From Work Songs to Hip Hop · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

From blues roots to hip hop

Arts & Music · Music · ages 14-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Blues continued to be performed after jazz and rock developed.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. Which account correctly identifies where blues developed and explains why its history matters?

    • African Americans in the Deep South; work songs and spirituals link blues to community life
    • African Americans in the Deep South; its history tells us which chord pattern a blues song must use
    • Black, Latino and Caribbean communities in the Bronx; work songs and spirituals link blues to community life

  3. A singer sings a phrase, then a guitar plays an answering phrase. What pattern does this describe?

    • AAB: a line repeated, then a new line
    • Call and response between phrases
    • Twelve bars of repeating chords

  4. A rock solo uses a technique learned from a blues recording. Which observation identifies the pitch-bending connection taught in the lesson?

    • The solo's chord pattern repeats after three groups of four bars
    • The guitar's pitch moves between notes during a held sound
    • The singer repeats a whole lyric line before singing a different line

  5. A blues chorus has three groups of four bars before its chord pattern repeats. Which name fits?

    • 8-bar blues: two groups of four bars
    • 16-bar blues: four groups of four bars
    • 12-bar blues: three groups of four

  6. A producer repeats part of a soul recording under new rap vocals. Which account correctly identifies this technique and its history?

    • A new performance of soul; the producer plays the older part again instead of using its recording
    • Musical sampling; reusing recordings was a practice introduced by hip hop
    • Musical sampling; recorded-sound reuse existed before hip hop

  7. A radio series brings early Black rock-and-roll recordings to new listeners, but its history notes name only later stars. What should a reader check?

    • Whether every recording used the same instruments
    • Which earlier musicians deserve credit
    • Whether every later artist recorded in the same studio

  8. Which list follows the lesson's rough time order for the beginnings of these styles?

    • Blues, rock, hip hop, jazz
    • Hip hop, blues, jazz, rock
    • Blues, jazz, rock, hip hop
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

From blues roots to hip hop W1-mt_6cNI4oKzCA-s1

  1. True · A newer style's starting date does not mark the end of older styles. Their histories overlap.
  2. African Americans in the Deep South; work songs and spirituals link blues to community life · Blues developed among African Americans in the Deep South. Its roots connect the music with community life, not a required chord pattern for each song.
  3. Call and response between phrases · The singer makes the call and the guitar supplies the response. The exchange does not tell us the verse form or bar count.
  4. The guitar's pitch moves between notes during a held sound · Pitch bending moves the pitch between notes. Counting bars describes form, while repeated lyric lines describe a pattern in the words.
  5. 12-bar blues: three groups of four · Three groups of four make twelve bars. This is a blues chorus, so the form is 12-bar blues.
  6. Musical sampling; recorded-sound reuse existed before hip hop · Reusing the recorded soul audio is musical sampling. Hip-hop producers use recorded-sound reuse, but that practice existed before hip hop.
  7. Which earlier musicians deserve credit · The account may omit earlier musicians' contributions. Checking credit addresses the gap described.
  8. Blues, jazz, rock, hip hop · The lesson places blues in the late 1800s, jazz around 1900, rock in the 1950s and hip hop in the 1970s. The styles overlap.
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