A capable blues band can play all night and not sound like it's playing the same old thing over and over. At the heart of it is the underlying pattern of call and response. And then, typically, there's musical space, inviting a response, offered up by the guitarist, keyboardist, harp, sax or trumpet player. The singer's call also allows room for the listener's response, too. It's like an intimate conversation, touching upon one's deeper emotions.
Notes are bent off pitch, tones become raspy.
The point of the instrumentalist, as well as the singer, is to be expressive. Even when playing non-standard songs, the blues player is immediately recognizable. It's his or her distinctive expressiveness that gives blues musician away. From one point of view, almost every Filipino musician plays the blues. The problem is, it all sounds the same.