Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 10-26-2018 10:30 AM The Event of Blues Music and the Effects of Technology on the Artistic Event Adam Rejak The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Calcagno, Antonio. The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Theory and Criticism A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Adam Rejak 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Continental Philosophy Commons, Other Music Commons, and the Other Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Rejak, Adam, "The Event of Blues Music and the Effects of Technology on the Artistic Event" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5840. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5840 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract The goal of this dissertation is to find out whether or not blues music is an event. I explore what constitutes a musical or artistic event in modern times and to see how this has changed in relation to earlier periods. I also identify its essential formal elements. I divide blues music into two categories, namely, its technical playing qualities (the micro) and its historical changes (the macro). This division frames the entire project and illustrates that in order to discuss an artistic event, we must account for both its technical and historical aspects.