Q 01/05

The blues originated among African Americans in which region of the United States?

A) The Midwest

B) The Northeast

C) The West Coast

D) The Deep South

Answer · why

D) The Deep South

The Deep South. Black Southerners who moved north for work carried the music with them, which is how a rural sound took root in cities like Chicago.

Q 02/05

Which chord progression is the most common form of the blues?

A) Eight-bar

B) Twelve-bar

C) Sixteen-bar

D) Thirty-two-bar

Answer · why

B) Twelve-bar

Twelve-bar. In its basic form it needs just three chords, and the same pattern became the backbone of jazz, R&B and early rock and roll.

Q 03/05

"Blue notes" are usually which scale degrees, flattened in pitch?

A) Fourths, sixths and ninths

B) Roots and octaves

C) Seconds, fourths and sixths

D) Thirds, fifths and sevenths

Answer · why

D) Thirds, fifths and sevenths

Thirds, fifths and sevenths. Singers and guitarists bend these notes slightly flat, often landing in the cracks between a piano's keys.

Q 04/05

The word "blues" may derive from which old phrase for melancholy?

A) Blue devils

B) Blue moods

C) Blue shadows

D) Blue Mondays

Answer · why

A) Blue devils

Blue devils. The same phrase was also used for delirium tremens, the visions that can come with severe alcohol withdrawal.

Q 05/05

The three lines of a standard blues verse typically follow which lyric pattern?

A) ABC

B) ABB

C) ABA

D) AAB

Answer · why

D) AAB

AAB. A line is sung, repeated, then answered by a third, and an instrument fills the gap after each one, a call and response with roots in African mus...