How to play the 4 string banjo. Banjo: history, video, interesting facts

Probably, the instrument was brought to America from West Africa, where its predecessors were some arabic instruments. In the 19th century, the banjo began to be used by minstrels and thus found its way into early jazz bands as a rhythmic instrument. The banjo is played with a plectrum, the so-called "claws" (three plectrums of a special design, worn on the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand) or simply with fingers.

The banjo is a relative of the well-known European mandolin, a direct descendant of the African lute. But between the mandolin and the banjo there is a sharp difference in sound - the banjo has a more ringing and sharp sound.

The design feature of the banjo is its acoustic enclosure, which looks a little like a small drum, on the front side of which a steel ring is attached with two dozen adjustable tie-screws, tensioning the membrane, and on the back side with a gap of 2 cm. lowering the volume of the instrument or to access the truss rod that secures the neck and adjusts the distance from the strings to the plane of the neck). The strings are pulled through a wooden (rarely steel) "filly" resting directly on the membrane. The diaphragm and resonator give the banjo a purity and power of sound that makes it stand out from other instruments. Therefore, it received a place in jazz groups New Orleans, where she performed both rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment, and sometimes short energetic solos and ligaments. The four strings of a jazz tenor banjo are usually tuned like an alto ( do-sol-re-la) or (more rarely) like a violin ( salt-re-la-mi).

In American folk music, the most commonly used bluegrass banjo (sometimes called western banjo, country banjo) has 5 strings, a longer scale, and specific tuning. The shortened fifth string is stretched not on the peg head, but on a separate peg on the fingerboard itself (on the fifth fret). The chord playing with the plectrum, which was originally, was subsequently supplanted by arpeggiated playing with "claws" worn on the fingers. The game is also used without the use of "claws" and various percussion techniques. The 5-string banjo appears in traditional American music bands alongside the fiddle, flat mandolin, folk or dobro guitar.

The banjo is also widely used in country and bluegrass music. Prominent banjo players were Wade Meiner and Earl Scruggs, who are known for their innovative playing techniques. In Europe, Ivan Mladek's Czech band Banjo Band gained fame.

The 6-string banjo is a relatively rare instrument, it is popular with guitarists, because its tuning completely coincides with the guitar one, but not in the classic E tuning, but a tone lower in D (D-A-F-C-G-D).

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Notes

1. In Australian slang, the word "banjo" means 10 Australian dollars.

Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Encyclopedia young musician/ Igor Kubersky, E. V. Minina. - St. Petersburg: OOO "Diamant", 2001. - 576 p.
• Everything about everything (Le Livre des Instruments de Musique) / Translated from French. - M.: LLC "AST Publishing House", 2002. - 272 p.

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An excerpt characterizing the Banjo

The absolute continuity of movement is incomprehensible to the human mind. The laws of any kind of movement become clear to a person only when he considers arbitrarily taken units of this movement. But at the same time, from this arbitrary division of continuous movement into discontinuous units, a large part of human delusions arise.
The so-called sophism of the ancients is known, which consists in the fact that Achilles will never catch up with the tortoise walking in front, despite the fact that Achilles walks ten times faster than the tortoise: as soon as Achilles passes the space separating him from the tortoise, the tortoise will pass ahead of him one tenth of this space; Achilles will go through this tenth, the tortoise will go through one hundredth, and so on ad infinitum. This problem seemed unsolvable to the ancients. The senselessness of the decision (that Achilles will never overtake the tortoise) stemmed from the fact that discontinuous units of movement were arbitrarily allowed, while the movement of both Achilles and the tortoise was continuous.
By accepting smaller and smaller units of motion, we only get closer to the solution of the problem, but we never reach it. Only by assuming an infinitesimal magnitude and a progression ascending from it up to one tenth, and taking the sum of this geometric progression, we reach a solution to the problem. The new branch of mathematics, having achieved the art of dealing with infinitesimal quantities, and in other more complex questions of motion, now provides answers to questions that seemed unsolvable.
This new, unknown to the ancients, branch of mathematics, when considering questions of motion, admitting infinitely small quantities, that is, those at which the main condition of motion (absolute continuity) is restored, thereby corrects that inevitable mistake that the human mind cannot but make when considering instead of continuous movement, individual units of movement.
In search of laws historical movement exactly the same happens.
The movement of mankind, arising from the innumerable number of human arbitrariness, takes place continuously.
Comprehension of the laws of this movement is the goal of history. But in order to comprehend the laws of the continuous movement of the sum of all the arbitrariness of people, the human mind admits arbitrary, discontinuous units. The first method of history is to take an arbitrary series of continuous events and consider them separately from others, while there is not and cannot be the beginning of any event, and always one event continuously follows from another. The second trick is to consider the action of one person, the king, the commander, as the sum of the arbitrariness of people, while the sum of the arbitrariness of people is never expressed in the activity of one historical person.
Historical science in its movement constantly accepts smaller and smaller units for consideration, and in this way strives to approach the truth. But no matter how small the units that history accepts, we feel that the assumption of a unit separated from another, the assumption of the beginning of some phenomenon, and the assumption that the will of all people is expressed in the actions of one historical person, are false in themselves.
Any conclusion of history, without the slightest effort on the part of criticism, falls apart like dust, leaving nothing behind, only as a result of the fact that criticism chooses a larger or smaller discontinuous unit as the object of observation; to which it always has the right, since the historical unit taken is always arbitrary.
Only by allowing an infinitely small unit for observation - the differential of history, that is, the homogeneous inclinations of people, and having achieved the art of integrating (taking the sums of these infinitesimal ones), can we hope to comprehend the laws of history.
The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century in Europe represent an extraordinary movement of millions of people. People leave their usual occupations, rush from one side of Europe to the other, rob, kill one another, triumph and despair, and the whole course of life changes for several years and represents an intensified movement, which at first goes on increasing, then weakening. What is the reason for this movement or according to what laws did it occur? asks the human mind.

