Fifty-plus Banjos

My husband Mike is a fantastic self-taught musician. He first wooed me by performing Paul Simon’s Duncan. The next song Mike performed for me was Friend of the Devil by the Grateful Dead. Perhaps these are questionable selections to some, but I loved my sweet serenades.

Mike’s love for guitars and guitar-like instruments is vast. He is able to share his abilities with our children, and has tried to teach me too. I appreciate music, but am much less inclined in terms of abilities than the rest of my family. You can see my little blue guitar hanging out at the end of the guitar rack. The artwork in the photo was created by my daughter, Alice, and given to Mike as a gift. If you like it, check out Alice’s instagram.

When we moved to Oklahoma, Mike made it a goal to visit the American Banjo Museum as soon as possible. Mike and I finally made it to the museum on a Saturday in July of this year, 2023. We moved to Oklahoma in 2018. You do the math.

We entered the air-conditioned museum with anticipation and relief. The outdoor temperature was near 100 degrees Fahrenheit. We were greeted kindly by the docent, who asked if either of us was 55 years or older.

“I am,” Mike answered. “Does that get me a discount?”

“Oh,” I said in shock, “if you’re 55, that means I’m 54.”

Which is a fact that shouldn’t surprise me. Two years ago, when I first started graduate school, I wrote a very clever personal essay titled “Graduate School at 52”, which I may update and include as a future post. I know how old I am, but I guess I never really think about it all that much.

Which is also a lie since I purposefully named this blog after my age.

Anyway, back to the American Banjo Museum. So. Many. Banjos. Hundreds of banjos. Banjos dating from the 1840s to banjos made in the 2000s. My favorite, one that I didn’t take a photo of, was from the early 1900s. It is an open back banjo, made entirely of wood, except for the skin that was stretched tightly across the drum. I learned, in fact, that many banjos originated from drums. A neck with strings was added to the drum face, and the strings were tightened differently to produce different sounds.

Again, I am not the musically inclined family member, so my description leaves much to be desired. The good news is you can also have the goal of visiting the American Banjo Museum someday soon to properly learn the terms used to describe all things related to banjo making and banjo history.

The museum hosts musicians as well as the instruments. The monthly Celtic Jam was in session on the Saturday that Mike and I visited. The members of this particular jam included violinists, cellists, guitarists, players, banjoists players and ukelele-ists. (This is my blog – I get to make up words as I see fit).

Listening to the musicians while wandering through the exhibits that are pieces of artwork as much as they are instruments was truly a magical experience. Thinking of how many people played those instruments for crowds of one to crowds of thousands was amazing. Hundreds of thousands of people, which is a number much greater than fifty, were affected by the banjos that are housed in the American Banjo Museum.

I’m not certain that this story contains a lesson or great insight of any sort. All I can say is that this ordinary girl is more impressed with the beauty of the banjo than she was before. She also feels a tad bit younger, especially compared to her favorite banjo from the early 1900s.

As for Mike, he proved that he is truly a musician of all trades. Someday soon a banjo might end up on our guitar rack, replacing my little blue electronic guitar.