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Noted banjo historians Shlomo Pestcoe and Greg C. Adams will offer a fascinating look at the early gourd banjo as documented in the historical record and depicted in period art. Did they play a gourd banjo? George R. Gibson began playing old time banjo in Knott County, Kentucky, ca. ", "If a fiddle were not to be had, a man could, if he were so minded, make a banjo with a pine or cedar for the neck, a coon skin or fox hide stretched tight over a hickory hoop for a sounding board, or he could even use a long necked squash for that purpose. Brogan Boots & Leggings (1870 Minstrel Banjo) 5. The banjo, banjo songs and dance certainly came into east Kentucky well prior to the Civil War. Families are, I believe, the necessary mechanism through which banjo playing, dance and other folkways are passed from one generation to the next. The oldest known gourd banjo in the world is in a Dutch museum. The strings was connected some way up the neck, and that thing played right good, I thought. The most of the settlers were from Virginia...but there are several citizens now living who were the first settlers ...Mrs. Green was about nine years old when the battle of King's Mountain was fought [Oct. 7,1780] ...Mrs. Green gives the following account of an old-fashioned 'cotton picking,' which is too good to be lost: In those good old-fashioned times when high and low, the rich and poor, were alike attired in, "Mr. Hite ... was one of the first settlers of the Greenville District ... about the commencement of the revolution Mr. Hite and most of his family were massacred by a band of this savage tribe [Cherokees]. Quite literally, every main component of a gourd banjo—one that’s built in the manner of its African precursors—arises from the land. The Handshouse Studio Gourd Banjo Project seeks to illuminate history through hands-on classroom study, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations of early “American” gourd banjos. Steuckrath reports: The "high and the low, the rich and the poor" were not segregated as they were in Tidewater Virginia. The author, John Barry Talley, quotes a letter by one or the Tuesday Club members: This could have been the 'strum-strum' that Sir Hans Sloane described in Jamaica. Furthermore, Pestcoe & Adams themselves allow that the "sheepskin guitars" described by Sandoval in 1627 in the same region may have been "early gourd banjos." If Sweeney did add a fifth string to the banjo it was probably the lowest string, or fourth string by today's reckoning. Ed Haggard, from Winchester, Kentucky, learned an elaborate version from an elderly African American in the 1950s. Debow's Review, a southern magazine, published Prof. George H. Stueckrath's historical article, The Upper Country of South Carolina, in December 1859 (Volume 27, Issue 6). The dance steps he observed were clearly influenced by African American dancing. They also incorporated European-inspired design innovations. The roots of the banjo trace directly to West Africa. These sticks being flexible, strike all the strings simultaneously and this produces a rhythmical, drone effect which if the 'beater' is deft in his movements and skillfully varies his rhythms, adds depth to the tune and gives material aid to the dancers. Some in the free African American community married Indians or slaves; however, others married members of the white community. The number of references to the banjo, in widely separated locations, indicates it was fairly common on the frontier. The earliest references to the banjo in America describe an instrument with a gourd body covered in hide or skin, a fretless neck, and strings. A good description of this bias is in the liner notes to the CD, Rufus Crisp (Smithsonian Folkways). Even today musicians in the Senegambian region of West Africa play an instrument called the akonting, a gourd-bodied string instrument played in a style very much like American clawhammer banjo. Coal Black Rose (2:02) George Washington Dixon, born in Richmond Virginia, was one of the earliest blackface entertainers. He was associated with the office of the Clerk of Court in Wise County for some forty years. Its immediate forebear is the early gourd banjo, which was developed by enslaved West Africans in the Caribbean during the 17th century. The tune is performed here on a gourd banjo, with percussive accompaniment consisting of sticks, a wooden bowl, and a tin cup, as might have been heard in a slave quarter gathering. Leonard Roberts, a Kentucky folklorist, published the songs and tales of an east Kentucky family in Sang Branch Settlers (a more abridged version was published in Up Cutshin & Down Greasy). The dance steps used by the Jolas looked remarkably similar to the mountain "hoe-down.". Clifton Hicks - Shortening Bread (Early Gourd Banjo) - YouTube Epstein quotes from Travels in America by Thomas Ashe: There were many African Americans on the early frontier. The first blacks were introduced into Virginia in 1619 when John Rolf bought "twenty Negars" from a Dutch man-o'-war. Fredrika Bremer visited America in 1849-50. Stueckrath discusses the early frontier history of Greenville, South Carolina. They stretch upon it the skin of a goat which they adjust around the edges with little nails; they make two holes in this surface; then a piece of lath or flat wood makes the handle of the guitar; they then stretch three cords of, "In the intervals between their meals, they [the slaves] are encouraged to divert themselves with music and dancing; for which purpose such rude and uncouth instruments as are used in Africa, are collected before their departure ...", "They have several sorts of instruments... made of small gourds ..."; and then states: "These instruments are sometimes made of hollow'd timber...", "The instrument proper to them [Slaves] is the Banjar, which they brought hither from Africa, and which is the original of the guitar, its chords being precisely the four lower chords of the guitar. 