I have developed an unexplainable desire to buy a banjeaurine, but I don't why and I don't know if I would ever play one!

Has anyone any comments about owning, playing and getting a suitable supply of music for one?  

I believe both Rob and Carrie have/had banjeaurines... what do they think?

  Should I own one?

Views: 432

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I owned one, a Stewart, if I recall correctly, sold to a guitar student of mine as a way of enticing him into the great Scottish Ragtime Ensemble! unfortunately, we only played one gig, and he buggered off to live somewhere else, and I never saw it again.

But I did have it for a few weeks prior to that, enough to record Banjo Oddity!

https://youtu.be/SO9T-EVtyuc

and by contrast...one of the most beautiful tunes ever. You'll need your hankie:

https://youtu.be/d7pfaZymSyw

I have big hands, and found the cramped conditions for both hands too much at times, but I loved the sound and look of it. I wish I still had it. 

As for suitable music, I arranged parts for it with our group, or I played regular banjo solos. I don't think I ever played or found any music specifically written for it. 

When I was a boy in Brooklyn, a banjeurine appeared in the window of a nearby "junque shop" (that's a shop that sells mostly junk and puts a sign out front that says Antiques).  It was an SS Stewart, beguilingly inlaid, and with  untarnished metal parts. Like you, Ian, I developed an inexplicable desire to possess and play this oddity that looked like a cross between a banjo and a skillet and whose name suggested it was a hybrid fruit, the result of cross-pollinating nectarines and banjos.  The price was around $75 or maybe $90. Almost a hundred is what I remember.  I was 14 or 15 years old and that was a small fortune. The shop was dark and small and contained more than its fair share of spider webs. I boldly entered  and asked the proprietress if she would lower the price, hoping she's say "ok, it's yours for $20",  but instead she scowled and growled "absolutely not. Get out of my shop and never darken my doorknob again" or words to that effect.  I asked my dad if he could  help me out but he, who had never paid more than $15 for any instrument for me (including my $12 New York Martin guitar from the 1870s), pointed out that I already had two five-string banjos ( a fretless Gatcomb and a Frankenbanjo mismatch of a no-name resonated non-tone ring pot and an ornate Washburn neck that must have been built for a scale no less than 28 inches which meant my bridge just about touched the tailpiece).... so he didn't think I needed another.  I dreamed about the banjeurine for a few more days, looked in the window a few more times, and then one day it was gone. I immediately forgot about and did not remember it until recently. By the way my computer spellcheck does not like "Gatcomb". It wants to change it to "Gatbomb". I don't think "Gatbomb" exists as a word or a name. I'll never understand what the people who develop these "helpful" spell correctors are thinking. 

I've had at least three of these quaint instruments over the years and  won the Marion Marlowe Cup at one of the Federation Rallies playing 'A Banjo Vamp' on one some years ago. This was a bit of a cheat as some know all in the audience pointed out to the judges, but I was able to turn the thing over and point to the plate on the perch pole which plainly stated that it was a 'banjeaurine' and my victory was vindicated. Essex declared that the 'banjorine' or 'banjeaurine' was dead in about 1912, as his banjolin went into production; I've never really seen the point in these odd banjos but they look good and are a sure way of meeting new friends.

Yes, they are quaint and I think they have a very pretty tone.  I have the SS Stewart Imperial with the whopping 12.5 inch head and 13 frets to the head.  The extended fingerboard over the head is a bit useless.   Anyway, they are fun instruments and I did spot two for sale currently on The John Alvey Turner website.  Might be a struggle to play if you have a large hands though.

Actually a quick question for banjeaurine fans - how do you locate the best bridge position on a short-scale instrument?  

 

Well, it has to be the same distance from the 12th fret as the nut is in the opposite direction. Unless you are playing a fretless...

Put it roughly where you think that distance would be. Then play a harmonic at the 12th fret on the first string, and then fret it, the same note. They should sound the same. If the fretted note is sharp, you need to move the bridge a little more to the tailpiece, and vice versa. 

Does that help?

