Dean Powery on Singing the Blues during the Holidays
As the holidays approach, Chapel Dean Luke Powery says not everything is merry and bright, and so it can be an appropriate time to sing the blues.
“It’s a mature spiritual response to life circumstances in a world of much tragedy and agony,” Dean Powery says about singing the blues in his (Duke) Chronicle column. “We should all cultivate a blues sensibility for navigating reality. The blues helps us to remain human with a prophetic impulse to speak truth, even to power when necessary.”
“Musically, the blues notes are sometimes called bent notes,” he writes. “The flat seventh or the minor third bends down from the major seventh or the major third. They bend but are not broken. When life bends you with heavy winds, the blues allow you to still sing and make melodies as a sign of life and resilience.”