Learning To Play Banjo: Emulation vs. Imitation
- Sunday, December 01, 2002 -
Introduction
I hope I can shed light on differences between current and older banjo playing styles by explaining the method by which most older mountain banjoists learned to play, and then contrasting this with the way most people learn to play today. Diversity in old time banjo playing styles is being lost and the different learning methods help explain why this is occurring.
The role of the banjo in mountain culture is not well known today. Also, some people do not know that there were a variety of old-time banjo playing styles in the mountains. I was at Augusta in Elkins, West Virginia, in August 2001, and was considerably taken aback to learn that students were being taught banjo as an adjunct to the fiddle. Many students viewed the banjo as an instrument for playing fiddle tunes, and felt this had been its historical role.
Some of the students were considerably surprised that I sang with most of the tunes I played. However, this is what most old-time banjo players did in East Kentucky. I suspect this might have been true in other areas of the mountains. Dr. Josiah H. Combs said the following about East Kentucky banjo players in Folk-Songs of the Southern United States, which is an edited version of the doctorial dissertation Combs wrote for the University of Paris in 1925:
"The banjo is the musical instrument that accompanies him, and he seldom picks it without singing."
I do not maintain, however, that old-time banjo players in East Kentucky did not play with fiddlers – they certainly did. When playing with fiddlers, however, old-time banjo players in East Kentucky usually sacrificed notes for brush strokes to provide a solid rhythm for fiddle tunes. It was also not uncommon for an East Kentucky fiddler to sing with some of their tunes.
Learning by Emulation
Old timers in East Kentucky learned to play by emulation; that is, they duplicated the sounds they heard by listening, by casual observation, and without formal training. Learning by emulation was probably prevalent at one time throughout the mountains. It stemmed from a strong cultural bias that prevented young mountaineers from questioning their elders closely about a task or skill. Children were expected to learn by listening and observation. For instance, I was putting gears on a team of mules and plowing by the age of twelve. I never asked my father how to do this – it was something I was expected to learn on my own.
Stuart Jamieson, who recorded Rufus Crisp in 1946, said Aunt Liz Hill of Floyd County was a talented banjoist who played a stroke style with the banjo lying in her lap. He also described the playing of Blind Hobart Bailey of Hippo, Kentucky, who sounded the fifth string by picking up with his thumb. Stuart was surprised to learn that I knew of other people who used this technique for picking the fifth string – he thought Hobart’s move was unique and developed only because he was blind. Picking up with the thumb is a result of learning by emulation, and occurs when a casual observer of stroke playing mistakenly thinks the fifth string is picked as the thumb moved up.
Learning by emulation produced a wonderful diversity of styles. Wiley and Little Monroe Amburgey, two brothers close in age, played very dissimilar styles: Wiley played a conventional stroke style, while Little Monroe played a very unusual two-finger style. They learned by emulation from their father, Jasper Amburgey, a banjo maker who played dulcimer as well as banjo.
I learned songs and tunings ca. 1950 from my father, Mal Gibson, but I did not imitate his style of playing banjo. I learned by emulation and my playing style differs considerably from his; however, we produced some of the same sounds by using different playing techniques.
