The precursor of the Classic Banjo (CB) has become known through association as the Minstrel Banjo (MB), itself a development from the Tackhead Banjo (TB). Both these earlier instruments were fretless, and played with a downward thrust of the index finger, in what is known as Stroke Style.
So how did the CB develop from these instruments? There are a number of issues to consider.
1. Minstrel players themselves started to incorporate European-style music into their performances, indicating a shift away from 'plantation'-style riffing. This revealed new possibilities for the instrument, which attracted newcomers to it.
2. Guitar maker, James Ashborn (born in England but based in Connecticut) started to incorporate some of his guitar luthiery into his banjos.
3. James Buckley's publication, Buckley's New Banjo Method (Boston, 1860) encouraged the use of frets, with the writer pictured on the cover playing an Ashborn banjo.
4. A developing interest in the banjo by white middle class people who did not wish to associate themselves with either negroes or minstrels. They demanded a new banjo with a new repertoire, and came to view the instrument as part of the parlor furnishings.
5. In 1865, Frank Converse published the first book to discuss fingerstyle technique, plucking upward strokes with the flesh of the index and middle fingers. His New and Complete Method included European dances (polkas, gallops, marches, etc) and art music (operatic selections). The following video of two pieces from Converse's book highlights the old style, Gumbo Reel, a piece which belonged to the minstrel repertoire, and The Pequot Galop, which seems to bridge the two styles:
6. The establishment of the campus orchestras for banjo, mandolin and guitar. These grew to be very popular, and the demand for instruments grew.
The Princeton Banjo Club
7. The creation of factory-made instruments with metal rims, available at a great variety of price points. These banjos also found outlets in London.
Although raised frets took some while to become established, their adoption did allow more harmonically advanced music to be played more easily, allowing practitioners to play a similar repertoire to that of the guitar and piano. The banjo, as a result, became part of the mainstream of American musical life, so much so that Walt Whitman demanded it become part of the American orchestra. Although some writers, such as S.S. Stewart, decried any association with negro or minstrel music, ragtime did become extremely popular both in the parlor and in the college orchestra. It is claimed that Scott Joplin's mother played the banjo, and there is little doubt that the instrument greatly influenced his work.
The banjo also found it's way to England where it underwent a separate development. Some of the finest composers for the CB were English - Morley, Grimshaw and others. An American, Alfred D. Cammeyer, performed in London in 1888 on a zither banjo. This instrument became huguely popular in England [see this excellent website]. Some banjos were made with six or seven strings, although five remained the most popular. The banjo, mandolin and guitar orchestras also became very popular throughout Britain.
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Joe Morley |
Emile Grimshaw |
With the advent of the jazz era, the banjo began to be played with a plectrum to increase volume, eventually losing its short fifth string - arguably the one clearly unique feature of the banjo other than its calfskin soundboard. The classic style did not disappear completely, but it certainly became far less fashionable than its jazz, bluegrass, clawhammer and Irish counterparts. The original repertoire is still worth hearing, however, and new music is being written for it.