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The Banjo: The People and the Sounds of America's Folk Instrument
December 1, 2001- September 2, 2002
"Just smash your piano, and invoke the glory-beaming banjo!"
Mark Twain, 1865
The National Heritage Museum presented a unique reflection of American culture in "The Banjo: The People and the Sounds of America?s Folk Instrument," December 1, 2001-September 2, 2002. More than 60 instruments were on view, including early banjos rarely presented to the public. A Gambian akonting, the banjo's African precursor, is not frequently seen in this country and was an exhibition highlight. Hundreds of banjo-related lithographs, photographs, books, broadsides, sheet music and fine art--including the painting The Banjo Player by William Sidney Mount--as well as a lively selection of video and audio were also presented. Contemporary instruments and artifacts included a banjo owned by Earl Scruggs and a Grammy won by Bela Fleck.
The banjos were primarily drawn from the local collection of banjo historian, James F. Bollman, but also included material from the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Kendall Institute and other organizations.
This signature American instrument developed here from an African one. The banjo's shape, sound and place in our history reflects the different cultures it has touched over time. The banjo we know today is a product of constant improvements to clarify the tone and magnify the sound. The basic instrument itself, however, is still a round rim covered with a mylar or skin head, which amplifies the plucked strings. As the musical heritage of different cultures has merged to form an "American" sound, the banjo has been an integral part of popular music in this country for more than 300 years. "The Banjo" explored how the instrument was played in very different performances, ranging from minstrel shows to classical recitals.
The exhibition paid particular attention to the rise of the banjo in American music and culture in the mid-to-late 1800s. Spurred by the exposure on the minstrel stage, consumer purchases of banjos reached an apex during this time. Manufacturers identified a middle- and upper class audience for the instrument, and increased its appeal by adding decorative inlays, and by improving the sound quality. As the banjo became accepted in the parlor and the classical music concert hall, its method of play also changed. Playing the instrument in the "guitar style"--picking the strings with the thumb and three fingers rather than downstroking them--became the craze. Teachers such as the Dobson brothers and manufacturers such as S.S. Stewart shrewdly marketed the instrument, convincing consumers in the second half of the 1800s that the banjo deserved a place in every fine home's parlor. By the end of the century, the banjo had worked its way onto prep school and college campuses where banjo clubs had become the rage.
A section of fine presentation banjos from the 1800s were on view. These fancy instruments were made to impress both close up and from a distance. With their elaborate mother-of-pearl inlay, engraved rims, silver- and gold-plated metal, silver or copper wires, and carved oak, rosewood or mahogany, these banjos were the most expensive made in this country. Costing as much as $300 in the 1890s, these presentation banjos were within the reach of only the wealthiest consumers, and their rarity today suggests that few were made. Fourteen of the highest grade banjos made by the Boston firms of A. C. Fairbanks, William A. Cole and Bay State, as well as S. S. Stewart of Philadelphia and Lyon and Healy of Chicago were presented in this section of the exhibition. This section also featured guitars, mandolins, and a number of hybrid instruments such as the banjeaurine, which combines the banjo with the mandolin.
"The Banjo in the 20th Century" revealed that in the early 1900s, the banjo remained fashionable. Master banjoists such as Fred Van Eps and Vess L. Ossman recorded ragtime hits and continued to promote the classic style of banjo playing. But as new kinds of American music evolved, the five-string banjo was replaced with the four-string tenor and plectrum banjos. The banjos in jazz ensembles had thick rims and heavy resonators that could project the sound needed in the rhythm section. The five-string banjo remained dominant in the rural South, especially in Appalachia. Increased exposure on the radio made the "old-time" or "hillbilly" of Appalachia music quite popular, with figures like Uncle Dave Macon emerging as a star of the Grand Ole Opry. Along with "old-time" music, the Opry was also an important venue for promoting another style of banjo music--bluegrass.
In the 1940s Earl Scruggs, with his distinctive rapid three-finger style, emerged as the most famous bluegrass banjoist. By the 1960s the Scruggs style of banjo playing was sweeping the country. Earl Scruggs is probably most familiar to the American public for the themes from the Beverly Hillbillies television show, and for music on the Bonnie and Clyde movie soundtrack. Many other artists have continued to make the banjo their own. Perhaps none is better known than Pete Seeger, one of the five-string banjo's greatest promoters, but the exhibition also discussed the contributions that such diverse musicians as Béla Fleck, the Dixie Chicks and Kermit the Frog have made to keep the banjo vibrant. Today, America's instrument continues to be played in every style and remains important in contemporary music.
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