Haleigh Hutcheson - Journal #10

In The Jimi Henxrix Experience’s album: Are you Experienced, the use of the electric guitar can greatly compare to that of the banjo usage in The Avett Brothers’ album: The Carpenter. Jimi Hendrix is a key musician in the Rock and Roll genre, and the electric guitar has significantly become one of the more prominent instruments showcased in this genre, as well as the rhythm and chord progression demonstrated in his music. This is similar to the usage of the banjo in folk/bluegrass music that The Avett Brothers use in their album. They incorporate several different instruments in their music, but the banjo is the most prominent of them all, just like the guitar in Hendrix’s music, especially in their song “Live and Die.” The banjo is widely used in folk music, and this is most likely because the unique sound it makes, as well as the way it can develop a voice of its own. These two instruments are key in their respective genres, and both Hendrix and The Avett Brothers use these instruments almost in a way that enhances their music, as well as their genres.

Rock and roll and folk music both originated from the blues, and this can be shown in each of these albums respectively.  Lyrically, most blues songs have deep, somewhat sad meanings behind them, and both of these albums have songs with similar themes. The Avett Brothers and Hendrix both tell stories through their music, and this is typical in the blues genre. Similarly, blues music often involves repeated themes, chords, and melodies within their music to place emphasis on their lyrics, and this can be seen in Hendrix album, and to a lesser degree, also in the Avett Brothers album.

            In many of their songs, the Avett Brothers also place emphasis on the vocals of the song rather than their instruments, and this is a noticeable trait of blues music.  In the Avett Brothers songs, the connection to blues can mostly be placed in their instrument choice as well as their lyrics, as shown in “Live and Die” and “Down with the Shine.” In Hendrix’s song “Purple Haze,” his vocal usage is more talking rather than singing, expressing his words and making them slower and more distinct. This is a trait that blues singers often use, and as the song continues, you can see where Hendrix chose to change things up and bring the song closer to his unique music and genre.  Similarly, the song “Red House” also shows this slow, strong vocal usage that blues singers often have; however, once again, Hendrix changes it up by adding in the electric guitar. Both of these albums reveal interesting music developments for their genres, as well as the influence of other genres in their music, especially with blues.