'Classy' people did not engage in this diversion. It is likely that many frontier banjos were made from gourds; however, it is also likely that some had wood frames. Following are his observations in a letter dated Feb. 22, 1850 (Archives and Manuscripts, Accession # 38743, Library of Virginia): Although Doe does not describe the banjos whites played, it is likely that some may have been made from gourds. Welcome to my Gourd Banjo website. That the banjo came to America from Africa with enslaved Africans has been thoroughly documented. An African New World combination of European and African elements, early banjos resembled plucked full spike folk lutes like the akonting of Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and the bunchundo of Gambia. Read about Cackling Hen (Early Gourd Banjo) from Clifton Hicks's Banjo Heritage and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Jägfors is a banjo researcher who traveled from Sweden to document this rare musical instrument. Maker of historical reproduction gourd instruments, contemporary gourd banjos, and wooden rimmed banjos. Brogan Boots & Leggings (1870 Minstrel Banjo) 5. The hallway of one house had a gourd banjo and a fiddle hanging side by side. ", "Since Mr. Hodges is a concert violinist and violin maker, we were surprised to learn that his first musical instrument was a gourd banjo made for him when he was a small boy in the mountains of North Carolina by his grandfather. This musical instrument (if it may be so called) is made of a Gourd something in the imitation of a guitar, with only four strings and played with the fingers in the same manner. Rickard Banjos. ", "The rounded side had been cut away and the opening covered with a scrap of brown paper made fast with flour paste. Wheeling was a wild frontier town at that time, with many taverns. It is very possible that both styles originated from early African American banjo playing. It was referred to by many names, including banjar, banjil, banza, bangoe, bangie, and banshaw. He reports: The drawing (the original is in the Newberry Library) shows two instruments with similar necks and different bodies. Beautiful Jeff Menzies goat skin held in place with smaller brass tacks. The first settler in what is now Hazard, Kentucky had slaves. He saw a gourd banjo in Harlan County when he was a boy. It has simple friction tuning pegs, and is strung with nylon strings. He first performed throughout central Virginia for county court sessions. He did his doctorial dissertation, Folk-Songs du Midi des Etats-Unis, at the University of Paris in 1925. Sir Hans Sloane described instruments made of "hollow'd timber," so there is no reason to suppose some of these weren't present in early America. The number of strings varied on banjo-like gourd instruments described in Africa and the West Indies. The Oven Fork Baptist Church, established in 1820 in Letcher County, Kentucky, had ten "Rules and Regulations." He has evidence that many descended from the union of a slave and a white servant woman in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The favored tune for square dancing in the Knott County area was Hook and Line. The students said the following about Ernest Hodges, whom they met in 1977: The students later met Leonard Webb of Macon County, North Carolina. Banjo Heritage by Clifton Hicks, released 23 June 2020 1. On a typical minstrel banjo, the large (mostly bovine, I guess) skin, from some non-local source, covering the entire body of the banjo, was needed for projection to large audiences. Dances were held at the community house, where local people would on occasion bring musical instruments to play. Berlin asserts that free black communities were being established on the Chesapeake by 1650. Some of the festival performances may be heard on Folkways CD F-2358, entitled American Song Festival, which can be ordered from Smithsonian Folkways. Charles Doe visited Danville, Virginia, near the North Carolina border, in 1850. Tom said one of his forbears started the tradition of picking and singing by making himself a banjo from an old gourd. Artist. Part 2 of this 4-part series looks at these developments in the Caribbean as the banjo evolved the New World. Latrobe's drawing of the banjo he observed is also shown in Ring the Banjar!. The banjo, banjo songs and dance certainly came into east Kentucky well prior to the Civil War. The use of a grain measure (an implement used in the sale of grain to farmers) as a replacement for the gourd led to a stronger and more reliable banjo. The first instrument has a rounded body and appears to be a gourd. There would usually be one or two dancers on the floor, dancing something like a jig. Its results were clothing, food, & fiddle strings for the Banjo." If you want to see how I built those kits, just go to my web page, There may be an even earlier reference to whites playing a banjo-like instrument in Secular Music in Colonial Annapolis, The Tuesday Club (1745-56). Latrobe's drawing of the banjo he observed is also shown in Ring the Banjar!. The banjo was in Knoxville, Tennessee, by 1798. They document many aspects of folk life in the North Carolina and Georgia mountains. Carter employed, in addition to Fithian, both a dancing master and a music