3 comments on “Eine Kleine Banjo Snobbery”
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Great minds think alike, Ron, I have often pondered many of these same questions.
And I once owned a beautiful Emile Grimshaw plectrum guitar, which I had imported from England at some expense, and which i kept for a few years before giving up on it…
I don’t know if I just didn’t put enough effort into it, but it always felt like I was fighting with that guitar, like it really hated to be played like a banjo! And it seems you had the exact same experience!
And I totally agree that it is important to honour the traditional plectrum tuning… i play jazz guitar, but I would never want to play the same shit on the banjo that I do on the guitar, what would be the point of that?
I kind of feel sorry for you that you actually like modern jazz, you know why? You’re in for a world of rejection, my friend!
While in the trad jazz world, great plectrum players like Brad Roth, John Reynolds and [Ron Hinkle] are still rare and precious gemstones indeed…
… and let’s be honest, our instrument was made just for that…
… just sayin’…
Well, I had a gig last night, and played the plectrum guitar a bit. . . I can tell I have my work cut out for me! I of course can hear how the guitar fits into the music, but producing that sound is a challenge for this banjo-centric guy. It was a brave step forward, but I believe I will take an even braver step backward and work on my guitar chops for a while before venturing out again! The next step will be to apply what I learned there to the banjo.
I grew up immersed in pizza-parlor banjo and in Trad jazz. As a saxophonist, I had the opportunity to play in a modern combo for a while in Korea. I found some of the things they do in modern jazz to be more logical and actually easier. I find the tuning of the banjo to be an advantage, believe it or not; some things are easy to play but sound awkward. That awkwardness actually fits in really well, and makes the patterns sound “out there.” Who knew?
Well, you can’t blame me for wanting to expand the horizons of the banjo! Everyone talks about making it “relevant” to today, but then we all go back to Bye Bye Blues. You have to do more than just apply the same old technique to “new” songs; that is application but hardly progress. Sometimes we have to drag things kicking and screaming into the present to get anywhere. I believe it can be done! If there are only a few of us doing it though, it will sound like an anomaly, and not like a normal thing. I think that is the difficulty Buddy has had; he’s just a “freak of nature,” and not indicative of what us “normal” folks can do.
Thanks for the comments Will; keep ’em coming!
“I found some of the things they do in modern jazz to be more logical and actually easier.”
Great minds think alike, Ron, I have often pondered many of these same questions.
And I once owned a beautiful Emile Grimshaw plectrum guitar, which I had imported from England at some expense, and which i kept for a few years before giving up on it…
I don’t know if I just didn’t put enough effort into it, but it always felt like I was fighting with that guitar, like it really hated to be played like a banjo! And it seems you had the exact same experience!
And I totally agree that it is important to honour the traditional plectrum tuning… i play jazz guitar, but I would never want to play the same shit on the banjo that I do on the guitar, what would be the point of that?
I kind of feel sorry for you that you actually like modern jazz, you know why? You’re in for a world of rejection, my friend!
While in the trad jazz world, great plectrum players like Brad Roth, John Reynolds and [Ron Hinkle] are still rare and precious gemstones indeed…
… and let’s be honest, our instrument was made just for that…
… just sayin’…
Well, I had a gig last night, and played the plectrum guitar a bit. . . I can tell I have my work cut out for me! I of course can hear how the guitar fits into the music, but producing that sound is a challenge for this banjo-centric guy. It was a brave step forward, but I believe I will take an even braver step backward and work on my guitar chops for a while before venturing out again! The next step will be to apply what I learned there to the banjo.
I grew up immersed in pizza-parlor banjo and in Trad jazz. As a saxophonist, I had the opportunity to play in a modern combo for a while in Korea. I found some of the things they do in modern jazz to be more logical and actually easier. I find the tuning of the banjo to be an advantage, believe it or not; some things are easy to play but sound awkward. That awkwardness actually fits in really well, and makes the patterns sound “out there.” Who knew?
Well, you can’t blame me for wanting to expand the horizons of the banjo! Everyone talks about making it “relevant” to today, but then we all go back to Bye Bye Blues. You have to do more than just apply the same old technique to “new” songs; that is application but hardly progress. Sometimes we have to drag things kicking and screaming into the present to get anywhere. I believe it can be done! If there are only a few of us doing it though, it will sound like an anomaly, and not like a normal thing. I think that is the difficulty Buddy has had; he’s just a “freak of nature,” and not indicative of what us “normal” folks can do.
Thanks for the comments Will; keep ’em coming!
“I found some of the things they do in modern jazz to be more logical and actually easier.”
Interesting, Ron… please elaborate!