History of the Genre: Blues The blues musical genre has continued to be a prolific musical style for many years. The blues began as work songs and camp cries sung by African American slave communities, starting in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The blues genre has since had a major influence on other developing genres. Most modern genres can be traced back to the genre, originating from the Deep South of the United States. The musical style of blues is very distinct and is identifiable by almost anyone. The numerous instruments generally used include acoustic guitar, bass, body and vocals, piano and harmonica, as well as many others. In terms of production elements, traditional blues music is produced using minimal microphones, and the room atmosphere plays an important role in producing the sound of the music. Some of the early notable names in blues music were Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Leadbelly, and Robert Johnson; all of these had a major influence on the blues as a musical style. Toward the end of the 19th century, music brought to the United States by African slaves began to develop. Work songs, chants and shouts were the beginnings of the first form of blues: Delta blues. Delta Blues takes its name from the Mississippi Delta, where the towns and plantations where the original blues men and women worked were located. “The guitar and harmonica were the primary instruments of the Delta bluesman, largely because of the ease of carrying them around, and many of the musicians of the Early Blues era (1910-1950) were sharecroppers, or worked on one of the many plantations that they were located across the Mississippi Delta. (Gordon, 2014) In addition to the guitar and harmonica, homemade instruments such as the diddley bow were very common among the Delt...... middle of paper ......h Boy'. The song features electric guitar, harmonica, bass, piano, drums and vocals. Importantly, the electric guitar, bass, and drums are the instruments most distinguishable as "Chicago blues instruments". These formed the basis of many future blues groups and left a legacy for Muddy Waters, who was one of the famous bluesmen to pioneer and popularize modern or "urban" blues styles. Later styles of the genre were influenced not only by Muddy Waters, but also by names like BB King and T-Bone Walker; shaping the westside subgenre which often included more classical brass instruments. Many styles of blues demonstrate similar sonic characteristics. Additionally, these techniques and ideas apply to many different genres. Repeated chord progressions and a cyclical shape pair with the song's call-and-response pattern to form an easily distinguishable style.