Give Me the Banjo

[Dobe]

I heard this could be found on PBS, but have only found the preview so far:
Sure looks interesting ~o)

The piano may do for lovesick girls who lace themselves to skeletons, and lunch on chalk, pickles, and slate pencils. But give me the banjo... When you want genuine music—music that will come right home to you like a bad quarter, suffuse your system like strychnine whiskey…ramify your whole constitution like the measles, and break out on your hide like the pin-feather pimples on a picked goose—when you want all this, just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!
~ Mark Twain, Early Tales and Sketches, Vol 2 (1864-65)


http://www.youtube.com/user/PBS#p/search/0/DXVTO_sbiJ8

[AnneFlies]

This already played in Detroit, and it was well-worth watching. Quite a few mandolins made an appearance, also, but only as a side-line. The program talked about American history in terms of the banjo as the iconic American instrument, along with its African roots.

[Denny Gies]

It is an excellent show and well worth watching. Maybe they will repeat it in the near future.

[Jill McAuley]

I was able to watch it "on demand" online at www.pbs.org the day after it aired.

Cheers,
Jill

[BBarton]

It was a great show -- saw on PBS out of Boston. Good history, more so of the evolution of the music style in which the banjo was used than on the instrument itself. My guess is that it'll show up again during funding campaigns and may eventually be available as a DVD through their online store. Watch for it!

[Dobe]

This seems to work:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2164506461/
Thanks Jill ! :popcorn:

[brunello97]

Thanks and a tip of the hat for the recommendation. Just watched it on the PBS site. Great program. More fuel for my secret crush on Rhiannon Giddens. I used to think he was a wimp, but I've come to realize what a giant Pete Seeger is. But for me one word sums it all up: SCRUGGS.

Mick

[citrina86]

I thought it was great, although they really under-emphasized the huge influence of the 1920s jazz era on banjo playing and the evolution of the banjo. And they also almost completely ignored any discussion of tenor versus plectrum banjos. The focus was maybe 80-90% on five string banjos, which seems like an inappropriate bias considering the full history of the banjo in America. Nonetheless, it was still well worth watching.

[catmandu2]

Well I watched it last night -- thanks Dobe for the link. And, being formerly completely banjo crazy, I loved this show. There was a time in my life when I could not get enough of old-time, spun-over, turn-of-the-century banjos. I realized--watching this last night--that I'm still in love.

I realize--with the introduction and premise established by Martin--that this was about 5-string banjos, and the legacy of Joel Sweeney and the minstrel traditions. Having gone crazy for every kind of banjo myself--including tenors and plectrums--I must say that there is still a certain magic about 5-strings--and this evinces in the old-time, rural forms of music and dance. So, even though it evolves--invariably into bluegrass (it was good to see more extensive coverage of the shared legacy of three-finger BG style), with commensurate discussion of related picking styles such as the "classic" or guitar style--this show was mostly about yer bum ditty. The bum ditty (collectively referring to all frailing styles, including downstroking--which represents the primary trend, I've found, in folk-style banjo--emanating from the playing style of banjo-style instruments throughout Afirca) is a profound force in folk music.

[catmandu2]

BTW, for those interested in the roots of banjo, I highly recommend the documentary fo Bela Fleck's travels through Africa (I believe it's titled "Throw Down Your Heart"--was available on Netflix). Fleck travels through four African nations jamming with prominent musicians. Two salient aspects from the film: 1) two-finger downstroke style appears to be the dominent techniqye in fingerstyle, banjo-type instrument playing, and; 2) even with a crude 2- or 3-strung broomstick perched on a gourd, the players said--of Bela's music played on a modern Gibson ES mastertone--"yes, we can play this too." Which tells us a lot about their concept: essentially, rhythmic.