The American Instrument

A modern 5 string banjo.

February is Black History Month, and it seems fitting that we just got banjos back in stock. The banjo, more than any other instrument, is uniquely American, and it's history is inseparable from African American history: both in its development and its ties to distinctly American forms of music.

The banjo's roots start in west Africa, where versions of the original instrument are still played today. These banjos were typically constructed from a wooden neck attached to a body made from a gourd with a skin stretched across to amplify the strings. Like modern five string banjos, these banjos frequently featured a short drone string attached midway up the neck. Unlike most banjos today, these banjos did not have frets.

The banjo came to the Americas during the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. While is is uncertain whether African slaves brought any actual instruments across the Atlantic with them, there is no doubt that they brought with them the knowledge of how to construct and play the banjo. Many of the playing techniques peculiar to the banjo, and the rudiments of modern clawhammer and bluegrass styles are derived from the original African forms of playing.

Through its early history in the United States, the banjo remained an instrument played almost exclusively by black Americans. This changed with the rise of minstrel shows in the early 19th century. Early minstrel performers, most notably Joel Sweeney, took the instrument, repertoire, and playing techniques developed by enslaved African Americans and adapted them for a white audience. It is hard to overstate the importance of minstrelsy to American culture - it was the most popular form of entertainment in the United States for nearly a century. It is also essential to acknowledge that minstrel shows were profoundly racist and exploitive, and that the African American progenitors of the culture being parodied on stage by white performers did not benefit from those performances. The banjo, being identifiable as an instrument played by slaves, was a central element of the minstrel show, and with the spread of the minstrel show the banjo exploded in popularity.

With increasing popularity, came many innovations to the banjo. Instrument manufacturers began making and marketing banjos to the public, and it was being widely adopted by musicians in many styles of music, from European-derived folk music to the emerging trend of jazz. During this time, banjos were being made in a staggering range of styles, from banjo ukuleles and mandolins, to banjo basses. Resonators became commonplace during this period, giving the banjo the volume and projection needed to play with horn sections. With the incorporation of the banjo into orchestral music, came the plectrum and tenor banjo, which did away with the drone string, making it easier to strum the banjo with a flat pick and easier to play in a wider variety of keys. During the early years of the jazz age, the tenor banjo was a dominant rhythm section instrument until being replaced by the guitar in the 30's and 40's. Though somewhat niche today, the tenor banjo lives on as a fixture in Irish traditional music.

Today, the five string banjo, ubiquitous in bluegrass and country music, is by far the most popular style of banjo. It has been shaped by centuries of tradition and innovation, retaining the same basic structure and conspicuous drone string of it's African ancestors, with a fretted neck and tuning adapted for western harmonies. Through it's development, the modern banjo has been a uniquely American instrument, and like the African Americans to which it owes much of it's DNA, has been a formative part of American music and culture.

I encourage readers to watch the YouTube videos linked to in this post - they go into more depth than I am able to hear and there are some wonderful playing examples.

Happy Black History Month, and Happy Banjo Playing!

-Matt