John Masciale's Comments

gracias. i was recommended it via milford music's banjo clubhouse site.

Thanks for having me :) I just played Grapevine Twist on the fiddle tonight, after seeing the music and hearing it on Banjo on your site. What a fun song! Thanks for posting.

Steve

thanks john, good site, i need to post some music.......soon....
RAFF

Hey John,

Thanks for the welcome!

Cheers,
Adam

Good morning and thank you sir!

Very Kindly,
Lisa M.

John, can you add either an App or change the music downloader to accept WAV format files ??

Thanks John!!! =)

Thanks a lot John! ^ ^

Hi John, Thank you for hosting such a great site. I have a question. do you know the length between nut and bridge on the Boucher doubleogee banjo. And is there anyone selling plans or has accurate information to help me build one.? JT Watts

John
Thanks for the welcome. I hope to learn alot from this site about early banjo music. I completed a fretless banjo and have begun to work on some basic tunes
Thanks
David Vickers

Thanks, John! This is all pretty new to me -- I'm just beginning to find my way around a few tunes on a basic Prust tackhead and figured this would be the place to absorb some good stuff.

Thanks. I am glad to see our little hobby is growing. I've been playing minstrel banjo since 1998 and have a circa 1855 banjo and I just picked up a circa 1875 home made fretless neck which I am going to rebuild into a playable instrument.

Thanks. I've only been playing clawhammer for a little under two years and thought I'd try the minstrel style as well. This should be a challenge learning how to tune and play it. (And how NOT to tune it.) Look forward to learning from this forum.

Thanks, John! I'll definitely get some of the tutors, and I'm sure I'll be spending some time here, too. I've already found some helpful folks!
Vince

Hi All
when I started playing banjo almost 40 years ago I didn't even know there were styles so I started with clawhammer via seeger and Rosenbaum and have never quite given it up. In a circle of bluegrass banjo players going thru Cripple Creek, frailing it when it was my turn always got smiles and nods. Several months ago I began to get serious about it again and have gotten about half way thru Ken Perlman's "Clawhammer Banjo' book. I also play a few dozen fiddle tunes melodic style and it's interesting to to compare the two. I also like going outside the box, I play some 3 finger rags, classical, and a couple of klezmer tunes. Jack of all trades master of none. When looking to see if there was a cd to go along with the old instructor reprints I found this site via the Banjo Hangout.

Hi John...

John,
Thank you for the welcome. I really look forward to hearing ideas and knowledge from the group.
Bo

Thanks, John!! It's great to hear from guys (and gals) who love the banjo!!

Jeff

Hi John,

I've been lurking around the Minstrel Banjo site for a couple of months now and finally couldn't resist signing on. First of all, I've played oldtime banjo (as well as guitar and mandolin) since the 60s, and am thrilled to see that folks are finally focusing on the earliest history of the banjo. Second, I've been doing research on the 19th century popular theatre for a number of years, focusing especially on groups of Japanese popular entertainers (acrobats, musicians, magicians, etc.) who traveled around the US and Europe beginning in 1866-67. The first group was represented by S.F. theatre impresario Tom Maguire and one "Professor Risley," both of whom had direct ties to the minstrel stage. As my research has broadened, I've found it impossible not to look more closely at the history of minstrelsy--a happy turn of events given my love for the banjo, especially in its earliest incarnations. I have a fairly large collection of early broadsides, photos, sheet music, and the like, some of which I may scan and post before long. Anyway, I'm happy to be part of this group. Hope I can contribute something. Bob

Thanks, John, for the nice welcome and kind words! Very much appreciated!

All the best,

Shlomo