Basic information

Stringed plucked musical instrument with a body in the form of a tambourine and a long wooden neck with a fingerboard, on which from 4 to 9 core strings are stretched. Rod with a resonator (the extended part of the instrument is covered with leather, like a drum). Thomas Jefferson mentions the banjo in 1784 - probably the instrument was brought to America by black slaves from West Africa, where some Arabic instruments were its predecessors. In the 19th century, the banjo began to be used by minstrels and thus found its way into early jazz bands as a rhythmic instrument. In modern America, the word "banjo" denotes either its tenor variety with four strings tuned in fifths, the lower of which is up to a small octave, or a five-string instrument with a different tuning. The banjo is played with a plectrum.

A relative of the well-known European, similar in shape to it. But between them there is a sharp difference in sound - the banjo has a more ringing and sharp sound. In some African countries, the banjo is considered a sacred instrument, which can only be touched by high priests or rulers.

Origin

African slaves South America gave the earliest banjos the shape of African instruments close to them. Some of the early instruments were known as "pumpkin banjos". Most likely, the main candidate for the progenitors of the banjo is akonting, vernacular, used by the Diola tribe. There are other instruments similar to the banjo (xalam, ngoni). The modern banjo gained popularity thanks to the minstrel Joel Sweeney in the 1830s. The banjo was brought to Britain in the 1840s by Sweeney's group of American minstrels and very soon became quite popular.

Modern types of banjo

The modern banjo comes in a wide variety of styles, including five and six strings. The six-string version, tuned as , has also become quite popular. Almost all types of banjo are played with a characteristic tremolo or arpeggiate with the right hand, although there are many different playing styles.

Application

Today, the banjo is commonly associated with country and bluegrass music. However, historically, the banjo is central to African-American traditional music, as are 19th-century minstrel performances. In fact, African Americans have made a strong impact on early development country and bluegrass music - through the introduction of the banjo, as well as through the innovative musical techniques of playing the banjo and the . IN Lately banjo began to be used in a variety of musical genres, including pop music and Celtic punk. More recently, hardcore musicians have begun to show interest in the banjo.

History of the banjo

Thomas Jefferson in the 18th century described a similar homemade instrument called bonjar, made from a dried gourd cut in half, mutton skin as the top soundboard, mutton sinew strings, and a fingerboard. And many sources mentioned that such instruments were known on the island of Jamaica as early as the 17th century. Many scholars of the history of American folk music believe that the banjo is a Negro folk instrument either smuggled out of Africa, or reproduced after an African model in America. Therefore, it is much older than Russian (Tatar origin) balalaikas and Russians ( German descent) harmonicas (but not psaltery, horns and some types of folk stringed, almost forgotten now). Initially, the strings were from 5 to 9, there were no nut on the fretboard. This is due to the peculiarities of the musical scale of blacks. There is no precise intonation in African Negro music. Deviations from the main tone reach 1.5 tones. And this has been preserved in the American stage so far (jazz, blues, soul).

Not everyone knows the following fact: North American blacks were not very fond of showing the pearls of their culture to whites. The gospels, the spirituals, were brought to the white public from the Negro environment literally by force of tongs. The banjo from the Negro environment was pulled out by the white minstrel-show. What is this phenomenon? Imagine cultural life in Europe and America sometime in the 1830s. Europe is operas, symphonies, theater. America is nothing but home singing old grandfather (English, Irish, Scottish) songs. And you want a culture, a simple American drive a simple culture. And so, in the 1840s, a simple provincial white American received mobile, roaming musical theaters throughout the country with a troupe of 6-12 people, showing common man simple repertoire (skits, sketches, dances, etc.). Such a performance usually took place to the accompaniment of an ensemble consisting of 1-2 violins, 1-2 banjos, tambourine, bones, later an accordion began to join them. The composition of the ensemble is borrowed from slave household ensembles.

The dance on the minstrel stage was inseparable from the sound of the banjo. From the 1940s to the end of the “minstrel era”, two artistic figures, inextricably linked to each other, dominated the stage - the soloist-dancer and the soloist-banjo performer. IN in a certain sense combined in his face both functions, for, anticipating the game and singing, as well as in the process of making music itself, he trampled, danced, swayed, exposing and exaggerating (for example, with the help of additional sounds extracted from a wooden stand in circuses) the complex rhythms of Negro dances. It is characteristic that the minstrel piece for banjo even had a name that was associated with any dance on the pseudo-Negro stage - “jig” (jig). Of all the variety and diversity of instruments of European and African origin, rooted on American soil, the minstrels chose the sounds of the banjo as the most in harmony with their dominant system of images. Not only as a solo instrument, but also as a member of the future minstrel ensemble (band), the banjo retained its leading role ... "

The sound of the banjo supported not only rhythm, but harmony and melody. performed music. Moreover, later the melody began to be replaced by a virtuoso instrumental texture. This required an outstanding performing skill from the performer. The instrument itself came to a 4 or 5-string version, frets appeared on the fingerboard.

However, black Americans suddenly lost interest in the banjo and categorically expelled it from their midst, replacing it with a guitar. This is due to the "shameful" traditions of depicting blacks in the representations of white minstrels. Negroes were portrayed in 2 forms: either a lazy half-wit-loafer from a plantation in rags, or a sort of dandy copying the manners and clothes of whites, but also a half-wit. Black women were portrayed as full of erotic lust, extremely promiscuous...

Later, since 1890, the era of ragtime, jazz, blues came. Minstrel-shows are gone. The banjo was picked up by white, a little later black brass bands playing syncopated polkas and marches, later ragtimes. Drums alone did not provide the required level of rhythmic pulsation (swing), a movable rhythmic instrument syncopating the sound of the orchestra was required. White orchestras immediately began to use the four-string tenor banjo (scale c, g, d1, a1), black orchestras first used the guitar banjo (scale six-string guitar E, A, d, g, h, e1), later retrained to the tenor banjo.

During the first recording of jazz in 1917 by the white orchestra "Original Dixieland Jazz Band", it turned out that all the drums except the snare on the record were poorly heard, and the banjo rhythm was even very good. Jazz developed, the “Chicago” style arose, sound recording techniques developed, better electromechanical sound recording appeared, the sound of jazz bands became softer, the rhythm sections needed a more harmonically flexible guitar and the banjo disappeared from jazz, having migrated to a real boom since the 20s last century country music. After all, not all white people wanted to listen to jazz.

Based on the melodies of English, Irish, Scottish songs and ballads, country music has also formed its own instrumentation: guitar, mandolin, fiddle, resonator guitar, invented by the Domani brothers, ukulele, harmonica, banjo. The tenor banjo acquired a peg at the 5th fret, the 5th string as thick as the first one and changed the tuning to (g1,c,g,h,d1). The technique of playing has changed, instead of playing chords with a mediator, arpeggiated playing with the so-called "claws" - Fingerpicking - has appeared. And a new child was named - an American or bluegrass banjo.

Meanwhile, Europe recognized the tenor banjo. Great composers mostly died out, Europe was suddenly drawn to the medieval-Renaissance song roots. The war slowed this process down, but after the war skiffles music appeared in England.

Then came the famous Chieftains and Dubliners and Celtic music. The Dubliners, for example, have both tenor and American banjo in composition. After the war, some jazz musicians wanted to return to the roots, the Dixieland movement arose in America and Europe, led by trumpeter Max Kaminsky, and the tenor banjo again sounded in jazz. And it sounds now even in our Dixielands.

Video: Banjo on video + sound

Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch the real game on it, listen to its sound, feel the specifics of the technique:

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Musical Instrument: Banjo

The culture and way of life of the population of any country is always reflected in folk art, which is distinguished by its originality and original inimitable color. In the United States of America, one of the most widespread and popular varieties of national music is incendiary and cheerful country music, which has absorbed many styles and trends of the country's emigrant population, both white European settlers and African Americans. The main musical instruments for country music are the fiddle, the guitar and, of course, the banjo. This tool is musical symbol and the inherent value of the American people, among whom he is very popular.

The banjo is a very interesting musical instrument with an original unique sound. Playing it is not difficult at all, and if you know a little guitar, then mastering the banjo will not be difficult for you.

