Blues originated in the Deep South during the late 19th century after the Civil War. It is a unique genre that draws from African-American spirituals and work songs slaves would sing in the plantations. It incorporates musical elements such as call-and-response, walking bass line, syncopation, dissonance, "blue" (flatted) notes, blues scales, and chord progressions (12-bar blues). Music of the blues is meant to convey feelings of sadness and loss. Blues music utilizes many improvisatory techniques by the vocalists such as melismas/slides, but it typically follows a strict chord progression throughout. There are also different sub-genres of blues such as jump blues and boogie-woogie.
