The Folk Banjo
A Documentary History
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2604113 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dena J Epstein (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 347 |
| Publication date | 1975-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethnomusicology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0014-1836 • E-ISSN: 2156-7417 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/850790 |
| OpenAlex | W2319963462 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 13 |
| References cited | 4 |
T he history of the folk banjo as distinct from the commercial instrument has hardly been attempted in any serious way. Such a basic question as whether it originated in the United States, the prevailing belief of only a few decades ago, or in Africa has not been resolved by supporting evidence of an incontrovertible nature. Assumptions, speculations and theories have been offered, with only a few isolated sources to support them, quotations that showed the banjo existed, but were insufficient to demonstrate either its continuity or the range of its distribution. What is needed is a whole series of documents demonstrating the continuous presence of the banjo in the New World over an extended period of time and in various areas. The cumulative strength of such testimony would be sufficient to overcome the myths and legends that have passed for reality, filling the literature with contradictory statements. Even a preliminary attempt to straighten out the facts must deal with the legends as well. To fathom how these legends could have been accepted by sensible people, we must consider them in relation to deeply ingrained attitudes toward broad social problems, problems which were the primary concern of the documents on which we are dependent for information but in which the banjo played only a subsidiary role. Before the documents themselves are presented, therefore, some of these legends and the social forces that shaped them should be considered
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Documentary evidence · Documentary film · Literature · Visual arts · History · Music History and Culture
Jake Blount and The Folk of Black Souls—(Re)Activating the Chronopolitical Function of Traditional Music for the Black Lives Matter Generation
Poyi!Bamanajelimusic, Mali and the blues
Storiesl of Differentiation and Association
West African Masking Traditions and Diaspora Masquerade Carnivals
DeFord Bailey in Country Music's Multiracial Canon
Quantitative similarities between the banjo and a diverse collection of West African lutes
The (Mis)Representation of African American Music
Another history of bluegrass
Fiddling as an Avenue of Black-White Musical Interchange
Afro-American Folksong Scholarship
Paul Oliver's contribution to ethnomusicology
From quadrille to stomp
Richard Ligon and the Atlantic Science of Commonwealths
| Unique citing works | 13 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,36 |
| Citation span | 1990 - 2026 (37) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |