Port
Angeles Symphony – Adventures in Music
Teacher Guide
Unlocking
the Mysteries of the Banjo!
Unit
1: Fall 2004
Performers:
Barney Munger, banjo
Mary
Meyer, rhythm guitar
Goal: To develop an awareness of early stringed instruments, and how they work, with particular emphasis on the banjo.
· EALR 1.1, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4
Objectives:
The Student will:
·
Become familiar with
the history of the banjo.
·
Learn how a banjo
works.
·
Learn about different
playing styles.
ABOUT
THE PERFORMANCE…
With African
roots, the 5-string banjo is perhaps the only truly original western
culture American instrument. Barney
Munger and Mary Meyer, husband and wife duo, are members of the
“Windy Ridge” bluegrass band.
They will present the history of the banjo, show how it
works, and demonstrate the various styles of playing and the
different sounds a banjo can make.
Barney
was a member of “Tall Timber,” one of the West Coast’s first
commercial bluegrass bands. During
the performance, Barney will assemble a banjo and explain its
various parts.
VOCABULARY: banjo bluegrass clawhammer finger-picking
strumming folk music Dixieland music breakdown
☺
Research the internet to see if you can find various kinds of banjos.
There are banjos that have 4, 5, 6 and 8 strings.
There are even others that are like two instruments in one – the
banjo/mandolin, banjo/ukulele, and a huge banjo/bass.
☺ Listen to some recordings of the following players to hear different styles of banjo playing: Earl Scruggs – bluegrass. Eddie Peabody – 4-string banjo. Pete Seeger – 5-string folk banjo. Snuffy Jenkins – 20’s and 30’s music. Rosco Holcomb – mountain music. Doc Boggs – finger-picking. See if you can identify different banjo styles of playing, by hearing them.
Adventures in Music is sponsored by the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, Olympic Printers, Bank of America, Walmart, Albertson’s, and US Bancorp Foundation, Smith Barney-Citigroup