Whether in the cinema or at live concerts, banjo music has been there for a long time and continues to enamor music lovers with its magical tone.A fine instrument from the string family, the history of the banjo is as unique as its melody. The banjo is an African musical instrument, which in older times, had strings that were stretched over a round open-backed and cavity-shaped soundbox.Traditionally, the African banjo was made from the skin of cats or goats, which the banjo maker then would stretch four gut strings over the structure. In recent times, plastic or wooden drums are rather used. However, it is not only the manufacturing of banjo that has undergone numerous changes. In fact, the way banjo has been spelled, has also changed throughout its existence.If you are a music lover, but never had an opportunity to gain some insights into some interesting banjo facts, you are in the right place!Origin of Banjos As A Musical InstrumentAlthough the sound these string instruments produce is highly melodic, its history, on the other hand, echoes a very painful tragedy of African slavery.One of the initial references to the banjo can be traced back to the early 17th century. During those times, Africans were brought as slaves from West Africa to the United States. With them, they brought along their beautiful African string instrument.For a large fraction of time in history, playing the banjo was predominantly done for entertainment and storytelling. In fact, Americans would mock enslaved Africans who played the banjo. However, things slowly changed with the advent of the 19th century when Americans also started playing and selling the modern banjo.The term banjo derived its name from Bantu Mbanza, another famous African instrument, which later became Bangoe, Bania, Banjar, and finally Banjo.The mainstream popularity of the banjo was catapulted during the Civil War when Army and Navy men were exposed to the banjo, played in minstrel shows.Britain’s William Temlet is accredited with the invention of the six string banjo. He had sold banjos with as many as seven strings during the early 19th century.Did you know that six string banjos are often referred to as banjo guitars, as they are tuned like a guitar?Despite its music being enjoyed for a long time, the commercial production of banjos only started in 1845. William Boucher, a professional banjo player from Baltimore, saw a flourishing market in banjo production and sold banjos throughout America.Today, the original banjos from Boucher are considered antique and thus cost a lot of money.Despite seeing various inclinations in banjo manufacturing, an older version of fretless banjos is still sold in music stores for players who enjoy the old-time chord melody-style banjo feel.Instrument Family of BanjoUnlike traditional resonator banjos, a modern American banjo is typically a four or five string banjo. Minstrel banjos and modern banjos are very different in terms of build and tonality. While minstrel banjos are bigger, wider, and fretless, modern banjos are much lighter and produce softer tones. There are various versions of these stringed instruments that are commonly played. The most common is the four string banjo.Four-string banjos include tenor banjo, cello banjo, plectrum banjo, bass banjo and contraband banjo.Compared to other variants, the four-string plectrum banjo does not have a short drone string, and usually has 22 frets.The five string banjo is a perfect combination of being the most popular and the most traditional of them all. The tone of the five string banjo closely resonates with folk-style banjo melody.An interesting fact is that the banjo’s fifth string is slightly shorter than the other strings.In recent times, versions of banjos with six metal strings have also emerged, which have a guitar neck with a banjo body. Six string banjos are slowly gaining mainstream popularity and are played by banjo players around the world.Over the years, the way traditional banjos looked and sounded has changed to an extent. Some even made an attempt to make banjos more mainstream and versatile by combining them with other musical instruments.For example, William Timlet is known to amalgamate the German zither and banjo, which led to the innovation of the zither banjo. A zither banjo has a 7-string lute, which is not present in other full-length string banjos.How do you play the banjo?Banjo music is still relevant and popular today, with banjo players sometimes regarded as banjoists. From tenor banjo to bluegrass banjo, many artists and banjo orchestras play banjo music for cinemas or live concerts. Some famous artists that have played either brass banjo, plectrum banjo, or any traditional or modern banjo, include Steve Martin, Terry Baucom, Noam Pikelny, and Mark Johnson.Joel Walker Sweeney, who hailed from Virginia, was the first professional white American banjo player.He was directly trained by African-Americans and popularized banjo playing among their contemporaries.While other gut strings are played using a plectrum or pick, a traditional zither banjo is usually played with the fingers.On a zither banjo, the actual pitch is an octave lower and the string pitches do not proceed from lowest to highest across the fingerboard because its vellum is suspended in a resonator.If you are inspired by these banjo artists and are curious to learn how to play the banjo, you can! Learning to play any modern banjo is not that difficult.The first step, is to choose the number of strings