tanglebuddies
How Not to Play the Banjo (Or, in this Case, the Guitar Dressed Up to Look Like a Banjo), kindly demonstrated by Taylor Swift.
That shit ain’t meant to be strummed, man, unless you’re going for the whole running-a-rusty-knife-indescriminately-through-the-inside-of-a-piano sound. You and I both know that would’ve sounded better on an actual guitar, Taylor Swift, instead of that hideous six stringed hybrid abomination. It is PURELY COSMETIC, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
Y’all have Ash to thank for bringing this to my attention on a calm Sunday evening in which I had no intention of watching or having anything to do with the Grammys.
1. It’s called a banjitar. Lots of places sell them. I even want one. 2. Plenty of people who play banjo strum it. Scott Avett for example. He’s and extremely talented banjo player, but when he’s singing, it’s easier to strum and sing at the same time. 3. Maybe she thought playing something else would help people take her more seriously as a musician? 4. Maybe she just kicked the way it sounded? 5. What part of playing an instrument averagely is grounds for her needing to feel ashamed of her self? I am not even a Taylor Swift fan, but I get upset when people say things like this. It’s just making up reasons to dislike someone in my opinion.
Banjos aren’t super mainstream instruments, or taken seriously very often, but lately they’ve become a ~*cool accessory~* for ~*~indie folk bands*~~ to look even ~*folkier~*~, and I am pretty grossed out by the trend of having one in one’s band for show.
I… know that six-stringed banjos are a thing that exists, as are four-stringed tenor banjos and cello banjos and ~*banjoleles~* and eight-stringed banjo-mandolins and, you know, all sorts of things, because banjos are loud and distinctive and people like that. I am not sure how one gets she must be serious from “hideous six-stringed hybrid abomination”. It’s just not a banjo, and, tbh, given how little she’s doing with it, it’s a bit of a cop-out not to just learn the three-odd chords she’s playing on an actual banjo.
Scott Avett is by no means my idea of an extremely talented banjo player, but whatever floats your boat, dude, and at least he doesn’t try to play it with a guitar pick. Banjos sound pretty awful strummed, especially with a resonator, and especially in the all-out way she does it—that sort of thing just builds up noise, and I find it really unpleasant. I promise to be extremely embarrassed if you can find any of these musicians, just for instance, strumming their instrument (mind you, clawhammer playing ain’t the kind of strumming I’m complaining about).
And, uh, I don’t care either way about Taylor Swift. I’m not into her music, but I don’t think it’s any worse than a lot of other generic pop. I’m sorry that my half-serious bitchfest about a well-liked recording artist playing an instrument in a way I’m not into offended your sensibilities!
EDIT: Upon watching the performance, I take it back about the rusty knife thing in this particular instance. The banjo’s turned down so low in comparison to the other instruments (WISE CHOICE) that it’s just this really tinny rhythmic drone in the background—not too obnoxious, but certainly not contributing anything good.