tutor. Dr. Josiah Combs was from Hindman, Kentucky. From the late 1600s to the early 1800s, banjos rang across the Caribbean: in Barbados, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts, Antigua, and Saint-Croix, as well as in Guyana and Suriname. Little Grey Mule (Kentucky Mountain Banjo) 4. Members can reply to posts but cannot start new threads. Mr. Rector had migrated to Kentucky from near Winchester, Virginia. This painting has often been cited as evidence that the short banjo string was not a later invention. This banjo has four strings, three long and one short. Most early gourd banjos had four gut or fiber strings (often three long strings and one short thumb string), although some had three strings, two long and one short. Banjo Heritage by Clifton Hicks, released 23 June 2020 1. Large kettle gourd with round sound hole. None that I have found describe the banjo in detail, indicating it was commonly known. Unfortunately, the students merely repeat theories developed by revival musicians not familiar with mountain history and culture. It would seem from Tom Couch's statement that his family had been making gourd banjos for at least two or three generations prior to 1860. Early Banjo Traditions. The name "Sambo" in the verse quoted by Boucher is interesting because Daniel Jatta and Ulf Jagfers have said Sambo is a very common name among the Jolas in Gambia. It is likely that some early slaves in the Chesapeake area came originally from Gambia. If the banjo was commonly known over a large area by 1750, as I assume, then it must have been introduced two or more generations prior to 1750. The most famous quotation about the early banjo in America is from a footnote in Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia (1781-82): Nicholas Creswell, in Journal of Nicholas Creswell, observed a gourd banjo in Maryland in 1774: The guitar was commonly played in an up picking style different from the down stroke banjo style common in the mountains. Cackling Hen (Early Gourd Banjo) 2. Bandcamp: http://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fQxc3ZY6LTVWkfxvsEPUViTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/clifton-hicks/1437321454Venmo: https://venmo.com/cliftonhicksbanjoPayPal: https://paypal.me/cliftonhicksbanjoOldtime banjo close ups and demonstrations of overhand, clawhammer, two finger, thumb lead, 2 finger, frailing and stroke styles plus traditional southern Appalachian mountain hoedown and early minstrel show techniques. Picking the seeds from the cotton was quite a chore. Plates 1 and 23 show details of the Jamieson banjo, which somewhat resembles a gourd banjo Benjamin Henry Latrobe observed in New Orleans in 1819. My name is Barry Sholder, and I am the maker of Barry Sholder Gourd banjos and Barry Sholder Gourd Ukulele. We don't know because Fithian does not describe the banjo. ", "While in America, Bremer eagerly sought opportunities to come in contact with both free and enslaved blacks. It is a banjo-like gourd instrument with three strings, two longer and one short, which is played in a down stroke style similar to that used in the mountains. He saw men jostling, singing, swearing; women yelling from the doorways; half-naked niggers playing on their 'banjies' while the crowd whooped around them.... 'The town was confused with a promiscuous throng of every denomination' – blanket-clad Indians, leather shirted woodsmen, gamblers hard-eyed and vigilant – 'My soul shrank back.' This time I want to make the whole banjo myself. He collected songs from an African American banjo player near Hindman in 1902. There were a number of slave families who should be counted among the settlers, although few found their way into the public record. She quotes a description of the banjo from a dictionary begun by Reverend Jonathan Boucher, a loyalist who lived in Maryland and Virginia before the American Revolution: Reverend Boucher makes two separate statements about the people who played banjo. Little Grey Mule (Kentucky Mountain Banjo) 4. A funky version done with Sule Greg Wilson at The Sweeny Early Banjo Convergence, 2013. Ring the Banjar! The earliest sightings of banjo-like instruments in the Western Hemisphere date from the 1680s and describe enslaved Africans in the Caribbean playing plucked lutes with gourd bodies. I am a researcher and builder of gourd banjos, and I had flown into Brussels the evening before from my home in Baltimore, Maryland. The historical record, some of which is presented here, does not support this view. The Gourd Banjo Project EXPLORING AND MAKING AN AMERICAN INSTRUMENT. His grandfather, George W. Gibson (b. Materials for a wood frame banjo were readily available, and frontiersmen were adept at constructing artifacts from materials at hand. Unfortunately, Dr. Drake does not describe the type of banjo for which Mr. Rector made strings. There will probably be no way to determine exactly when early European Americans first began adopting the African gourd banjo. Daniel Jatta and Ulf Jagfors demonstrated this instrument at a banjo collector meeting in November 2000. Thereare several early reports of banjos in the West Indies. Old Time Banjo Styles Preservation Society of … I am convinced the banjo tradition in the mountains had its inception in the courting rituals and dances of young people of the "lower classes" in Maryland and Virginia. Mountain banjo players used both styles, although the down stroke style was preferred for dances. Also, the references do not mention the number of strings; it is possible that the number may have varied in different areas. 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