Call and response

In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first. In modern Western popular music, call and response is most commonly found in the blues and in blues-derived music like jazz and rock'n'roll.

It is particularly apparent in the traditional and electric blues, where the most common 12-bar form is an AA'B pattern where the AA' is the call (repeated once with slight variation), and B is the response. But, each A and B part may itself consist of a short call and a short response, and those 2-bar calls and response may also be divided into 1-bar-each call-response pairs!

To make an attempt at diagraming it:

• A: 4-bar CALL
  • (2-bar vocal CALL
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
  • 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])

• A': 4-bar CALL (repeated with slight variation)
  • (2-bar vocal CALL
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
  • 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])

• B: 4-bar RESPONSE (repeated)
  • (2-bar vocal CALL
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE]
  • 2-bar instrumental RESPONSE/turnaround
    • [1-bar CALL, 1-bar RESPONSE])

Note that each turnaround can be considered a call which the next A section is the response to.

Leader/Chorus call and response

A single leader makes a musical statement, and then the chorus responds together. Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" is almost entirely Leader/Chorus call and response:

• CALL: Bo's vocals: "Now when I was a little boy"
• RESPONSE: (Harmonica/rhythm section riff)
• CALL: Bo: "At the age of 5"
• RESPONSE: (Harmonica/rhythm section riff)

Question/Answer call and response

Part of the band poses a musical "question", or a phrase that feels unfinished, and another part of the band "answers" (finishes) it. In the blues, the B section often has a question-and-answer pattern (dominant-to-tonic).