson 1 landing page.