"Just to be clear on Weston, the real claim was that while Weston was widely known to be a great player of several musical instruments from notation, the claim was reduced to that he played other instruments from notation and not the banjo. …"
Classic-Banjo
A Site Dedicated to all enthusiasts of Classic Style Banjo
-
Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist
- Male
- North Miami Beach, FL
- United States
- Blog Posts
- Discussions (82)
- Events
- Photos (2)
- Photo Albums (1)
- Videos
Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist's Discussions
Looking for information and discussion on C.P, Stinson, Hosea Easton, and Vance Lowry
19 Replies
I am at work on a research project on C.P. Stinson, Hosea Easton, and Vance Lowry, three African American banjoists of the late 19th and early 20th century whose careers and…Continue
Tags: Contests, French, banjo, Banjoists, Black
Started this discussion. Last reply by Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist Oct 16.
Basic banjo history ignored in classic banjo introduction (edited by moderator)
12 Replies
The 30 minute "introductory" video on Classic Banjo is nice playing but every comment the speaker makes about banjo history is simply wrong, not about things that are controversial but about…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Mike Moss Jun 5, 2013.
Gifts Received
Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist has not received any gifts yet
Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist's Page
Latest Activity
"Yes, but that was frequently something that Black musicians were accused of and even some Black musicians like Louis Armstrong faked. Armstrong who had had gotten fairly good musical training in reform school privately hired a German…"
"Horace Weston not "Hosea Weston""
"It seems peculiar that I am replying fto a discussion that I lauched almost 10 years ago. I had a return to doing some work about Easton to contribute work on him for a banjo history publication, that I could not finish. …"
"the suggestion that Samson Easton, Hosea the banjoist's father, had something to do with Easton learning the banjo would challenge the idea that Horace Weston did not read, or perhaps read well. Samson was a general music and dance…"
" I think the fingering choice in the first measure of the Trio does not need correcting. I like it."
"I'll intersperse my responses (in boldface) within your remarks, Jody."
"Ah! Thank you, Ian."
"Thanks! You're covered in sawdust. Until a few minutes ago I was covered in coffee. My grocery shopping took me near Peet's Coffee so I stepped in to buy a pound, a quantity which gets you a free cup of whatever they're…"
"Ellis used the phrase 'left hand fingers hammering down' when describing the Slur, on p.34 of his 'Thorough School For The Six Or Seven-Stringed Banjo'.
In his 'Dallas' Modern School' he wrote 'hammering…"
"Obvious answer: because I haven't played thru it yet.
Generally, I'll follow the suggested fingering and positions. If there are none, I'll give it my best shot and expect to fix it later when I've actually got a banjo in my lap.…"
"In 1925 Stent is using the term "hammer" to indicate a two note slur going upward in pitch. 23 years later Pete Seeger used the term "hammer-on" in his banjo instruction book. By the time another 20 years had passed…"
"And just for fun, here's "Extacy" in a little bit clearer form (plus Tab and an mp3). I've simply put it in AABA-Trio-ABA form...which is how I have interpreted the original directions."
"This is a lot of food for thought! Thanks Tony!
When it comes to what Stent borrowed from Stewart for his own banjo method, nothing in particular is standing out to me that isn't already standard technique by this point in time. The 2nd half of…"
"Right. So we've got H East-on and H West-on. What about Hiram North-on and Hezekiah South-on? Or their grandfathers who had the same names?"
"For the Weston people here, this casts doubt on the story that Weston became a banjoist when a guitar broke while he was performing, Samson Easton who may have taught both his son and Weston, taught music and dance through standard…"
Tony Thomas MFA Black Banjoist's Photos
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 21:05 on January 7, 2021,
John Cohen said…
Hi Tony, I just read that long conversation about Vance Lowry that you participated in back in 2018. The recordings shared there absolutely feature 5-string banjo playing with the fifth string. The banjos in the photo are Weavers ... I think the "expert" Joel referred to at the time may have been me. Anyway, let me know if I can be of any help.
Regards,
John Cohen
© 2026 Created by thereallyniceman.
Powered by
