European and African Elements 3
Performers also applied this means of individual self-expression to instrumental accompaniments. In most cases, the singers accompanied themselves, either on guitar, piano, harmonica, or other instruments, which likely came out of African music traditions. It's important to note that the accompanying instrument, or group of instruments, functions as an extension of the singer-in actuality, a second voice(s). David Evans emphasizes this point by stating that:
The role of instruments as voices is well known in most forms of African music and their New World derivatives, but seldom has the instrument had such a close conversational dialogue with the singing voice as it has in the blues. This sort of dialogue was certainly not common in nineteenth-century American popular song, but through its use in the blues and the influence of blues on other popular genres it has become commonplace.
(Evans 2015, 125)
Also, "the ability to capture the most profound personal emotions and frame them in a simple text loaded with metaphors and other figures of speech has often been likened to that of the griotsA West African storyteller, singer, musician, and oral historian. They train to excel as orators, lyricists, and musicians. The griot keeps records of all the births, deaths, and marriages through the generations of the village or family.. The blues extended the tradition while incorporating past practices of double entendre, proverbs, and allegories" (Harrison 2017, 237; Evans 2015, 121).
