Mozart and Blues

My wife and I were in Las Vegas recently on vacation. One morning, while my wife was at the pool, I began to analyze some Mozart symphonic scores I had brought along. (Hey, doesn’t everybody bring a few Mozart scores along on their vacation to Vegas?) As is usual when I study Mozart, I was soon impressed and humbled at how subtly he manipulates his musical forces for affect and variety.

Those forces were constrained by the style and musical language his time - so everything had to count. For example, the orchestra in Mozart's day was primarily made up of strings and a few winds, a fairly bland color compared to orchestras 100 years later. But Mozart, with subtle doublings and nuanced instrument voicings, gets a remarkably varied sound that adds to the music's expressiveness. One can find similar examples with his use of harmony and rhythm.

The constraints of Mozart's era did not hamper his artistic ability - just the opposite. Mozart understood that within the limitations was a world of subtlety. This is where Mozart's genius flourished.

So what does all this have to do with the blues? What can the restrained emotional style of the classical period have in common with the heart ripping emotions of the blues?

The blues, like the music of Mozart's time, is also a tightly constrained art form. In most songs, the harmony and structure can easily be related to the standard 12 bar blues progression. The texture is predominately homophonic, and melodies are tied closely to the pitches of a blues scale. In addition, a blues band has a relatively limited range of instrumental colors to work with.

Because of all this, everything counts, and like in Mozart, subtlety is essential.

I think this is why I like very few blues groups, but the ones I like I really love. Real emotions are most often a complex blend of conflicting and supporting feelings. Simplistic musical performances cannot convey that. Subtlety is a necessity.

Later during our vacation, my wife and I decided to go to the House of Blues and listen to one of the blues bands performing there. Even though the band was a bit of a pickup band – members of the Michael Grimm band with singer Ronny Rose filling in for Michael, most of their numbers really cooked.

Rose skillfully used every aspect of his voice for the precise emotional affect he wanted: big ballsy full voiced tones, raspy growls, clear as a bell pianissimos – all delivered without any of the clichés one finds in a blinged-out, over ornamented, narcissistic pop music diva. He was subtle, economical, and to the point.

The guitar player, John Wedemeyer, also really impressed me. He made wonderful use of subtle dynamic shading. Some phrases would tail away into nothingness, some notes would pop out of the texture, hints of ghost notes would be followed by aggressive runs. He also coaxed a variety of colors out of his instrument: dark muted tones, artificial harmonic screams, staccato passages, and wailing bends.

This description may not sound like a subtle performance, but his handling of these techniques - the how and when of it - was. Everything was delivered with taste and nuanced musicality.

So, while there would seem to be little connection between the refined elegance of the classical period and the visceral punch of the blues, there is common ground. Where there is constraint, subtlety is critical. The ability of a composer or a performer to create a rich world of subtlety is what gives depth and humanity to the music.