| Popis: |
This chapter and the one that follows (Chapter Five) draw on interviews with twenty-two banjo makers in the United States and Canada to explore the issues facing these individuals who strive to maintain their preferred connections with the old-time music community without losing sight of the artistic and personal motivations that drew them into this undertaking initially. Chapter Four is focused on those who create instruments most closely adhering to the common expectations of old-time banjo players, factors that include certain structural and design features as well as playability and tone production. What unites all of those in this chapter is the influence of the past on their own efforts, but how this is defined is quite different from one person to the next. For some, this means replicating existing instruments from a specific era or locale, and involves learning techniques that long ago passed from common practice. For others, the past is purely inspirational, providing ideas to be expanded upon and subject to new interpretation. The chapter concludes with a consideration of tone production, how this has changed in recent decades, and how banjo builders approach what is clearly a highly subjective topic. The builders profiled here include Kevin Enoch, Chuck Waldman, Wayne Sagmoen, Kevin Fore, Jason and Pharis Romero, Greg Galbreath and Brooks Masten. |
