Finding Meaning in the Two-Finger Banjo Style.

Author

Jeffrey K. Elkins, East Tennessee State University

Honors Program

Midway Honors

Date of Award

5-2013

Thesis Professor(s)

Lee Bidgood

Thesis Professor Department

Appalachian Studies

Thesis Reader(s)

Ted Olson, Roy Andrade

Abstract

The two-finger banjo style languishes as a small footnote in the lexicon of old time banjo music—very important to a passionate (and lucky!) few, but not known by too many others. This research is a starting point to understanding the meaning of two-finger banjo; through a review of primary literature, interviews, witnessing performances, and individual investigation of playing two-finger banjo, I have been able to document some understandings about the style.

These understandings informed further appreciation of old time music, the old time music (and banjo) communities, and the art of making music in this way—while describing the journey, I gained insights from scholars, folklorists, musicians, recordings, and made many discoveries that I documented in this thesis. I have concluded that one of the best ways to find meaning in any pursuit is by engaging with your community and connecting yourself to your art.

Document Type

Honors Thesis - Open Access

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Elkins, Jeffrey K., "Finding Meaning in the Two-Finger Banjo Style." (2013). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 179. https://dc.etsu.edu/honors/179

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.