Antecedent and Consequent

[Triple-o]

Call and Response, this has been a pretty confusing concept for me to understand in the Blues, simply because I ran into  so many different phrase variations being used. I had assumed that call and response was the same as “antecedent and consequent”, where you ask a “musical question” and then get a musical answer one  that resolves  like  a “period”. Resolution being the key!
It seems that  the “blues call” can be unresolved and the response can simply be a “musical sequence”; or reinstatement of the call melody like  “Lord have Mercy” “ Have Mercy on us”  I was always assuming that  “call and response”  meant “tension and resolution “. 

 

 

[Steve Krenz]

Triple,

Interesting.  I never real thought of it as "Tension and Release".

In Blues it's very common for the first 4 bars to establish a phrase, the second 4 bars to re-state the phrase, then the 3rd phrase to either re-state it again or vary and resolve it in some way.

But you can also just play a simple few note idea that is repeated throughout the chorus of the blues.

Here's a great moment with the great Jack Pearson playing "Everyday I've got the Blues" that illustrates some of this.... 

 

[Triple-o]

Thanks, they are pretty good. They through me a curve because I miss read their song title.I thought they were going to play “Everyday I have the Blues” and I didn’t recognize the opening verses. 
 

i wasn’t very clear in my post. What  was confusing me was how to to establish the  “call and response” phrases  melodically in a “Blues guitar solo”. Now I see the call isn’t necessarily a musical question and the melody can end on the tonic not requiring tension and resolution.when the call is a “question” it  can end with something other than the tonic.

I also thought the opening 3 statements in a (A A B )12 bar blues lyrics form   each singing statement  (calls and refrain) should  have  a  guitar”response”. 

 

The link below is to a rather famous  bluegrass  call and response that I never thought about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFutge4xn3w&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

Edited April 15 by Triple-o