Dutkanicz - A first book of blues: 16 arrangements for the beginning pianist

Tom Delaney (18891963)

Tom Delaney was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in the Jenkins Orphanage. This orphanage was famous for its music programs and many performing ensembles. Delaney wrote this song while he was impatiently waiting during a layover in Baltimore.

Traditional

When a blues melody is described as traditional, it means that there is no single person credited with composing it; rather, it was passed down from one generation to the next. Before playing this piece, notice the key (G major) and how the numerous accidentals are part of the blues scale. These include the lowered third (B ) and lowered seventh (F# becomes F ).

Perry Bradford (18931970)

This song was written in 1920 and played a pivotal role in introducing the world to blues music. After trying unsuccessfully for years to produce blues artists, Perry Bradford finally convinced Okeh (pronounced: okay) Records to take a chance. Its popular reception and commercial success warmed the entire industry to a new genre of music.

Traditional

This anonymous blues tune traces its origins to the English folk song The Unfortunate Lad. It tells the sad story of a young man cut down in his prime as a result of some bad life decisions. The title is in reference to Londons St. James Hospital, which was also tragically cut down by King Henry VIII to build St. James Palace.

Traditional

The term blue note refers to those small yet powerful dissonances that color and propel a melody. This song is full of these examples for piano, with even an E played against an E in measure 10. Dont shy away from the dissonances; rather, revel in them as they make resolutions more pronounced.

Artie Matthews (18881958)

Artie Matthews was born in Braidwood, Illinois and was taught piano at home by his mother. At the age of 16, he tried to perform at the St. Louis Worlds Fair, but was pushed out by the swarm of musicians that had arrived. His career catapulted in 1915 after Weary Blues won a contest for a song that could compete with the enormously popular St. Louis Blues.

W. C. Handy (18731958)

Known as the Jazzmans Hamlet, this song was the first blues song to be a popular hit. Handy said that when composing it, he aspired to combine ragtime syncopation with a real melody in the spiritual tradition. The songs popularity has given it a life of its own: its been performed by bagpipers at royal weddings, adopted as a battle hymn during WWII, and is the name of St. Louiss professional hockey team.

W. C. Handy (18731958)

This curious title finds its origins in the Southern railways. Yellow Dog was slang for the Yazoo Delta Railroad in Mississippi, whose cars were stamped YD. The closing line of the song quotes a ragged train station performer who sang of going to where the Southern [another railway] cross the Yellow Dogwhich historically would be near Moorhead, MS.

W. C. Handy (18731958)

The character of Joe Turner is based on Joe Turney, a corrupt lawman who would scour Memphis and sentence falsely accused men to forced labor on his plantations. Notice that the swinging eighths are written out in the left hand. Nonetheless, they still do apply to the melody in the right hand, so be sure to swing.

Traditional

This beautiful song is based on a Southern folksong of unknown origin. Buddy Bolden, a New Orleans cornetist, was the first to include it in his bands repertoire as early as 1900. Note that most recordings omit the opening verse and begin with the first chorus (found on the next page).