Had a Fun Trip

/ Kimberly

I’ve had a fun visit to Ohio with my mom and dad. I saw some of my local family, and some of my family from  far away came too! It was a very happy trip!

One of my wonderful family is my cousin Matt who teaches history and owns this beautiful 1927 banjo! It’s a Bacon & Day (B&D) Silver Belle model. I wish I took a better picture of the silver bells.

 

Matt pointed out how much work had gone into making the banjo. It is in great shape and it’s very heavy—much heavier than it looked.

Anyway, the case is almost as beautiful as the 99-year-old banjo itself. It’s a wood case with purple plush lining. My favorite detail is the case handle. Someone must have sat down and hammered that out.

Keep your fingers crossed that Matt will write some time for us on Old Spirituals!  He knows all kinds of interesting, obscure history.

15 thoughts on “Had a Fun Trip”

    • Matt does play! He’s really good too. I’ll see if he’s got a video or something I can link to. I’m not sure if the case was original. It looked like it to me but I’m definitely not an expert.

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        • Lol! just realized how my response sounded. Harold & Maude didn’t invent banjo but now that I have mentioned it, I must put in a good word for this wonderful movie. It’s a little outside yours and my preferred timeframe but not too far—1971. It’s hilarious (dark humor) but also beautiful and unforgettable. And Cat Stevens wrote and performed the whole soundtrack! If you ever have a night where you’re in the mood for something different, consider giving it a chance.

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  3. A Banjo is an interesting instrument. A hybrid of sorts. Like a guitar it has a body, a neck with frets, strings, turning pegs and a bridge. The significant difference is the body. It is hollow like a drum body and covered with a membrane (animal skin or synthetic material) stretched over the open body like a drum. The head resonates the sound produced by the strings, unlike an acoustic guitar that has a sound hole to resonate the sound. Being an aged drummer I see it almost as a percussion instrument, though I know it is not.

    In the 1980s drummers added a hole (or port) in the front head of their drum kits bass drum to enhance the attack and better control the sound; as there is in an acoustic guitar. Adding hole removes the roundness of the bass drum sound because the drum is not enclosed and containing the sound waves longer.

    My favorite string instruments are an acoustic guitar and a mandolin. The mandolin is in the same neighborhood as a banjo but lives in a different house. I am not an acoustical engineer, but for me the banjo often feels more rhythmic. (I suppose the drum head has a great deal to do with that belief.) The mandolin, a double stringed instrument, often feels more melodic. That is not an absolute. Talented players can make both instruments do amazing things. Nonetheless, their designs push them in different directions.

    As already mentioned, I have to comment express my appreciation of the leather case. It is a jewel from the early 20th century.

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      • I’m not a mechanic and have never been one, though I worked white color positions in the manufacturing industry for many years. Your comment caused me to realize that curiosity is integral to increasing a person’s breadth of knowledge.

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      • I’m not a mechanic and have never been one, though I worked white color positions in the manufacturing industry for many years. Your comment caused me to realize that curiosity is integral to increasing a person’s breadth of knowledge.

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