and the open-back versus resonator banjo. Banjos come in different builds and string count.The six string banjo is played in a regular guitar style. The four string or five string banjo is usually played using a plectrum.Use electric tuners or tuning pegs, if you are a beginner. For a five string banjo, the most common tuning is G, while for the plectrum banjo, CGBD is the most common tuning.Having a correct posture is pretty essential. So, make sure to maintain the right posture before playing the banjo. The standard banjo posture involves holding the banjo at a 45° angle and keeping the grip not too tight.Make sure your right hand is resting above the strings while your left hand holds the banjo neck.For a banjo, your thumb, index, and middle finger are generally used for picking the strings. Place your thumb straightened on the crown while positioning your ring finger on the head of the banjo.Now, you can begin performing some basic rolls in a repetitive pattern. The most basic one is the forward roll, where you play by hitting the strings in the order: 5-3-15-3-1-5-3.These numbers refer to the fifth fret or fifth string, the third fret or string, and the first fret or string. Continue practicing this roll and work your way up using a fourth and fifth string combination!Instruments Related To The BanjoBanjos share basic similarities with a few other traditional and modern musical instruments of the string family. Everyone knows how banjos and guitars are similar in their build and tonality. However, there are some other not-so-popular stringed instruments that look so similar to banjos that a beginner can hardly tell them apart. Let’s look at all of the stringed instruments that share similarities with banjos.If you have seen a guitar, which you probably have, you might have already seen its similarities with banjos. Even though they both look similar, they are two different sets of instruments.Guitars have six strings, unlike the majority of banjos, which have strings ranging from four to six.Tuning guitars and banjos are very different. If you tune your guitar, you follow an EADGBE tuning pattern, but if you are tuning a banjo, you already know by now that the standard tuning for the banjo is an open G chord.Both instruments differ in their musical versatility. Guitars are comparatively more versatile than banjos, predominantly used in folk and bluegrass music.Banjos and ukuleles differ on various grounds, including the number of strings, tone, and shape.While also available as four strings, banjos usually have five strings as compared to ukuleles, which primarily have four strings.In addition, banjos have a round circular body, which is quite different from ukuleles, that have a miniature guitar look.Both instruments also differ in the way they sound. Banjos have a soulful bluegrass tonality to them. On the other hand, ukuleles have more of a high-pitched sound suitable for folk and pop alike.Both banjos are mandolins are a type of stringed instrument. Similar to banjos, mandolins also belong to the lute family and find their origins in Germany and Italy. They are equipped with four pairs of steel strings and run over a fretted fingerboard.What separates mandolins from banjos is their build. While banjos are round-shaped, the body of a typical mandolin is pear-shaped.Even the sound they produce is entirely distinct. For instance, banjos have a twangy sound, whereas mandolins sound like a higher-pitched version of a guitar.Similarly, they also differ on the counts of strings. Unlike the majority of banjos that have strings between four and five, mandolins have a total count of strings that fall between 10 and 12.These instruments also share a different history, with banjos more popular among folk and bluegrass musicians. Mandolins, on the other hand, are often a classical instrument among Europeans.If you have seen a shamisen, you are likely to confuse it with the African banjo. The reason is obvious, as both look almost the same. The shamisen appears similar to that of the banjo with three strings that go in a fingerboard.Despite visible similarities in their appearance, they both are uniquely different, particularly in terms of their history.Even though they have a shorter history in Japan, shamisens are believed to have been inspired by traditional Chinese stringed instruments. In the 16th century, musicians from Osaka were heavily inspired by various musical instruments, which arrived from China.These instruments were soon modified and started becoming associated Japanese folk music.One of the interesting differences between banjos and shamisens lies in how they are played. While banjos are played using the fingers or a tiny plectrum, the shamisen is plucked with a large pick, which is referred to as a bachi. Did you know…Here are some more random banjo facts that you may like:The world’s most expensive banjo is the Gibson RB-7. A single piece would cost you around $1 million.The record for playing the banjo for the most hours goes to Doug Young. This man from Brooklyn, NY, USA, played the banjo for 24 hours 57 seconds, at the New York Good/Bad Art Collective on May 31, 2001.The most famous banjo piece known to music enthusiasts is the dueling banjo piece, written for the 1972 movie, ‘Deliverance’. A fun fact about this piece, is that it was recorded with a banjo and a guitar.
Whether in the cinema or at live concerts, banjo music has been there for a long time and continues to enamor music lovers with its magical tone.
