I've been getting interested in reimagining folk songs and writing songs that should have existed but didn't, particularly around the Civil War when black voices were muted and only allowed particular channels.
Rhiannon GiddensRead
When I first heard the minstrel banjo - I played a gourd first - I almost lost my mind. I was like, Oh, my god. And then I went to Africa, to the Gambia, and studied the akonting, which is an ancestor of the banjo, and just that connection to me was just immense.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a deep connection between musical heritage and personal identity.
Rhiannon Giddens reflects on her initial emotional reaction to the minstrel banjo and how it led her to discover its ancestral roots in the akonting of Africa. This journey signifies not only a personal and musical exploration but also highlights the profound ties between culture, history, and the evolution of art forms.
Themes
MusicHeritageIdentityHistoryArt
In practice
Example use cases
During a presentation on cultural influences in music, I used this quote to illustrate the importance of ancestry in modern art.
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In order to understand the history of the banjo, and the history of bluegrass music, we need to move beyond the narrative we've inherited, beyond generalizations that bluegrass is mostly derived from a Scotch-Irish tradition with influences from Africa. It is actually a complex Creole music that comes from multiple cultures.
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The question is not how do we get diversity into bluegrass, but how do we get diversity back into bluegrass?
Rhiannon GiddensRead
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