In this Book
- Building New Banjos for an Old-Time World
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: University of Illinois Press
summary
Banjo music possesses a unique power to evoke a bucolic, simpler past. The artisans who build banjos for old-time music stand at an unusual crossroads ”asked to meet the modern musician's needs while retaining the nostalgic qualities so fundamental to the banjo's sound and mystique. Richard Jones-Bamman ventures into workshops and old-time music communities to explore how banjo builders practice their art. His interviews and long-time personal immersion in the musical culture shed light on long-overlooked aspects of banjo making. What is the banjo builder's role in the creation of a specific musical community? What techniques go into the styles of instruments they create? Jones-Bamman explores these questions and many others while sharing the ways an inescapable sense of the past undergirds the performance and enjoyment of old-time music. Along the way he reveals how antimodernism remains integral to the music's appeal and its making.
Table of Contents
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- Acknowledgments
- pp. ix-x
- Introduction
- pp. 1-20
- 1. A Brief History of the Banjo
- pp. 21-43
- 2. The Old-Time Nation
- pp. 44-76
- 3. God Is in the Details
- pp. 77-117
- 4. An Homage to the Past
- pp. 118-156
- 5. An Apprentice to Ghosts
- pp. 157-207
- 6. The Banjo’s Evolving Story
- pp. 208-232
- Appendix 1. List of Interviewees
- pp. 233-234
- Appendix 2. Banjo Builder Websites
- pp. 235-236
- Bibliography
- pp. 257-266
Additional Information
ISBN
9780252099908
Related ISBN(s)
9780252041303, 9780252082849
MARC Record
OCLC
978295729
Pages
288
Launched on MUSE
2017-10-11
Language
English
Open Access
No
Copyright
2017