yes, same thing i thought as well

Not very different from a shamisen or a qinqin. Tons of cultures have instruments that make these kinds of sound.

Last I checked folk music knows no boundaries - I'm Asian-American as well by the way

Honorary redneck

I second that!

The lyrics to this song aren't as peaceful lol. If you wanna get your eye knocked out, If you want to get your fill If you want to get your head cut off, go up to Sugar Hill

Deserves a higher quality audio recording fore sure

Like... With these delicate replies... Hard to explain. Maybe you'll get what I mean. Like talking to herself.

Not one sour note.

Yes! Directly... it comes from scotch-irish settlers in Appalachia (the eastern north american mountain ridge). Distantly... the banjo comes from Africa🤷🏼

Ever hear bagpipes? That's the same point of origin for this music. 50 years ago I used to go listen to Irish folk singers in Germany because the sound reminded me of bluegrass back home in the USA.

​@@deleted_whynot really distantly, the banjos descendant came from Africa by way of imported slaves in the 18th century, at the same time the first banjo players, who were black, were being depicted and discussed. Scots-irish settlers in the South and the Appalachians introduced the fiddle, which along with the banjo joined to make Old Time and Bluegrass. It was the inherent mixture of both which created this beautiful music.

Oh, boy. I put too much effort into writing this comment explaining why these styles are so different, but thanks for posting the lyrics. Here goes... The Skruggs style of picking fills a different niche than, "old time" banjo. Typically the rest of a bluegrass band is playing in a 1/4 and 1/8 note space. The percussive nature of picking on a banjo is about the only instrument that can punch a note above the din of a fiddle, and the roll puts it into an otherwise consistently unoccupied 1/16th. One of those speaking childrens' toys might say, "the bluegrass banjo says tick-a-ta tick-a-ta tick-a-ta" but, "the claw hammer banjo says bum-chicka bum-chicka." In a full string band the banjo can occupy a role somewhere between a bass and a drummer. It's extremely important to the sound of the genre but when it comes to the lead, it'll always play second-fiddle to... well... the fiddle. Many of these truly old time tunes were meant to be played with an overhand style and accompanied by a fiddle. There are good reasons most tunes only consist of two parts, and it's not because people didn't know how to write a bridge or verse. I would imagine it's practical to remember and teach, but more importantly the two musicians would trade playing the melody with backing the other and singing, that hammered re-entrant drone keeping time. That variance is enough to keep the song interesting.

@@zachb8012 Nice. Thanks for the breakdown.

@@poboy8490 Most of clawhammer banjo has this same sort of feel; check it out. You might be more familiar with the Scruggs style heard in Bluegrass music, whereas this style is used more in what they call "Old Time" or sometimes mountain music.

​@@zachb8012thanks for that... a good explanation. 🙂👍🪕

Is that the same place as in ‘blue Monday up on Sugar Hill’? Or is it just slang for red-light districts generally?

People who can play well in the Scruggs bluegrass style impress me. But the clawhammer stuff makes me feel more the haunting, evocative beauty this instrument is capable of.

@@mfreeman313he’s not interested in actually discussing banjo music, he was simply trying to think up an excuse to flirt. The music she plays is wonderful though!

@@CCD-dreamcore Haha I can't speak to the first bit but on the second full agreement. I'm old enough to have heard John Hartford live years ago and he could capture that spooky, yearning quality this music can have better than anyone, but certainly lots of people understand and feel it themselves.

@@mfreeman313 yes, I also appreciate the haunting quality found with certain banjo material , and a lot of Appalachian folk music. I’m not sure how to describe it or where it comes from. It is something that can only be shown and not told though. My favorite literature and films also have that feeling.

@@CCD-dreamcore 🤨🤨

Did you do it?

I agree, that’s some cool syncopation!!

that bit made me nervous - to each is own

guys!! - and girls - in and all around malee: get your koras ready!!!🎶