This is an outline to Chapter 1 in "Looking Up At Down," by William Barlow.

1. Chapter 1“I Been “Buked and I Been Scorned”The Folk Roots of the Blues

2. Blues Origins and Influences The blues evolved from sacred and secular folk music African and European influences Coalesced by 1890s Cultural response to white oppression

3. Griots West African tradition Musicians/folklorists Carried the people’s culture

4. Blues Basics Songs of personal experience Usual accompaniment was guitar Established beat, chords, and response to voice 12 – bar form

5. Blues Form 12-bar AAB I – IV – V chord progression Also 8 – bar (AB), 12 – bar (AAA), and 16 – bar (AABB) Suggests earliest blues were irregular

6. Origin of the term “Blues” 1500s – English expression, “to look blue” “Blue Devils” by the 1600s Use of the term “blues” in US – early 1800s

7. Term “Blues” Applied to Music Near the end of Reconstruction New form of folk music Solo compositions Borrowed freely from Oral Tradition Improvised Filtered through individual experiences Resulted in both return to and break from the past

8. Spirituals Significant component of AfricanAmerican oral history Demonstrated that faith led to triumph over slavery Based on Biblical characters/stories Call for deliverance from oppression As a race From individual suffering

9. Similarity to other slave folksongs Communally composed Fit current social context Thematic unity Regional individuality

10. Seculars Folksongs of satire, complaint, caution, derision, or praise Articulated social tensions of plantation life Used to express what could not be said to a person “puttin’ ‘uh o duh banjo” Traced to the oral tradition of Africa

11. Worksongs Retained African character while adapting to America Singing to the rhythms of work Used to coordinate collective labor Weaving, boating, planting, harvesting, cooking, chores Fieldhands, stevedores, firemen, tobacco workers Encouraged by slaveowners = Increased productivity

12. Worksongs Linked to Resignation/Resistance to Forced Labor Opposing views of worksongs Slaves – work as punishment not self-fulfillment Whites – evidence of contentment

13. Composition of Worksongs Spontaneous and collectively Referred to recent event in lives of the slaves Melodies remain consistent but lyrics change

14. Arhoolies Whoops, hollers, calls, and cries Traditional among tribes of Angola and Congo Prevalent among vendors and fieldworkers Began as short signature pieces Evolved into impressions of life

15. African-American Ballads Patterned after AngloAmerican ballads Told a story of epic proportions Long series of stanzas Momentous event, tragic love affair, ill-fated hero Postbellum Use of refrains – less repetitious More breaks More rhythmic input More audience participation

16. African-American Folk Heroes Postbellum African American power and status at lowest point since slavery Folk heroes negate feelings of powerlessness and victimization

17. John Henry Archetypal postbellum black hero Herculean exploits against untenable labor situation Symbol of this plight and of resurgent racial dignity

18. Black Desperados Unlike the Folk Heroes, they operated against the law Symbolized resistance to harsh political oppression and segregation

19. African-American Tricksters Central characters were animals with human personalities Weak animals triumph over stronger adversary Brer Rabbit and Signifying Monkey Overcame adversary with guile and bravado

20. Major characteristic – indestructibility Boll Weevil and Gray Goose Epitomized the African American’s belief that he could endure any hardship