What to Listen For

Holiday: Billies Blues

Heres what to listen for in Billies Blues by Billie Holiday.

Voice, trumpet, clarinet, piano, guitar, string bass, and drums

Billies Blues is performed by Billie Holiday (voice) and a small group of instruments. Listen as the
guitar and bass introduce the song. They are joined by piano and drums before the melody instru-
ments enter (clarinet and trumpet): [0:00 0:32].

Introduction and six choruses, each chorus in 12-bar blues form

This blues song has a very clear form: an introduction followed by six choruses. Listen to the intro-
duction: [0:00 0:07]. Now listen to the first chorus: [0:08 0:32]. This chorus and the other five that
follow are in 12-bar blues form: they have the same 12-bar form, they use the same pattern of har-
monies, and they are the same length (12 bars).

Syncopated melodies with pitch inflections

The rhythm section (guitar, bass, piano, and drums) provides a steady rhythmic accompaniment.
Over the top of that, the voice and solo instruments (clarinet and trumpet) play syncopated melo-
dies, melodies that accent weak beats. The soloists, including Holiday, perform pitch inflections; they
bend pitches or slide from one note to another. Listen to Holiday sing a syncopated melody with
bends and slides: [0:32 0:56].

Polyphonic texture
Throughout the song, the solo instruments and voice create polyphonic texture, two or more melo-
dies played simultaneously. Listen to the polyphonic texture created by voice, clarinet, and trumpet
in this excerpt: [2:122:38].

Improvisation
When voice, trumpet, and clarinet sing/play melodies, they improvise, create the music as they per-
form it. Listen to the clarinet improvise: [1:211:46].

So remember to listen for solo voice and small ensemble, one introduction and six choruses in
12-bar blues form, syncopated melodies with pitch inflections, polyphonic texture, and improvisation.

What to Listen For Tutorials by Jennifer Hund for The Enjoyment of Music, by Kristine Forney, Andrew DellAntonio, and
Joseph Machlis

n Copyright 2015 by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

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