Not a surprise. Banjo is banza. An African instrument. Haitians, Jamaicans and southern "black" Americans are west African people. They all also eat yams. Yams are an African food. The word yam comes from "nyami" "to eat". Cute video!
Note that the instrument in these examples is a 5-string played plectrum style. I wonder how that came to be. Perhaps via the cross influence of the folk revival of the 60's on Calypso. Banjos in recorded Mento and Calypso of the 30's through 50's are usually tenor banjos. I wonder if the banjo came into this music via the exposure of west indian musicians to new orleans jazz players of that era. Or was there a more consistent lineage with the Banza from Africa. I notice that in Trinidadian Calypso the banjo is there rhythmically, in Jamaican Mento it is usually the lead melody instrument - checkout the recordings of Lord Flea and also of the Jolly Boys.
It's the other way around, New Orleans banjo was brought to the French territory (at the time) by "West Indians." The Caribbean is the roots of much of North American music. The fusions between African, European, and Aboriginal were birthed there and migrated to the mainland with the movement (enslaved and free) of peoples.
@@thatguybutitsactuallyagirl5384 The banza was modified from a West African stringed instrument in the Caribbean, it wasn’t an exact replica. It was further modified when it was brought to North America.
Well bluegrass style of banjo was the original way people played when it was in Africa and southern(American) Africans seem to be the only ones that kept the same technique while these guys have a Spanish technique in using a pick so I imagine they would respect it
@@sethwilson970 Bluegrass style is most certainly NOT the original played in Africa centuries ago. I really don't know what you mean by that. Bluegrass is a quite modern style of music, only dating from the mid-20th century, and highly influenced by musical traditions from the British Isles (England, Ulster Scots, etc). The 4-string tenor banjo, often played with a plectrum, was popular several kinds of music (swing, big band, ragtime, dixieland, et al) in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and re-found its way into the Caribbean around the time that way. (Same way it made its way into Irish music). Basically, it is just that the 4-string tenor was what they had. The five-string was more of an Appalachian 'hillbilly' (what they first called such music) thing, more isolated. Although it is more popular today due to bluegrass, mostly.
@@leppavu Did you just say Bluegrass is British? Lmao Bluegrass, Appalachian and hillbillies were all literally born in the African American community when they fussionated African rhythms and instruments together... Literally nothing there is really British or European considering all the styles they originated from were themselves influenced by African musical techniques. Stop appropriating and start educating yourself. The caucasity of it all.
@@thatguybutitsactuallyagirl5384 No, I did not say they were British. Learn to read. Me writing "highly influenced" is about as clear as it can get in meaning. Bluegrass is from the 1940s onwards. It is basically sped-up versions and derivatives of earlier traditional music from the Appalachians (primarily, but not 100% exclusively). The musicological history of bluegrass and its forebears is clear: it's a hybrid of European (mostly UK) and African-American musical traditions, stewed together for a couple centuries. My comment was in reply to someone saying that bluegrass is what Africans played pre-European contact, which is complete absurd nonsense. LOL. The banjo didn't exist in Africa, it's "grandparents" did. The banjo is a North American instrument developed by slaves (in the Caribbean and Southern plantations), filtered through European/creole musical traditions. Due to heavy settltlement of the Appalachians by English (as in from England) and Scots-Ulster (Irish) settlers, there is plenty of British Isles music tradition remaining (many songs have lyrics nearly identical to their British versions), since they were largely isolated. But of course, African-American traditions filtered in too, making it a hybrid different from that in the British Isles, and it further developed into its own thing. BTW, blacks in the Appalachians themselves were relatively few in number before the end of slavery. These were remote, poor, hard-living regions. Some slaves served in crafts (for blacksmiths, horse-care, shop keepers, etc), and maybe some rich folks had house slaves, but it was not nearly as many as in plantation areas. After the end of slavery, more blacks moved in, especially once industrialization kicked off and coal became big. That brought in more waves of African-American musical influence too, despite segregation.
Not a surprise. Banjo is banza. An African instrument. Haitians, Jamaicans and southern "black" Americans are west African people. They all also eat yams. Yams are an African food. The word yam comes from "nyami" "to eat". Cute video!
I can tell you one dog one thing Street musicians seems to put on the most interesting shows thanks for posting
Anybody know anything about the prevalent tunings of banjo in Haitian & Jamaican music?
