Historically, as bearer and mixer of ancient African and European musical traditions, the banjo is an important musical instrument. A Five-String Banjo Sourcebook will stand beside Banjo Attitudes (Paris, L’Harmattan, 2015), its companion book. Since its importation to the US by African Slaves and the inception of an “American version” by Euro-American musicians during the 19th century, the five-string banjo became « America’s instrument » ; and if its controversial history covers all the aspects of the American musical life, it also reflects its social and political context. Anyone interested in playing the banjo, or involved in doing historical or musical research on the instrument, will be confronted by the huge amount of documentation published on the subject. The numerous references listed in A Five-String Banjo Sourcebook, try to cover all facets of the instrument, from the banjo manufacturers and workshops to the stage... We hope that these pages will help the users of this compilation to understand all the subtilties of a fascinating musical instrument.

"From the late 19th century through to the 1950s, Chicago was THE powerhouse of American musical instrument manufacturing. Among the most active makers was the Regal Musical Instrument Company."--Back cover.

Reverence for J. S. Bach's music and its towering presence in our cultural memory have long affected how people hear his works. In his own time, however, Bach stood as just another figure among a number of composers, many of them more popular with the music-loving public. Eschewing the great composer style of music history, Andrew Talle takes us on a journey that looks at how ordinary people made music in Bach's Germany. Talle focuses in particular on the culture of keyboard playing as lived in public and private. As he ranges through a wealth of documents, instruments, diaries, account ledgers, and works of art, Talle brings a fascinating cast of characters to life. These individuals--amateur and professional performers, patrons, instrument builders, and listeners--inhabited a lost world, and Talle's deft expertise teases out the diverse roles music played in their lives and in their relationships with one another. At the same time, his nuanced re-creation of keyboard playing's social milieu illuminates the era's reception of Bach's immortal works.

Spotlighting the four women of the Lafayette Quartet, a leading Canadian ensemble, Rounds offers both a comprehensive history of the beloved instrumental form and an inside view of the complex world of professional quartet players, revealing the exultation and heatache that are the performing artists' daily fare. A treat for every music lover, whether player, listener or composer.

A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.

The mandolin is a fascinating and diverse musical instrument that spans across centuries and continents. With photographs and in-depth details, this book traces the history of the mandolin and its family that can be found around the world. There are detailed stories that tell who, where, why, and how each beautiful piece was made. Included are chapters such as "The American Mandolin," "Gibson," "The Middle Ages & Renaissance," and "Spain, Portugal & Beyond."