Research Catalog

Title

Making music : the banjo in a southern Appalachian county / William C. Allsbrook, Jr.

Author

Allsbrook, William C., Jr.

Publication

• Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2023]
• ©2023

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xviii, 246 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm.

Summary

"The banjo has been emblematic of the southern Appalachian Mountains since the late twentieth century. Making Music: The Banjo in a Southern Appalachian County takes a close look at the instrument and banjo players in Haywood County, North Carolina. Author William C. Allsbrook Jr., MD, presents the oral histories of thirty-two banjo players, all but two of whom were born in Haywood County. These talented musicians recount, in their own words, their earliest memories of music, and of the banjo, as well as the appeal of the banjo. They also discuss learning to play the instrument, including what it "feels like" playing the banjo, many describing occasional "flow states." In the book, Allsbrook explores an in-home musical folkway that developed along the colonial frontier. By the mid-1800s, frontier expansion had ceased in Haywood County due to geographic barriers, but the in-home musical tradition, including the banjo, survived in largely isolated areas. Vestiges of that tradition remain to this day, although the region has undergone significant changes over the lifetimes of the musicians interviewed. As a result, the survival of the in-home tradition is not guaranteed. Readers are invited into the private lives of the banjo players and asked to consider the future of the banjo in the face of contemporary trends. The future will be shaped by how this remarkable mountain culture continues to adapt to these challenges. Still, this thriving community of banjo players represents the vibrant legacy of the banjo in Haywood County and the persistence of tradition in the twenty-first century"--

Series Statement

American made music series

Uniform Title

American made music series.

Subject

• Banjo music > Appalachian Region, Southern > History and criticism
• Banjoists > Appalachian Region, Southern > Interviews
• Banjo > History
• Oral history > Appalachian Region, Southern
• Banjo
• Banjo music
• Banjoists
• Oral history
• Southern Appalachian Region

Genre/Form

• Criticism, interpretation, etc.
• History.
• Interviews.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-241) and index.

Contents

Preface -- Chapter 1: Overview of banjo history -- Chapter 2: The banjo in Haywood County -- Chapter 3: The banjo players -- Chapter 4: "Making music" -- Chapter 5: Earliest memories of music -- Chapter 6: Earliest memories of the banjo -- Chapter 7: The appeal of the banjo -- Chapter 8: Beginning to learn to play the banjo -- Chapter 9: Practice -- Chapter 10: What does it feel like? -- Chapter 11: What has the banjo meant to me? -- Chapter 12: The bands, the people, the places, the events -- Chapter 13: Three journeys -- Chapter 14: The future -- In conclusion -- Epilogue -- Appendix: Additional demographics -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

Call Number

JME 23-465

ISBN

• 9781496845801
• 1496845803
• 9781496845818
• 1496845811
• 9781496845825 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781496845856 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781496845832 (canceled/invalid)
• 9781496845849 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2023006345

OCLC

1355449544

Author

Allsbrook, William C., Jr., author.

Title

Making music : the banjo in a southern Appalachian county / William C. Allsbrook, Jr.

Publisher

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, [2023]

Copyright Date

©2023

Type of Content

text

still image

cartographic image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

American made music series

American made music series.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 237-241) and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Allsbrook, Jr., William C. Making music Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2023 9781496845825 (DLC) 2023006346

Research Call Number

JME 23-465