Bell Banjos's Comments

Thanks for your warm welcome!  My interest in minstrel banjo is primarily historical.  I've been researching and writing about a variety of banjo pioneers such as Frank Converse and his contemporaries.

Best regards to all!

Thanks Terry, One more road to explore on this life long musical journey.

Thanks for your welcome, I intend on building some fretless banjos in the future and am happy to have this resource.

Thanks Terry. I'm glad I found the Minstrel Banjo group.

Thansk, Terry.  Great to be a part of this place.

Thanks so much for sharing the Nylgut gauges. I'll keep in touch.

Check out my proposal. One thing not specified (this is a very short

introductory version of what I'd like to partner with many to do) are

the ten primary categories of banjo music:   •Minstrel, •Classic Fingerstyle (The American Banjo Fraternity is the primary conservator of the urban banjo ca. 1860-1915),

•Rural and Old Time; •Plectral Jazz (tenor and plectrum); •Bluegrass; •The Folk

Music Era; •Celtic; •Cutting Edge (those pushing the envelope in all categories);

•Classical Music (my specialization); •Brochure%20Page%204.pdfFingerstyle Jazz (Pat Cloud, Béla Fleck's overtures with Chick Corea, etc.)

Thank you, Terry. People call me Jim, as in www.suzanneandjim.com. Jim Hale

No, not yet.  It's something we were discussing last week.   We have to figure out how to produce one (a good sounding one!) - and I have major insecurities about being good enough to be recorded....but that's my own thing, right?    So you vote we should, huh?

Thanks for the welcome.  I've been doing historic reenactments of 1830-1860 time period in the Pacific NW for a few years and wanted to add more music to my presentations.  Got a fretless gourd banjo built by a friend and am having a great time with it.  Still very much a novice, so I am always looking for new tips and ideas.  I am glad ou have this site.

Terry,

Thanks for your welcome. 

I am interested in the historical development of minstrel songs.  I am a member of MBSGB (musical box society of Great Britain).  I have a box pinned in 1841 with the tune sich a'gettin upstairs.  Said to be an English Morris tune, but believed by many to have been brought here in 1836 by Thomas D Rice. He also played and sang it when performing as Julius Caesar Washington Hickory Dick in a show called 'Yankee Notes for English Circulation at the Surrey Theatre London  in 1843.

Border Morris teams dance it as Getting Upstairs and interestingly border morris sides usually black up for their dances. Check out Benji Kirkpatrick on Utube playing getting upstairs for a great and accurate performance (according to the 1841 arrangement on my musical box) .  I do not play banjo but I'm interested in tunes that were so popular so many years ago.  My box sounds today exactly as it did when new in 1841 or 1842. that's why I wanted to join your group!

Terry: Thanks for the welcome. Not sure if you ever got the pictures of me with the 6-string. If not, when I get around to posting a picture for this forum I'll use one of those. I had it with me at the Antietam gathering over the weekend, where it attracted a lot of comment. Peter Szabo (did I spell that right?), who has the original, was there and pronounced it very authentic.

I have your picture on my website. I still think about that banjo a lot. I bet it DID get a lot of comments!!

Thank You, Terry.

Can't wait until my new banjo arrives!

Gerald

"Bell, thank you for the greeting. Delighted to have an opportunity to look around this site, and learn about the banjo's extraordinary musical heritage."

Terry , Looking forward to next saturday :< )   And many there after , Thanks !