The Banjo

This quintessential American instrument originated, not in the Western Hemisphere, but in West Africa.  It was made from a hollowed-out gourd, strung with horse-hair, covered with an animal skin, and played with a honed\ stick.  Its African name was banjar.

Styles of banjos, and of banjo music, have developed and varied since the 1800s.  From slaves to jazz musicians to bluegrass artists like Earl Scruggs to themes like Dueling Banjos from the film Deliverance, , the banjo has helped define popular music in the United States.