An Introduction to America’s Music

CHAPTER 5 | LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK: A NEW ORLEANS ORIGINAL 127

the piece’s African American lineage, with its emphasis on rhythm and timbre

over melody and harmony, is unmistakable.

The piece’s overall form may be unusual, but its phrase-by-phrase unfolding

is straightforward. Indeed, on that level, The Banjo is rooted in the conventions of

dance music: a strict tempo, regular phrase structure, and lots of repetition. The

timing section comments

0:00 introduction Loud octaves state shortened version of the pentatonic melody that

will be heard again in the B section.

0:13 A a A dramatic drop in dynamic to piano marks the beginning of a long

“picking” section in the lower register imitating the characteristic

“bum-ditty” rhythm of traditional styles of banjo playing.

1:04 b A burst of forte melody in the upper register features rapid repeated

notes—diffi cult on the banjo and even harder on the piano.

1:33 a The quiet “picking” suddenly resumes.

2:16 b An exact repeat of the upper-register melody.

2:45 a A shortened return of the “picking.”

3:06 B c The complete 16-bar pentatonic tune hinted at in the introduction,

closely resembling Foster’s “De Camptown Races” (see LG 6.2).

3:22 c The tune repeats, now in the upper register, and speeds up toward the

end.

3:37 c Once again in the upper register, now loud and fast.

3:50 coda A burst of loud and fast hammering on the tonic chord brings the piece

to a brilliant close.

date: 1855

performer: Neely Bruce, piano

genre: character piece

meter: duple

form: binary

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

• emphasis on pentatonic scale


• imitation of banjo picking


• long, nonmelodic A section and short,
  tuneful B section

Listen & Refl ect

1. What aspects of this piece show African American infl uences?


2. What aspects place it fi rmly in the Euro-American tradition?

Listening Guide 5.2

The Banjo: An American Sketch

CD 1.16 LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK

172028_05_106-131_r3_ko.indd 127 23/01/13 8:21 PM