Early English Banjo

This channel forms the audio part of a project researching the social history and repertoire of the early English banjo c.1842-1889. The tunes are recorded on original English 6 and 7-string banjos strung with period correct gut strings that are tuned to a higher pitch than modern A=440hz in accord with English mid-Victorian musical practice. The majority of recordings are at A=444hz or Society of Arts pitch, and for specific tunes A=445hz - 449hz based on contemporary tuning forks used by London piano makers Metzler & Co. and Collard & Collard. Evidence from study of previously neglected 19th century primary sources is revealing an early repertoire more diverse than American-derived 'minstrelsy'. This extensive popular repertoire reveals the contextual influences and creativity of British composers and musicians as the banjo was adapted and assimilated into Victorian English vernacular contexts.

Notation for the tunes is freely available at: earlyenglishbanjo.blogspot.com

May 2023