Haitian troubadour🙌🏾
Note that the instrument in these examples is a 5-string played plectrum style. I wonder how that came to be. Perhaps via the cross influence of the folk revival of the 60's on Calypso. Banjos in recorded Mento and Calypso of the 30's through 50's are usually tenor banjos. I wonder if the banjo came into this music via the exposure of west indian musicians to new orleans jazz players of that era. Or was there a more consistent lineage with the Banza from Africa. I notice that in Trinidadian Calypso the banjo is there rhythmically, in Jamaican Mento it is usually the lead melody instrument - checkout the recordings of Lord Flea and also of the Jolly Boys.
It's the other way around, New Orleans banjo was brought to the French territory (at the time) by "West Indians." The Caribbean is the roots of much of North American music. The fusions between African, European, and Aboriginal were birthed there and migrated to the mainland with the movement (enslaved and free) of peoples.
Banjo was developed in the Carribean
@@Ayinde65 Banjo came with enslaved Africans from West Africa. The instrument wasn't made outside of Africa.
@@russelladams7627 Banjo came with enslaved Africans from West Africa. The instrument wasn't made outside of Africa.
@@thatguybutitsactuallyagirl5384 The banza was modified from a West African stringed instrument in the Caribbean, it wasn’t an exact replica. It was further modified when it was brought to North America.
Research the history of the Banjo. your surprise should evaporate then.
I wonder what they think of Bluegrass banjo?
Well bluegrass style of banjo was the original way people played when it was in Africa and southern(American) Africans seem to be the only ones that kept the same technique while these guys have a Spanish technique in using a pick so I imagine they would respect it
@@sethwilson970 Bluegrass style is most certainly NOT the original played in Africa centuries ago. I really don't know what you mean by that. Bluegrass is a quite modern style of music, only dating from the mid-20th century, and highly influenced by musical traditions from the British Isles (England, Ulster Scots, etc). The 4-string tenor banjo, often played with a plectrum, was popular several kinds of music (swing, big band, ragtime, dixieland, et al) in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and re-found its way into the Caribbean around the time that way. (Same way it made its way into Irish music). Basically, it is just that the 4-string tenor was what they had. The five-string was more of an Appalachian 'hillbilly' (what they first called such music) thing, more isolated. Although it is more popular today due to bluegrass, mostly.
There's a cool documentary where a banjo dude Bella goes around Africa and plays with locals, they seemed to dig it
@@leppavu Did you just say Bluegrass is British? Lmao Bluegrass, Appalachian and hillbillies were all literally born in the African American community when they fussionated African rhythms and instruments together... Literally nothing there is really British or European considering all the styles they originated from were themselves influenced by African musical techniques. Stop appropriating and start educating yourself. The caucasity of it all.
@@thatguybutitsactuallyagirl5384 No, I did not say they were British. Learn to read. Me writing "highly influenced" is about as clear as it can get in meaning. Bluegrass is from the 1940s onwards. It is basically sped-up versions and derivatives of earlier traditional music from the Appalachians (primarily, but not 100% exclusively). The musicological history of bluegrass and its forebears is clear: it's a hybrid of European (mostly UK) and African-American musical traditions, stewed together for a couple centuries. My comment was in reply to someone saying that bluegrass is what Africans played pre-European contact, which is complete absurd nonsense. LOL. The banjo didn't exist in Africa, it's "grandparents" did. The banjo is a North American instrument developed by slaves (in the Caribbean and Southern plantations), filtered through European/creole musical traditions. Due to heavy settltlement of the Appalachians by English (as in from England) and Scots-Ulster (Irish) settlers, there is plenty of British Isles music tradition remaining (many songs have lyrics nearly identical to their British versions), since they were largely isolated. But of course, African-American traditions filtered in too, making it a hybrid different from that in the British Isles, and it further developed into its own thing. BTW, blacks in the Appalachians themselves were relatively few in number before the end of slavery. These were remote, poor, hard-living regions. Some slaves served in crafts (for blacksmiths, horse-care, shop keepers, etc), and maybe some rich folks had house slaves, but it was not nearly as many as in plantation areas. After the end of slavery, more blacks moved in, especially once industrialization kicked off and coal became big. That brought in more waves of African-American musical influence too, despite segregation.
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