Discussion Summary 10/12/06

Today in Roots to Music we started our discussion with a visitor, Eagan Heath. Eagan is a student a UMM who happens to play banjo. He played some songs and talked about the banjo and banjo playing. For example, a banjo, unlike a guitar, has only five strings and has its highest string on top. Also, the type of banjo playing that most people are used to hearing, which involves picking the strings with finger picks is actually fairly modern. In the early 1900s banjo players did what was called clawhammer which involved playing with the back of your finger or fingernails. Eagan then went on to play a song by Harry Smith called Coo Coo Birds. Here is part of that song.
Ah the coo coo,
she's a pretty bird
never wobbles, as she flies.
After Eagan performed Tyler also did his performance, which was a song by Skip Jones. The song included an interesting form of tuning that involved tuning the guitar down so the two E strings became D strings. Skip Jones was born in Mississippi in 1902 and made a recording deal with Paramount in 1931 before he vanished until 1964. When he reappeared he recorded new songs and performed until he died in 1969. One reason that he may have disappeared for so long was because the great depression had just started and record companies couldn't make any profit and because in even good conditions contracts with performers were already shaky. After Tyler performed we had another performance by Lindsey. Lindsey decided to write a report about Muddy Waters and exactly how he had many connections with more modern artists. For example it was Muddy who helped Chuck Berry to become on of the first great rock n' roll artists when he directed him to a good place to play. Muddy also went to Great Britain where he played with his electric guitar and helped to start the British Invasion as soon many rock n' roll bands formed i.e. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.