Bill Evans Tells the History of the Banjo in 14 Minutes

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Күн бұрын

Though the banjo is best-known today as a bluegrass instrument, its history runs deep. In this video, musician and educator Bill Evans gives us a crash course on 250 years of banjo evolution and playing styles in just under 15 minutes. He starts with the African akonting and moves through the minstral era, bluegrass music and ends with a well-loved pop tune played on his Allan Beardsell-built electric banjo.
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Пікірлер: 349

@AidanHegarty97 3 жыл бұрын

first time i watched this i thought it was Bill Evans the pianist talking about banjos, i was shocked. lol

@lucaguglielmin6844 3 жыл бұрын

Same hahah

@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer 2 жыл бұрын

If i had a nickel for every virtuoso musician named Bill Evans, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

@arnowillekes7979 6 ай бұрын

How many Bill Evans are there worldwide? 😂

@nickbarrow2805 3 ай бұрын

@@oldtimetinfoilhatwearerThere’s also at least one saxophonist named Bill Evans

@tonyamcrae9775 3 жыл бұрын

"oh, I have a gentleman caller! I will greet him with my banjo in the parlor."

@tenbroeck1958 2 жыл бұрын

This is an awesome education for ignorant people, who don't know the cultural history. I think knowing and celebrating the original Africans, Scottish, Scots-Irish, English, etc. people who brought these elements of what evolved into Folk, Blues, Bluegrass, Country, Rock music is important to understanding America.

@jimatleson470 5 жыл бұрын

Bill does a fine job, as always, on the banjo's history. As some of the comments mention, however, there's various playing styles and types of banjos left out. Most egregious to me, biased as I am, is the leap from classic style to bluegrass which omits the preceding and enduring Appalachian clawhammer and two and three-finger styles which are very popular around the country. Bluegrassers, for some reason, tend to slight old time music despite it's popularity and, as instrument stores report, open back banjos outsell bluegrass ones.

@Tasmanaut Жыл бұрын

to be fair, the are generally cheaper

@townhell 5 ай бұрын

Also skipped over a little thing called jazz. Maybe because in those days they snubbed his beloved short string!

@budm.1450 6 жыл бұрын

I've been pickin the banjo (bluegrass) for more than 35 years now and I have to tell you, I just love your analogy, or "definition" of the banjo. A drum on a stick. Pretty much made my day. Thank you.

@user-sq2yo4jf2l 5 жыл бұрын

Yea

@Noisy_Cricket 5 жыл бұрын

I absolutely love the sound produced by the last banjo. It's incredibly calming.

@guscannon5949 2 жыл бұрын

that akonting sounds so soulful and stirring

@jerrywinters6914 2 жыл бұрын

My understanding is that Joel Walker Sweeney (1810-1860) was the musician who redesigned the African instrument into the modern 5-string banjo that is known today. Although slaves had apparently already added the fifth string, it was Sweeney who popularized the new form on the minstrel circuit. He toured with his two brothers Sam and Dick in the minstrel shows from 1831-to his death in 1860. During the Civil war Sam Sweeney served as Major General J.E.B Stuart's personal banjo picker until Sweeney's death in the winter of 1863/1864.

@taxidrivercarl6074 4 жыл бұрын

Been watching a lot of banjo videos while I wait for my first to arrive. One thing I've seen in common with them all is the quiet joy on the player's face when they play

@williamlane6124 9 жыл бұрын

Bill Evans is great. You can tell every ounce of joy he pours into his playing. A true banjo player.

@poisonhemlock 2 жыл бұрын

That classical banjo piece knocked me on the floor, that was amazing! 😲

@JanetBeth13 10 жыл бұрын

Exciting history, Bill. I admire your dedication and enjoy your music, as always.

@babaaladeolamina4810 6 күн бұрын

Thanks Evans, for a very nice lecture on Banjo,and some great playing too.

@erstwhilerambler 5 жыл бұрын

“The underlying passion and carnality of the banjo” 😂

@nicandknacksandseans 4 жыл бұрын

Hey if you've never wanted to fuck to the sweet sweet sound of metal picks on metal strings amplified by a trashcan with dead horse skin stretched across it, then clearly you haven't been playing it right!

@nicandknacksandseans 4 жыл бұрын

the idea of it being gut strings really changes nothing

@LostSourdough 4 жыл бұрын

@@nicandknacksandseans that is possibly the greatest description of playing the banjo I have ever heard

@KeizerHedorah 3 жыл бұрын

lol

@MrMaxamillion213 3 жыл бұрын

A delightful, brief overview of the banjo’s evolution through history! Thank you :)

@samuelmontgomery6827 4 жыл бұрын

The last song was "You've got to Hide your love away" by The Beatles.

