Early Irish-American Banjo: From 19th Century Banjo Publications
About this ebook
The Irish-style Tenor banjo has become immensely popular of late, yet the roots of Irish influence on American banjo music extends right back to the 1840s, when the legendaryJoel Sweeney picked up a gourd banjo from Black American banjo players, andproceeded to perform 'jigs, reels and breakdowns'. Other Irish-Americans played a leading role in the development and popularity of the banjo in America, and Rob MacKillop has collected 27 of their finest pieces in this collection, the first of its kind.
Early Irish-American Banjo is a solo instrumental collection written instandard notation plus 3 lines of tablature for the 5-string banjo, the 4-string tenor banjo in standard tuning (CGDA), and for the Irish tenor banjo in octave-mandolin tuning (GDAE low-to-high). Lyrics are not included in this volume.
Can beplayed with either a flat pick or fingerstyle.
The online audio recordingcontains brilliant performances of all 27 pieces by Rob MacKillop, a leading performer of historical banjo music. Rob performs fingerstyle, with the flesh of his fingertips on gut strings, on a period-appropriate banjo, in the old American tuning.This audio is a treasure in itself.
Tunes included: St Patrick's Day; Rocky Road To Dublin; Savourneen Deelish; McCormick Party Reel, Sheridan's Hornpipe, Connaught Man's Rambles, and many others. Includes access toonline audio.
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Rob MacKillop has recorded eight CDs of historical music, three of which reached the Number One position in the Scottish Classical Music Chart. In 2001 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship for his research into medieval Scottish music, which led him to study with Sufi musicians in Istanbul and Morocco. He broadcast an entire solo concert on BBC Radio 3 from John Smith's Square, London. He has presented academic papers in Portugal and Germany, and has been published many times. Rob has been active in both historical and contemporary music.
Three of Scotland's leading contemporary composers have written works for him, and he also composes new works himself. In 2004 he was Composer in Residence for Morgan Academy in Dundee, and in 2001 was Musician in Residence for Madras College in St Andrews. He created and directed the Dundee Summer Music Festival. He worked as a reader of school literature for Oxford University Press, and as a reviewer for Music Teacher. He has also been lecturer in Scottish Musical History at Aberdeen University, Dundee University, and at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and for five years worked as Musician In Residence to Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh. He has frequently written articles for BMG magazine.
Rob plays guitars, lutes, 18th-century wire-strung "guittar," plucking the strings with the flesh of his fingers, not the nails. This produces a warm and intimate sound, reminiscent of the old lute players.
Rob MacKillop is at the forefront of the revival of historical guitar styles, performing on period and modern instruments. These days he teaches from his home studio in Edinburgh, Scotland, as well as via Skype.
Rob has written many books for Mel Bay Publications.
