Modern music trend

Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues originated from such areas as jazz and blues, popular in the 30s and 40s of the last century. The style was originally popular among African Americans. In fact, it was black American pop music, which is a kind of groovy, entertaining and frivolous variation on the blues theme. The official name was given in the 1940s.
It was widely performed by the African American US performers. In the 1940s-1950s, along with the country music, it was very famous among the younger generation. In the second half of the 1950s, the style began to be divided into soul, funk and, a little later, disco. It contributed also to the development of rock and roll.

Blues

It’s music for the soul – melodic and sad, optimistic and rhythmic. “When Love Leaves, The Blues Remains”.
The birthplace of the blues is the Mississippi River Delta, where the black slaves worked at the cotton fields, in the evenings they gathered around the fire and performed religious dances to the rhythmic sounds of their songs. The first name “blues” was used by J. Coleman for his play “Blue Devils”. In russian translation the closest meaning is green melancholy. Yes, and one of the meanings of ‘blue’ is gloom, funk.
Today the blues is performed by both vocalists and jazz orchestras, in which different instruments seem to be in the dialogue with each other.
Guitarists, while stydying the basics of playing the guitar, practice the “blues square”, which is based on 12 measures of 4/4 size from three phrases – 4 measures in each phrase. It’s mesmerazing to hear beautiful sounds of the recognizable blues accompaniment with the slightly syncopated melody on background.
Blues sounds great on the piano as well, allowing the performer to improvise, embellishing the main melody with trills, vibrato, graceful notes, and other tricks. These techniques are brilliantly used by Denis Matsuev, performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody.
An American pianist, composer, Nina Simone was an excellent jazz and blues performer. BB King is an American blues guitarist and songwriter.
Country

Country is a musical movement that originated in the southern and western states of the United States among the white population of rural areas. Song and dance compositions from the versatile European folklore became the creative basis for its formation. It was brought by the first settlers in North America. This style combined traditional elements of English, Scottish, Irish, German folk music, and for a long time performers from the highlands of Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina practically did not change the original form and sound of the compositions.
The special aura of country music was created thanks to the acoustic unity of guitar, mandolin and fiddle violin. The genre has changed through time, gained the new meanings and elements. The Negro musical culture influence was expressed in the use of banjo and harmonica, the rhythmic melodies and improvisational performance manner. Distinctive features of the style are the verse form of vocals (solo solo and chorus refrain) and a tendency towards open guitar chords.