Back on December 6thI write a post on gourd banjos . I ’m determined to make one of my own , though I have n’t been able-bodied to source a skin for the head yet .
As I mentioned in my previous stake , I decided to buyFoxfire Book IIIwhich is the edition that cover traditional banjo making . It go far in the mail yesterday and I have mostly show through the relevant portion .
When I come to this , I was greatly divert :
https://www.instagram.com/p/BriBxaMl2mh/
I cognise , it ’s not curious . Not even a little moment .
That led me into further enquiry on catskin , which brought me toan article on the Japanese banjo - similar instrument , the shamisen .
“ Few instruments are as built-in to a nation ’s traditional finish as Japan ’s shamisen , whose evocative phone accompanies a range of performances from kabuki and puppet plays to folk song and geisha entertainments in teahouses .
But in the twenty-first C , the three - string instrument is face something of an existential crisis amid a rebound over its employment of cat and dog peel to cover its torso and a downslope in craftsmen capable to carry on its manufacturing tradition .
Though traditionalists argue that the instrument will never voice the same again if new materials are used , the lookup for a new covering has been gathering tempo over the retiring 10 eld , with the skin of kangaroo or even goat advise along with man-made alternatives , accord to 63 - year - old Sakichi Kineya , a seventh - generation extremity of a family of shamisen performer .
“ Globally , people keep dog and cats as pets . As you might expect using cat or dog skin is not look upon favorably , ” says Kineya , who is also an executive member of an association of performers of nagauta , the musical accompaniment of kabuki and classic dance performances . ”
Someone needs to get # catsarefriendsnotbanjoheads trending !
As I do n’t intend on ( here , kitty , jackpot , pot ! ) using catskin for my banjo project , I am hunt for a goat hide and may have a source . I hit a rummy hovel last week and asked the local farmers if they knew anything about tanning skin . I found out the the preferent method is to rub a fresh skin with ashes and extend it , then to skin the hair off afterwards . Once you have a clean skin , then you may soak it in water to moderate it and adulterate it over your banjo or drum . When it dries , it will tighten and give you a honorable tone . Then I got the Foxfire Holy Writ and saw that many of the sure-enough - timers in Appalachia used various versions of this method acting as well , some coat the skin with juiceless ash , others make a spread or submerge the skin in ash - pee until the hair starts to draw out easy .
One of the farmers tell me he ’ll economise the next goat pelt he gets . Sheep should cultivate as well . When I try my tanning I ’ll apportion what happens . I need a pelt , then I demand to prepare the skin , then I necessitate to make the banjo . It ’ll be an interesting experiment . Steven at Skillcultis the leather expert , not me , but ashes seem easy enough .
