Historical authenicity vs. practicality - Minstrel Banjo2024-03-28T19:40:12Zhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/historical-authenicity-vs-practicality?commentId=2477478%3AComment%3A103472&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noBob--In the performance last…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2013-12-10:2477478:Comment:1034782013-12-10T18:36:33.300ZRob Morrisonhttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/RobertRMorrison
<p>Bob--In the performance last night I actually did bring a banjo with a less than crisp skin head and the newly fitted one with the synthetic head and demonstrated the difference. At times it is virtually impossible to play the skin head at all, as those of us who attend the Antietam gathering can attest. Glad to hear there's somebody else from Chapel Hill in the mix.--Rob Morrison<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Bob DeVellis said:…</cite></p>
<p>Bob--In the performance last night I actually did bring a banjo with a less than crisp skin head and the newly fitted one with the synthetic head and demonstrated the difference. At times it is virtually impossible to play the skin head at all, as those of us who attend the Antietam gathering can attest. Glad to hear there's somebody else from Chapel Hill in the mix.--Rob Morrison<br/> <br/> <cite>Bob DeVellis said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/historical-authenicity-vs-practicality?commentId=2477478%3AComment%3A103472&xg_source=activity#2477478Comment103472"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Rob, as someone living in Chapel Hill. NC, I can sympathize with the effects of weather on skin banjo heads. As for authenticity, my take (and this is just the personal opinion of a non-expert) is that, depending on the goal of the performance, either playing the flabby skin head or the tighter Fiberskyn might be appropriate. Certainly, if the goal is primarily to give people a taste of the music of the war era at its best, then a loose, damp head seems like it would detract from achieving that outcome. On the other hand, if the goal is to point out what musicians of the era had to contend with, then the looser head would serve that purpose. Imagining myself in the audience, I might enjoy hearing both, with the point made that the tight head gives a better sense of how the music ideally would sound but that the natural head is what people would have actually used then, with all of its inherent shortcomings when the weather is damp. That way, as an audience member, I could appreciate both the music and the hardship of the historical period without either stepping on the other's toes, so to speak. </p>
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</blockquote> Rob! Glad you are back on! Yo…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2013-12-10:2477478:Comment:1033862013-12-10T17:54:54.797ZMark Weemshttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/MarkKellyWeems
<p>Rob! Glad you are back on! You have much to offer this site. Nice to bump shoulders at Duke Homestead and Stagville.</p>
<p>Rob! Glad you are back on! You have much to offer this site. Nice to bump shoulders at Duke Homestead and Stagville.</p> Rob, as someone living in Cha…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2013-12-10:2477478:Comment:1034722013-12-10T16:30:39.870ZBob DeVellishttp://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/BobDeVellis
<p>Rob, as someone living in Chapel Hill. NC, I can sympathize with the effects of weather on skin banjo heads. As for authenticity, my take (and this is just the personal opinion of a non-expert) is that, depending on the goal of the performance, either playing the flabby skin head or the tighter Fiberskyn might be appropriate. Certainly, if the goal is primarily to give people a taste of the music of the war era at its best, then a loose, damp head seems like it would detract from achieving…</p>
<p>Rob, as someone living in Chapel Hill. NC, I can sympathize with the effects of weather on skin banjo heads. As for authenticity, my take (and this is just the personal opinion of a non-expert) is that, depending on the goal of the performance, either playing the flabby skin head or the tighter Fiberskyn might be appropriate. Certainly, if the goal is primarily to give people a taste of the music of the war era at its best, then a loose, damp head seems like it would detract from achieving that outcome. On the other hand, if the goal is to point out what musicians of the era had to contend with, then the looser head would serve that purpose. Imagining myself in the audience, I might enjoy hearing both, with the point made that the tight head gives a better sense of how the music ideally would sound but that the natural head is what people would have actually used then, with all of its inherent shortcomings when the weather is damp. That way, as an audience member, I could appreciate both the music and the hardship of the historical period without either stepping on the other's toes, so to speak. </p>