I'm typically interested in the history of instruments, but it's mostly lutes. I haven't looked into banjos that much, largely to keep from buying one. However, that was fascinating. I always...
I'm typically interested in the history of instruments, but it's mostly lutes. I haven't looked into banjos that much, largely to keep from buying one.
However, that was fascinating. I always assumed it was similar in origin to the lute family, coming from Europe, and spreading wide, like many instruments we can see through the western hemisphere. Wikipedia, interestingly, states it may be an African adaptation of the vihuela (a wood lute), making it a completely African invention, considering it's a drum with the mounting bits for strings and a neck, rather than a carved wood top over a shaped wooden body. (IIRC there were wooden African string instruments, along with a massive array of melodic percussions, but I don't know their names).
I'm typically interested in the history of instruments, but it's mostly lutes. I haven't looked into banjos that much, largely to keep from buying one.
However, that was fascinating. I always assumed it was similar in origin to the lute family, coming from Europe, and spreading wide, like many instruments we can see through the western hemisphere. Wikipedia, interestingly, states it may be an African adaptation of the vihuela (a wood lute), making it a completely African invention, considering it's a drum with the mounting bits for strings and a neck, rather than a carved wood top over a shaped wooden body. (IIRC there were wooden African string instruments, along with a massive array of melodic percussions, but I don't know their names).