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The Banjo: America’s African Instrument

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Description

The banjo has been called by many names over its history, but they all refer to the same sound―strings humming over skin―that has eased souls and electrified crowds for centuries. The Banjo invites us to hear that sound afresh in a biography of one of America’s iconic folk instruments. Attuned to a rich heritage spanning continents and cultures, Laurent Dubois traces the banjo from humble origins, revealing how it became one of the great stars of American musical life. In the seventeenth century, enslaved people in the Caribbean and North America drew on their memories of varied African musical traditions to construct instruments from carved-out gourds covered with animal skin. Providing a much-needed sense of rootedness, solidarity, and consolation, banjo picking became an essential part of black plantation life. White musicians took up the banjo in the nineteenth century, when it became the foundation of the minstrel show and began to be produced industrially on a large scale. Even as this instrument found its way into rural white communities, however, the banjo remained central to African American musical performance. Twentieth-century musicians incorporated the instrument into styles ranging from ragtime and jazz to Dixieland, bluegrass, reggae, and pop. Versatile and enduring, the banjo combines rhythm and melody into a single unmistakable sound that resonates with strength and purpose. From the earliest days of American history, the banjo’s sound has allowed folk musicians to create community and joy even while protesting oppression and injustice. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Belknap Press An Imprint of Harvard University Press


Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 14, 2016


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674047842


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 46


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #724,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #109 in Banjos (Books) #307 in Folk & Traditional Music (Books) #1,487 in Music History & Criticism (Books)


#109 in Banjos (Books):


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Thursday, Jul 3

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • A journey around the world, through the centuries, about the best instrument... ever.
Format: Hardcover
I finished Laurent Dubois's "The Banjo - America's African Instrument" yesterday. I have to say, if you're a fan of the banjo, no matter the kind of music played on it or the number of strings, I think this is a must read. It's not heavy in the photo department, so if you like looking at books for the photos (there are some photos, and I think they're valuable), this may not be the book you'll enjoy to the ends of the earth. But if you enjoy some VERY interesting information, covering many centuries, about your favorite instrument. This book is for you. It's full of information, as we move around the world, through many years of history rarely associated with the banjo. I really enjoyed it. It had me thinking about things I don't usually reflect on, and has me respecting the banjo, on it's long long twisted path even more. I give this book five stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2017 by Ryan

  • Fast, well packaged, represented accurately
Format: Hardcover
I needed a book and found a hardbound book at a reasonable rate. It was easily ordered and I have it in my hand. I am very satisfied.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2023 by Amazon Customer

  • The cultural history that gave us the ?American Banjo
Format: Hardcover
I just finished this book. It isn't your typical banjo book. There are many good books about the instrument, but none about the cultural context in which the banjo evolved, from a gourd instrument first made by African slaves on Caribbean sugar plantations to the fancy instrument of the bluegrass, old time and folk musicians of today. It's very well written and researched. If you are interested in the history and cultures that gave us the banjo, this is the book you want to read. It covers early African origins, the banjo on the plantations and it's used by enslaved Africans, The Civil War, blackface minstrelsy, the bluegrass banjo, Pete Seeger and the folk revival, and the African American string bands. Good book! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2016 by Sue M.

  • I really enjoyed reading this
Format: Hardcover
I really enjoyed reading this. The depth of the history of the banjo, and of the slave trade (which goes hand in hand with the history of the banjo) is pretty amazing. My only issue with this book was that when it got to the early 1900s, and talked about artists who had actually recorded their work, I had to stop every couple of minutes to look up someone else, and listen for a while. It made for enjoyable, but very slow, reading. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2016 by Paul Archer

  • MY FAVORITE BANJO BOOK
Format: Kindle
There is nothing that I disliked about it. The Banjo opened my world just when I needed it most. The author gave me the feeling that I was joining a search for the mystery of the finding that sound ... that note ... that chord. Recommend it highly.
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2018 by Rob Kunkel

  • Excellent critical history of “America’s instrument”
Format: Kindle
Not for banjo players or aficionados of the instruments themselves, but a powerful cultural history of the banjo from its African roots to Obama’s inauguration. Strong on issues of race and minstrelsy.
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2017 by Robert Fink

  • This is a more technical piece that would appeal to ...
Format: Kindle
This is a more technical piece that would appeal to an ethnomusicologist more than to the casual banjo player. It goes into a fair amount of history of similar skin headed instruments to trace the possible origins of the banjo.
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2017 by Amazon Customer

  • The Banjo:America's African Instrument
Format: Hardcover
Very detailed, very in-depth history of the banjo. This is not a light read, but it is an informative one. Should go on your shelf next to all your other banjo books.
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2016 by James Jacquet

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