@dolam 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! I could not figure it out. At first I thought it was "Yesterday", then I picked up hints of "Norwegian Wood." I am glad to know I at least had the band right.

@gerard9098 3 жыл бұрын

Great journey through the banjo history. Love it. Thnx !

@robertwilke7692 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Bill. That was really interesting. And it also cleared up a couple misconceptions I had.

@nightfrailer 5 жыл бұрын

Nice. Thanks for the tour!

@CullenVance 10 жыл бұрын

What a wonderful video!!! Thank you so much!!!

@davidcollins343 5 жыл бұрын

Great vid.. it was great to hear you play the different styles. The classic banjo piece was particularly interesting. I've never heard that style of banjo before. You are a fine player.

@maxwellfan55 7 жыл бұрын

Bill, a fascinating summery of the instruments we love and the beautiful sounds they make. Thank you. An education for us all. God bless.

@humbuckercafe 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing a part of Banjos’ history! And yes - a great playing :)

@netwonc 6 жыл бұрын

Great video and playing, Thanks for sharing.

@dolam 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for posting this video. It makes me want to learn how to play the banjo.

@Quamela 4 жыл бұрын

Shocker..now I want an electric banjo. Tony Rice is gonna freak out on my desired instrument gatherings once again.

@mikelinniii1186 5 жыл бұрын

This is fantastic! Very informative, thanks!

@LoneRevD 5 жыл бұрын

Wow amazing playing, thank you that was really terrific.

@ROCKINGMAN 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this insight into these beautiful instruments. Love them all. I think my favourite is the open back banjo.

@louiswhite4909 3 жыл бұрын

Wow, that was great!

@Foxrock321 3 жыл бұрын

Just inherited my Uncles Gibson Mastertone Earl Scruggs...now I’m gonna have to learn to play it...thanks for the video great job.

@jeanlucriker 4 жыл бұрын

It was Porter Wagoner & the Wagonmasters. He (Buck) played the Electric Banjo on the song"Daddy was an Old time Preacher man" that Porter sang with Dolly Parton.

@alainagjozijlugo 7 жыл бұрын

So informative. Thank you Bill.

@CommonlyKnowledgeable 3 жыл бұрын

The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African-Americans in the United States, adapted from African instruments of similar design.

@margaretradek971 6 жыл бұрын

thank you, loved it

@DJTabooMixTypeBeat 3 жыл бұрын

History channel... love what you are doing, 100% passion

@parsivalshorse 7 жыл бұрын

So very interesting, thanks. I'm fascinated by these instruments.

@mathias841 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome teaching and awesome music. Would have love to hear more about the turning point into bluegrass.

@jkennan 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, very informative. I love your enthusiasm.

@bleikrsound6127 8 жыл бұрын

Playing Renaissance and Lute music also sounds very natural on a resonator instrument such as the banjo.

@heavenmetal1 2 жыл бұрын

Beautifully done video. Makes me want to get a banjo now.

@briankbs6715 7 жыл бұрын

Liked your playing and presentation very much.

@michaelbauers8800 8 жыл бұрын

great presentation, thanks!

@Lanearndt 7 жыл бұрын

Kudos to the luthier of the electric!!! That thing sounds and looks fantastic!!

@scopedope8706 5 жыл бұрын

Informative, Interesting and Enjoyable.

@mrdavidjk Жыл бұрын

Respect. Fantastic playing

@swing-o-gram 5 жыл бұрын

Enjoyable video. thanks.

@RebeccAcoustic 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome video! I think my grandma had that exact same rug as you!

@JanetBeth13 10 жыл бұрын

Bill, you continue to amaze me! Thanks for your skillful, interesting, accurate and concise presentation.

@icallhimgerald6463 5 жыл бұрын

Very interesting! Great video!

@marqy007 6 жыл бұрын

Nice demos on the nice collection.

@fixitdude9748 5 жыл бұрын

I have a hondo 2 ... I ended up here looking about these type of instruments. Nice video..

@thomashoekstra2933 3 жыл бұрын

I love how the banjo sound it's a unique sound I love it

@alpounsett4752 9 жыл бұрын

Kind of missed out on the tenor and plectrum banjos. Both very popular in the jazz era.

