Comments on: The Secret Life of the Banjo

By: PointSpecial

PointSpecial — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:20:44 +0000

I 100% agree with Rachel…

Can’t talk about the banjo without discussing Bela Fleck… he’s completely revolutionized the instrument. It isn’t just a bluegrass instrument… it’s a jazz fusion instrument that’s taken to its limits. If you haven’t heard Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, check them out. Archive.org has a bunch of free concerts that have been shared for starters!

By: deb

deb — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:51:03 +0000

Hey Rachel, good one. I actually love the banjo too. For me it never got any better than hearing Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson or the late, great Tommy Makem put a banjo through its paces!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:37:28 +0000

Sufjan Stevens plays the banjo beautifully. It all depends on how it’s played.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:48:37 +0000

I had heard from several folk musicologists that Earl Scruggs had picked up the three-finger style from an earlier hillbilly picker named Snuffy Jenkins, but that turns out not to be the case. Both Earl and Snuffy acknowledge that he worked it out all on his own. I myself learned the two-finger “clawhammer” style, and when I attempted the three-finger Scruggs style, it was like a whole different universe. It really makes you appreciate what a genius he is. Two-finger “old-timey” style is fun and folksy, but three-finger bluegrass is an art form.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:16:48 +0000

@deb:

Q: What do you call 1,000 banjos at the bottom of the ocean?

A: A good start.

I actually do like the banjo, and one of my current favorite CDs is Bela Fleck & Friends’ Perpetual Motion. Classical music lovers will be amazed at how good Bach, Scarlatti, Chopin, Beethoven, and more sound when played on banjo!

By: EMStoveken

EMStoveken — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:14:35 +0000

Justification for the existence of the banjo:

The last scene of Harold and Maude.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:06:51 +0000

The banjo has made a comeback in scene music as well. Bands like the Can Kickers, Roof Rabbit, and the Pine Hill HAints take the bluegrass sound and put a punk twist on it. Makes for a very good change in the punk sound.

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 05:41:51 +0000

My uncle plays the banjo, and his wife makes him take it outside. Outside, you can hear it miles away.

I’m glad I don’t live that close to him.

By: deb

deb — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:43:50 +0000

Q.What’s the difference between a banjo and an onion?

A.Nobody cries when you chop up a banjo.

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:41:17 +0000

If you want to check out some amazing modern banjo, listen to Bela Fleck with Chick Corea (jazz fusion keyboardist) on their CD “The Enchantment”.

Of course anything from Bela is always good.