Early Minstrel Music

Compiled and arranged by Alan Middleton

FORTY FINGERSTYLE BANJO SOLOS

WRITTEN IN MUSICAL NOTATION & TABLATURE

With audio recordings, played by Alan Middleton, of all the tracks.

The arrangements are both tuneful and easy, being well within the grasp of the average fingerstyle banjoist; as is typical of Clifford Essex publications, this book combines high-quality classic style notation, with both right and left-hand fingerings, with tablature, so the book is accessible to all banjoists.

The usefulness of this book as a cultural artefact is immediately apparent: for instance, many scholarly publications point out that, in spite of their claims that they were playing authentic African tunes, the minstrels’ music was primarily influenced by English, Scottish and Irish music; however, actually playing the tunes allows the reader to experience this fact first hand. Thus, playing the tunes in this book can be seen as an active way of studying musical and cultural history.

When reading this book, the reader should keep an open mind at all times, as some of the titles are offensive by today’s standards, while considering that these tunes from a bygone era deserve to be studied as a part of our musical history.

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eBook print length is 52 pages

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