@johnrowan7288 7 жыл бұрын

They were the main minstrel banjo. And still played prominently in the Philadelphia mummers parade. The string bands are almost exclusively tenor banjos.

@thewildfolk6849 6 жыл бұрын

Agreed, get on those for another video! That's what I was waiting for

@onlyrick 5 жыл бұрын

Right, Al - particularly in Dixieland. A very different technique using a flatpick. There is also an Irish tradition on the tenor banjo.

@dogfoot46 5 жыл бұрын

And don't forget Eddie Peabody. He also had an electric banjo he called a banjorine. Here in Texas, Smokey Montgomery with The Light Crust Doughboys was a very famous tenor banjo player!

@davestambaugh7282 5 жыл бұрын

@@onlyrick In Ireland when all the guys that were playing in jazz bands started leaving them to there families they ended up on the market and were taken up by the trad players. In the US they have all been gathered up and had necks swapped out to convert them to blue grass banjos. That is why the old jazz banjos are so hard to find in the US. Now they are hard to find in Ireland and they have to make new ones. Gery O Connor probly has twenty.

@t4texastom587 2 жыл бұрын

What a great presentation by Mr. Bill Evans, who is obviously a fine and accomplished banjo player. I also love his enthusiasm. I play banjos too, although I wouldn't put myself in a league with Bill Evans. Like most lovers of the banjo, I have my favorites......... Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Jim Mills, Stringbean, Mike Seeger, Pete Seeger..... there are SO many great ones that it's just not fair to list only a few. The only problem I have is with the stories and theories of where the banjo originated. Personally, I don't believe that the first banjos came from Africa. But it doesn't really matter where they came from.....at least we have them, to give us that great sound and enjoyment.🪕

@KunchangLeeMusic 5 жыл бұрын

Great vid 👌🏿

@uberwigget 9 жыл бұрын

Awesome informative video! Thanks

@togaleheho 3 жыл бұрын

That home sweet home with variations is so good.

@davidgo8874 Жыл бұрын

The electric banjo sounds delightful. They all do!

@theoldcrow4945 7 жыл бұрын

I DID ENJOY,THANKS

@staggeringbird4701 4 жыл бұрын

His history of the banjo shows with tony trischka were very cool

@jipes 4 жыл бұрын

Wonderful review

@WinsomeJohnny 5 жыл бұрын

Very informative..thank you.

@ordinarylestibourne2252 4 жыл бұрын

that last one was beautiful...

@Eagle-zl4gz 4 жыл бұрын

That 1930 sounds so good my favorite

@oblux 10 жыл бұрын

Love the cutting remarks about Gibson 'Les Paul's' - nothing but the equivalent of a flat screen TV or a couple of Lexus in the drive for their owners. *applauds

@narrowboatodyssey 4 жыл бұрын

I’m currently going through your course of Banjo for dummies .. wish me luck !!

@ignaciocordovadonoso8662 5 жыл бұрын

Beautiful

@JoseloGomezEA20101944 6 жыл бұрын

HI Bill, your interpretation of Home Sweet Home, in old banjo, realy, WONDERFUL, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!, (and sorry for my bad english), Big Hug from Argentina, José Luis. NOTE: Here, most far to USA, I was study whith your book, "Banjo for Dummies", my daughter buyed it in NY 5 year ago. (I have 73 springs, and have 6 banjos,hahaha!!, 3 Deerings, but one is a Deering Calico, the star!!, God Bless Bill, JL.

@Aeidotronics 11 жыл бұрын

Nice. Thanks.

@HolgerHendel 9 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@JamesSmith-zz6pb 2 жыл бұрын

11:39 Buck Trent worked with Porter Wagoner . He was a "Waggoner". Great video, Thanks so much for sharing.

@scubasteve4093 2 жыл бұрын

that classical piece was so much fun to listen too.

@svaperio3463 9 жыл бұрын

I've played the banjo on and off for the past 25 years... but it took your 14 minute video for me to get the big picture. Thanks so much for posting this! Wonderful!

@INDYOSKARS 3 жыл бұрын

Instead of saying you left out this, that and you left out something else I´ll just say *THANK YOU* very good !

@Kobayashhi 10 жыл бұрын

Great stuff

@theliamofella 6 жыл бұрын

Nice video, thanks

@metalkezzle2129 7 жыл бұрын

you are very informative ,a good player too.

@DustyThorburn 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent work. Interesting that Mr. Evans refers to clawhammer style a couple of times but never actually demonstrates it or explains its origins. Still, the knowledge and musical virtuosity on display here is tremendous.

