One-man band

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For the Pixar animated film, see One Man Band (film).

For the 2007 James Taylor album, see One Man Band (album)

A one-man band busking in Calgary, Alberta

A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of musical instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical contraptions. The simplest type of "one-man band" — a singer accompanying themselves on acoustic guitar and harmonica mounted in a metal "harp rack" below the mouth— is often used by buskers (musicians who perform in public for coins). More complicated setups may include wind instruments strapped around the neck, a large bass drum mounted on the musician's back, cymbals strapped between the knees or triggered by a pedal mechanism, tambourines and maracas tied to the limbs, and a a stringed instrument strapped over the shoulders ( banjo, ukulele or guitar).

"The one-man band exists, in all its uniqueness and independence, as a most elusive yet persistent musical tradition. As a category of musicianship it transcends cultural and geographic boundaries, spans stylistic limits, and defies conventional notions of technique and instrumentation. Defined simply as a single musician playing more than one instrument at the same time, it is an ensemble limited only by the mechanical capabilities and imaginative inventiveness of its creator, and despite its generally accepted status as an isolated novelty, it is a phenomenon with some identifiable historical continuity."^[1]

Since the development of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) in the 1980s, musicians have also incorporated chest-mounted MIDI drum pads, foot-mounted electronic drum triggers. Some "one man bands" use organ-style pedal keyboards to perform basslines. A small number of MIDI enthusiasts use custom-made MIDI controllers connected to different parts of their bodies to trigger music on sythesizers. Custom-made MIDI controllers range from wind-operated controllers to small triggers mounted on the arms or feet. At a certain point, the use of body MIDI controllers may come to resemble performance art, because the musical sounds are triggered by the performer assuming certain poses or dancing.

The term "one-man band" is also colloquially used to describe a performer who plays every instrument on a recorded song one at a time, and then mixes them together in a multitrack studio. While this approach to recording is more common in electronica genres such as techno and acid house than traditional rock music, some rock performers such as Prince have made records in which they play every instrument. Likewise, with the use of 2000s-era digital loop pedals, which can record and then repeat a short musical phrase, performers can play a riff or groove and then solo over the repeated loop.

[edit] History

Pipe and taborers, from the 13th Century illuminated manuscript, Cantigas de Santa Maria

The earliest known records of multiple musical instruments being played at the same time date are from the 13th century, and were the pipe and tabor. The pipe was a simple three-holed flute that could be played with one hand; the tabor is more commonly known today as a snare drum. This type of playing can still be heard in parts of rural France, in England^[2]and among the Basques and Catalans.

The simple guitar and harmonica combination (as used by such musicians as Tex Williams, Jimmy Reed, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Ray Dorset of Mungo Jerry) is so common now that it is rarely considered to be a one-man band. One of the most famous early-modern exponents of multiple instruments was Jesse Fuller, who invented the foot-operated bass called the "fotdella". Another was Fate Norris, of the Skillet Lickers, a hillbilly string band of the 1920s and early 1930s. British born Don Partridge made the classic one man band outfit (bass drum on the back, guitar & harmonica) famous in the streets of Europe, and was probably the first ever busker to enter the Top Ten of the UK Singles Chart, with his hit singles "Rosie" and "Blue Eyes" in 1968. Modern one-man bands include such performers as Hasil Adkins and Sterling Magee, better known as "Mister Satan," from Satan and Adam.