Stewart's "The Minstrel Banjoist."

[Joel Hooks]

Ladies and gentleman, this interesting work is now available to download on my website.

I'd love to here your thoughts on it.

http://www.thejoelhooks.com/Site/Home.html

[Joel Hooks]

You are not alone in your thoughts.

I sat down and played with this a little more and I have come to a conclusion... It is a lousy tutor. The pieces are not great. The arrangement of "Old Joe's Lament" is kinda weird (to me anyway). A few that I played through were fun like "Angelica Polka," "The Flower Schottische," and "The Morning Star Schottische." "Stop Jig" would be good if there was more to it, I could pair it up with another minor jig. "Rakish Highlandman" has potential, but needs fleshing out.

He published stuff in '79 that blows all of this stuff away, so it was deliberate and not just lack of ability.

You are absolutely correct about Stewart's business mindset. And going by that confirms that there was no money to be made trying to sell wire strings, or was there?

I think Stewart had his lines he would not cross, one was selling cheap banjos and saying that they were good. He always told the truth in his ads.

His "Banjo By Ear," a simplified method, does not have the derogatory feel like this one. It is pretty straight, and it is tab. What more did he speak out against than simplified methods and not playing by note?

I can just imagine how it went down. Old Stewart, Armstrong, Weston, etc. sitting around during a slow day for banjo sales and Stewart says, "we're getting all these cranks in wanting books on cork operas."

Tom, sipping brandy, replies "You know Sam, you ought to print a book that would be impossible to learn from for a beginner. Make it so the instructions are correct as to scales and tuning, but not enough to use."

"Yes!" exclaims Stewart, "we'll put in a 'banjo story' and how to use soap. The hams will buy it, get their tubs out, and this will discourage them from continuing. They might even see the error of their ways and take lessons from you Tom. I'll name the book The Minstrel Banjoist that way the cranks will know which one to get."

Oh yes, that "banjo story." You can't possibly think that that was not written, with all the stammering etc., to make fun of the performers who tell jokes. I mean, it is just bad.

As a side, I did think the last part was funny... "I'm going to sing you a little song written out there by General Grant the day after George Francis Train married Doctor Mary Walker." It reminds me of current old time banjoists.

[Tim Twiss]

I sat down and played with this a little more and I have come to a conclusion... It is a lousy tutor. The pieces are not great.

I think you're being a little harsh there Joel. I have not found this to be lousy at all. None of these books are smooth sailing with gems from cover to cover, but this one does offer a lot of nice music. I'm not through the whole thing yet, but so far there has been a lot of variety and I'm enjoying it a lot. 2 pretty nice jigs and a few in the Polka/Schottische style, which I like. Triplet Schottische is pretty catchy. Thanks for posting it.

[Joel Hooks]

My last post seems to have been lost, so here we go again.

I think that it is poor from the standpoint of instruction. If someone purchased this book, drawn to the banjo from minstrel shows, they would have been discouraged from continuing.

A year earlier Stewart put out a short lesson series that is really good for basic instruction (attached PDF). He could have made this book a lot better.

I agree that there is some fun stuff. I've had a great time using "Home Sweet Home" to put together my own arrangement.

Here is "The Flower Schottische"

[Rob MacKillop]

'Stewart's lessons' is good. Orson Wells fans will love the Rose-bud Polka. There are so many editions from the 80s and 90s which discuss guitar-style up-picking but have stroke-style repertoire. I guess many of the tunes were still in folk memory, and that proved positive for sales.

[Tim Twiss]

"I think that it is poor from the standpoint of instruction"

Most of them are. You get the "Rudiments of Music", a simple tune or two, and then you're off to the races.

[Tim Twiss]

"Rakish Highlandman" has potential, but needs fleshing out."

Joel, what does this mean?

[Tim Twiss]

Hey, I'm still playing through this book, and liking it. I enjoy not getting a lot of repetition from old material and motifs.. The sparse fingerings (numbers and articulation markings) are still quite strong in providing direction. It's a bit of a mystery, much like Buckley 1868, as to what is best done Stroke and what is best done Fingerstyle. It's a good book. Perhaps not instructional, but very musical...at least as much as any other period collection of similar intent.

[Joel Hooks]

Wow, I missed some.

Tim- I don't know, more slurs, harmonies, etc.. It does not sound complete.

Dan'l- causal conversation indeed. I'l like to submit exhibit "A." Read "The Cranks of the Banjo" April-May 1884. Obviously these types of things were common topics of discussion.

"B" Continue on to August- Sept 1884, where he almost dedicates the issue to "Eddie" Dobson and his business practices. He even goes so far as to write a poem about it..

Obituary.

Our Eddie has departed
For another shore;
Unexpectedly he started,
But as he held his jaw,
Of course his printer did'nt drop,
To Eddie's little game;
And se the "Simple Method" stock,
Went to London all the same.

Before he left America,
He raked in all the pelf,
And when the Arizona sailed,
None knew him but himself.
On his friends he left the burden,
Of various little bills;
He'll introduce in London,
The simple method chills.

None knew him but to love him,
And they say that love is blind;
To say aught against him,
Indeed would seem unkind.
But then you know the medal,
Which he acquired by his brain,
Wherever he may travel,
Will be the brand of Cain.

He accuses "Eddie" of bouncing checks, giving himself medals in his own banjo contests etc..

I feel the man was capable of publishing a work for the purpose of poking fun. He did it with his journal that he distributed worldwide.

Here is another- August- September, 1886, and article "Concerning Strings." He ends the article with "Those who prefer steel strings do not require any information, as wire strings never snap on account of the weather. But for such, Ham Bitters is a useful lubricator." Get it? Only "Hams" use wire strings.

Those are just off the top of my head. The Journal is packed full of those sorts of things.

That man loved to poke fun.