@cristobalgonzalezmeza9697 2 жыл бұрын

Magnificent.

@robkunkel8833 6 жыл бұрын

Some rather opinionated comments at this juncture. This is a fourteen minute video with plenty of information, a polished well worded presentation and enthusiasm.. Thanks Bill Evans ... like your namesake on a jazz piano, smooth and classy. ⛩〰🎶.

@boozoochavis7506 6 жыл бұрын

This was a good, if brief history but I thoroughly enjoyed the Lennon song on the electric banjo! That machine has a beautiful sound and you may be one of the few people besides myself that even seemed to notice that song, nobody else seems to know it. Thanks, this was great!

@alfredbarten4901 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Good presentation. Now ... how about banjeaurine, mandolin banjo, piccolo banjo, plectrum banjo and tenor banjo. Oh, and banjo uke. I love banjos - all kinds and all styles.

@troynov1965 10 жыл бұрын

man that old Gibson rings!!!!

@donaldalumbaugh3390 7 жыл бұрын

troynov1965 maple leaf rag

@donaldalumbaugh3390 7 жыл бұрын

@yermomsbanjo9691 5 жыл бұрын

I enjoy this video thoroughly Bill!! I would like to see you do one with some some of the other earthly banjos of the cealtic world thrown in the mix that would be cool!! Thank you!!

@yermomsbanjo9691 5 жыл бұрын

Meant Celtic!

@loulamanna567 7 жыл бұрын

I've put banjo necks on a les Paul and a Kay hollow Body and a Stratocaster. they are awesome!

@shaunw9270 8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this Bill. I'm new to Banjo & have been bewildered with the chronology of it & the styles & techniques etc. All the people belly aching about the stuff you missed out is a bit dumb - what do they expect in less than 15 minutes ?!

@TheBestBoyyeeehehe 10 жыл бұрын

great video

@JohnMooreVlogs Жыл бұрын

Man that Granada was Killer!

@EsjjiobaCommunism 8 жыл бұрын

yeah man!

@budm.1450 6 жыл бұрын

When you said "Canadian" banjo maker I thought you were going to say Rickard Banjo's in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. Bill Rickard builds some of the most beautiful instruments I've ever seen and heard. The attention to detail on all their models is astonishing and I highly recommend their instruments to anyone. Thanks for showing your fine collection, I appreciate it.

@ShayanGivehchian 6 жыл бұрын

Please do a similar video about mandolins

@jackbarr1124 3 жыл бұрын

or the banjolele

@sazji 10 жыл бұрын

Interesting presentation. The 5th string story - supposedly added late by a white American maker, always seemed a bit odd, because the concept existed in Africa already. A time machine would probably be necessary to really sort that one out. I was surprised that clawhammer wasn't really talked about or demonstrated; it's such an important part of folk style banjo and early bluegrass as well.

@johnrowan7288 7 жыл бұрын

So true.

@JacobvsRex 6 жыл бұрын

I'd be willing to bet he saw a variation somewhere that had the 5th string and added it to his style, or got his style from a 5 string from the get go. Much more likely than he just invented it out of the blue....

@d.l.loonabide9981 2 жыл бұрын

The bass string was added, not the 5th.

@sazji 2 жыл бұрын

@@d.l.loonabide9981 That does seem a lot more plausible. There are some old paintings of banjo players playing instruments with three strings and a short drone.

@citizenofterra 5 жыл бұрын

Holy damn, that last banjo sounds beautiful. I'm definitely gonna get one the day I can play the normal banjo somewhat okay-ish!

@briarroot 4 жыл бұрын

No mention of mountain banjos. Where do they fit into the mix?

@waveegravee 7 жыл бұрын

Major chunk of banjo history missing when the plectrum banjo and tenor banjo were incorporated into traditional jazz; and consequently, became early jazz instruments.

@poultonboys3108 Жыл бұрын

Really wanted to learn about that

@deanhoward4128 2 жыл бұрын

You didn't mention the 4 string type; my late grandfather played a 4 string in the 1940's & 1950's& I was hoping to learn more about the origin of the 4 string.

@theliamofella 6 жыл бұрын

The Gibson sounds great, but I’d love to have a play with all of them

@craigmitchell8892 10 ай бұрын

funny I came across this video years ago when studying jazz piano and i was searching the name BIll Evans allot (a jazz ledgend) now I'm learning clawhammer banjo and I'm back again haha