All fretted instruments must have the bridge at the midpoint of the vibrating length of the string (bridge to nut). If the twelfth fret gives you an octave of the open string you've got the right position. Adjust the bridge as described by Rob.

carrie horgan said:

Yes, they are quaint and I think they have a very pretty tone.  I have the SS Stewart Imperial with the whopping 12.5 inch head and 13 frets to the head.  The extended fingerboard over the head is a bit useless.   Anyway, they are fun instruments and I did spot two for sale currently on The John Alvey Turner website.  Might be a struggle to play if you have a large hands though.

Actually a quick question for banjeaurine fans - how do you locate the best bridge position on a short-scale instrument?  

 

Great, thank you Rob and Jody.  I will give that a try.

Not surprisingly, I have four Stewart banjeaurines. Two of the big Imperials and two of the 'smaller head' varieties.

I used to carry my first Imperial with me on road trips. It is small enough to tuck in a corner of the car and not so small as a piccolo, causing cramped fingers, etc. I went to a shooting match one time and it was so foggy that morning that we were unable to see more than a few feet. I pulled up a chair under the shed and played the banjeaurine. After a few minutes, I saw movement in the gloom and a bunch of guys crept in. They were wide eyed...and very glad to see me. They said that it was the spookiest sound coming from out of the fog.

The Imperials are very heavy and often difficult to manage. The smaller pot variety (10"?) are much easier and have a greater number of frets clear of the pot.

I have a rare few banjeaurine specific titles. They are usually standard C notation stuff. I have a couple that are for banjeaurine and 2nd banjo (and guitar as I recall) but they're not anything special. I have probably posted them here in the past. I can dig them out if you like!

Thank you to all you Banjeaurinephiles. I still have this burning desire, but Carrie's and Rob's comments about fat fingers (I have a full set) possibly being a problem is something to think about. I am sure that Jody is correct that the "must have" factor has as much to do with the looks as the practicality. Also I was not aware that a banjeaurine was genetic hybrid from a banjo and a tangerine and  I have never been a big fan of genetic engineering!

Much to ponder... but they do look good :-)

RE: Specific music.  Most of what you are going to find will be in A notation as far as I know.  I have only seen a few titles specifically labeled for banjeaurine in C notation.  One was published by Walter Jacobs but there was an article by Thomas Armstrong that went with it endorsing the relevance of it.  The same piece was also printed in A notation, so go figure.

I have seen English plagiarized publications in C notation that dropped the "Banjeaurine" from the title.  "Rastus' Honeymoon Hoe Down March" was originally published in A notation by Paul Eno in the US.  The Turner version is just for regular banjo.  That is one example that I can think of off the top of my head.

With A notation, the only difference that makes specific is if there is an accompaniment published with it for 2nd banjo, otherwise anything can be played on one solo while ignoring the actual pitch (see all of my pitch v. notation rants over the years).

Many club or "orchestra" pieces are based around a solo which they slapped a "banjeaurine" part on and then added all the other parts.

I've got an imperial.  I'll admit that I hardly ever play it.  The only time I get to play in an ensemble setting is at the ABF rallies and I get stuck playing piccolo.

I wish I knew (or there was) a decent sight-reader near me as it would be fun to work out some of the A notation Banjeaurine/2nd banjo duets.  2nd banjo is not interesting enough to commit to memory so ear/tab players would have to plan well in advance.  Another advantage to reading is being able to work on ensemble numbers on the spot.

I have an odd "alto banjo" of french origin, zither style, maybe from the 20ties, that I put a temporary 5th string on (just a stick of wood with a tuning peg on it, easy to remove), for a small kid student of mine that was interested in banjo playing. Short scale so I tuned it a fourth high. I just love the sound of it! It's so beutifull, a very resonant, singing tone. I would love to play it more but the tape, with which I fastened the stick of wood, really confuses me. Thinking of seriously converting it to a "banjeaurine" for good. I have no idea what else I would do with a "alto banjo"... Maybe I'll post a video to get ideas and suggestions from you guys.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by thereallyniceman.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service