![]() ![]() And it certainly wasn't playing medieval and renaissance music.Īs I said, I've played LOTS of faires across the country (and continue to do so). While a banjo might have been in existence between 1500-1700, it wasn't part of the European renaissance. You have to get people past the fact that it's a BANJO. So my hand crafted mountain banjo (everything about it is hand crafted except the strings) would likely pass the muster then at Ren. However, since each Ren Faire pretty much sets it's own rules it seems perfectly reasonable that you could get away with different things at different venues. I did neither -and they finally decided to let it slide- but I wouldn't have mentioned it if I hadn't already had problems with what they termed an anachronistic instrument. They even grumbled at me because my Renaissance guitar has geared planetary banjo tuners rather than wooden or ivory friction tuners, and suggested that I either paint the tuners black so they would resemble ebony or wrap then in a cloth to hide them. And I've NEVER seen authenticity required for instrumentation. Yes, you have to dress for it, but they aren't going to toss you for non-period fabrics and styles. I've been working several renn faires across the country for years, and while authenticity in dress for cast members is a requirement, it is much less so for variety performers. Unlikely scenarios such as a 15th-century Englishman playing "Greensleeves" on an obscure type of African lute are generally tolerated at Ren Faires: but a modern banjo most likely would not be allowed in, and certainly wouldn't fit in with the supposed era -even if the music did.Įxample: I built this Renaissance guitar (see below) to play at Ren Faires, where I used to be hired as a Wandering Minstrel.ĭeaf Lester Crawdad - Posted - : 14:01:49 Many Ren Faires encourage -forsooth, require- authenticity in both dress and instrumentation and would look with approbation ("Egads, Sirrah! What have you there?") upon a modern (circa 1900) banjo coming through the front gates whereas they would have no objection to a banjo that was built of the materials that were already being used in Africa at that time. ![]() ( The Renaissance began in roughly 1300 and ended in circa 1600: some 300 years before the advent of the Classical Banjo Era and the American banjo. You missed the part about him wanting to play it at a Ren Faire. Most of the Classical Banjo Era music was arranged played around 1900. Deaf Lester Crawdad - Posted - : 11:08:32 ![]()
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