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Banjo music is a genre of music that consists exclusively, or primarily of, the
Unlike most other solo music pieces played by various instruments, banjo music does not only consist of a
banjo
The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin.
...
. Banjo music can be played as a solo, or it can be played with a band. Banjo music can be played with all types of banjos (four, five, or six string).
History
Banjo music originated informally as a form of African folk music over a hundred years ago probably in the sub-Saharan region. When the Americans forcedAfrican slaves
Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were once commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient and medieval world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Red Sea sl ...
to work on the plantations, banjo music followed them, and stayed primarily a form of African folk music, up to the 1800s. It was during this time that the banjo in all probability was first introduced to Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, when the Virginia Minstrels
The Virginia Minstrels or Virginia Serenaders was a group of 19th-century American entertainers who helped invent the entertainment form known as the minstrel show. Led by Dan Emmett, the original lineup consisted of Emmett, Billy Whitlock, ...
toured in England, Ireland and France in 1843, 1844 and 1845. With his minstrel shows, Joel Walker Sweeney is credited with extending the popularity of the banjo as well as its music to an enormous audience all over the United States and Europe.
With the spread of popularity of the banjo, it influenced different kinds of music - it gave rise to mountain string bands, and even helped give a foundation for blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
music. The occurrences of hootenannies gave a house to banjo music, where it made its place in American folk music and bluegrass. American television shows such as ''Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on ...
'' have made banjo music all the more popular, and more a part of American culture.
Distinctives
Unlike most other solo music pieces played by various instruments, banjo music does not only consist of a melody
A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...
, but it also utilizes drone
Drone or The Drones may refer to:
Science and technology Vehicle
* Drone, a type of uncrewed vehicle, a class of robot
** Unmanned aerial vehicle or aerial drone
*** Unmanned combat aerial vehicle
** Unmanned ground vehicle or ground drone
** Unma ...
notes to make the music seem like it is being played by more than one instrument. While very basic compositions will consist of only melodies, more complicated pieces will have multiple drone notes, usually organized in a predictable roll pattern. Banjo music tends to be very lively and upbeat, as the fast-occurring drone notes tend to give the illusion that a song is being played quite fast. Banjo music is not usually amplified (except by aid of a microphone), as the banjo's resonator
A resonator is a device or system that exhibits resonance or resonant behavior. That is, it naturally oscillates with greater amplitude at some frequencies, called resonant frequencies, than at other frequencies. The oscillations in a reso ...
allows it to be played quite loud.
Most popular banjo music songs
Popular banjo music pieces include:http://banjoblogger.com/?p=125 "THE TOP TEN BLUEGRASS BANJO SONGS" RETRIEVED 8/12/2013 * Dueling Banjos * Foggy Mountain Breakdown * Cripple Creek * Blackberry Blossom * Cotton Eyed Joe * I'll Fly Away * Wildwood FlowerNotable names in banjo music
*Eddie Peabody
Edwin Ellsworth Peabody (February 19, 1902 – November 7, 1970) was an American banjo player, instrument developer, and musical entertainer whose career spanned five decades. He was the most famous plectrum banjoist of his era.
Early life ...
was the greatest proponent of the plectrum banjo in the early to mid twentieth century. Prominent contemporary plectrum players include Cynthia Sayer
Cynthia Nan Sayer (born May 20, 1962) is an American jazz banjoist, singer and a founding member of Woody Allen's New Orleans Jazz Band.
Career
A native of Waltham, Massachusetts, Sayer spent her early childhood in Wayland, Massachusetts and t ...
.
*Earl Scruggs
Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...
was the greatest three-finger picker of the mid to late twentieth century, and continued to play into the early 21st century.
*Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...
played banjo on the show ''Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on ...
'', and made it quite popular in the realm of American music.
See also
*Fret
A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical inst ...
* List of banjo players
This article comprises two separate lists. The first consists of primary banjo players and the second of celebrities that also play the banjo.
Primary banjo players
A listing of notable musicians who play the banjo as a major part of their ...
* List of National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame members
References
{{Authority control Banjo family instruments Bluegrass music American folk music Canadian folk music