Read the history of the banjo and many interesting facts about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

Banjo sounds very cheerful and perky. But if you describe the voice of the instrument, it cannot be called anything other than sharp, ringing and sharp. Due to the special membrane, it is very clear and resonant. The source of sound on the banjo is the strings, holding them on the frets with the fingers of the left hand, the performer receives the desired pitch.

The technique of playing the instrument is similar to that of the guitar. The main methods of sound production are plucking and striking the strings, performed with the help of special plectrums, which are put on fingers and are very similar to claws. Also, performers can play like a guitar with the fingers of their right hand or with a regular pick.

Particularly used performing techniques on the banjo are tremolo and arpeggiation.

The range of the banjo is almost three octaves. The tuning of the most popular five-string banjo is G; re; salt; si; re.

Photo:

Interesting Facts

• In some African states, the banjo is revered as a sacred instrument and is used exclusively by high priests or rulers.
• A musician who plays the banjo is called a banjo player.
• Legendary guitarist worldwide famous group Beatles John Lenon could play the banjo.In the initial development of this instrument, John was helped by his mother Julia. However, after the banjo, D. Lenon could not play the guitar for a long time, as he muffled the 5th and 6th strings with his thumb.
• The famous American comic actor Steve Martin, known to our audience for many films such as "Father of the Bride", "Pink Panther", "Cool Guy", independently learned to play the banjo in his youth. Having created his own group "Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers", he performs successfully, performing his songs in the style of "bluegrass".

• At the end of the 19th century in England, an instrument called the banjo became so fashionable that the English classicist Jerome K. Jerome mentioned it very prominently in his famous work"Three in the boat, not counting the dogs."
• The famous American composer D. Gershwin used the sound of the banjo in his opera " Porgy and Bess ».
• Frank Convers, who made a significant contribution to the popularization of the banjo, was called by his friends the "Father of the banjo".
• The sound of the banjo is very often used in various television shows, for example, in the world-famous children's television educational program"Sesame Street".
• The four-string banjo is widely used in musical performances staged on Broadway. He can be heard in such musicals as "Cabaret", "Hello Dolly", " Chicago ».
• Commercial production of the banjo began in the United States at William Boucher's musical instrument factory. Three instruments, which were made in 1845, are exhibited in one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

• The production of banjos is mainly carried out by manufacturing companies. guitars . The leading manufacturer among them is the American "Fender". Also in high demand among professional performers and music lovers are the instruments of the South Korean company Cort, Chinese - Veston, American Washburn and Gibson.
• The first five-string electric banjo was developed in 1960 by Wilburn Trent and David Jackson.
• The six-string banjo, which has also become very popular and is tuned like a guitar, was invented by an Englishman by origin, William Templett.

Design

A very original design of the banjo includes a round acoustic body and a peculiar neck.

• The body of the instrument resembles a small drum. On the front side there is a membrane stretched with a steel ring, which is fastened with screws - ties. The membrane on modern banjos is usually made of leather or plastic. On the rear side of the instrument, a removable resonator semi-body is installed, slightly enlarged in diameter compared to the membrane. The banjo has a tailpiece attached to the side of the banjo, which is usually made of wood or metal. A support is installed on the membrane, through which the strings are stretched.
• The neck, which is attached to the body with a truss rod, ends with a head with pegs for string tension. The neck is divided by frets into frets, which are arranged in a chromatic sequence. The most popular banjo has five strings. The fifth string on such an instrument is shortened, and the peg for it is located right on the fretboard, at its fifth fret.

Varieties

The popularity and universal recognition of the banjo initially began to gain momentum very quickly. Manufacturers have been constantly working on creating different types of tools, starting with

Piccolo and ending with bass. Today, the banjo has many types with a different number of strings, but the most commonly used are four, five and six-string instruments.

• Five-string - usually used to perform country music or, as the Americans themselves call it, "bluegrass". The tool has interesting feature- a shortened fifth string, which is not clamped during performance (open). The build of this banjo is (sol) re, salt, si, re;
• four-string - banjo - tenor is a classic. It is used for playing in orchestras, accompaniment or solo performance. Instrument build - do, salt, re, la. The same banjo is used to play Irish music only with a slightly different tuning - G, D, A. mi;
• six-string - has the name banjo - guitar. It is very popular with guitarists, since both of these instruments are tuned in the same way - mi, la, re, salt, si, mi 2;
• banjolele - has four single strings tuned to do, sol, re, sol;
• banjo mandolin - characteristic feature are four double strings, tuned like a mandolin prima: sol, re, la, mi.

Application and repertoire

The range of application of the banjo, which attracts attention with its bright and original sound, stands out noticeably from other instruments, is quite extensive. With the advent of the era jazz, blues and ragtime, it confidently and firmly became part of instrumental groups, at that time new musical directions, initially playing the role of a rhythmic and harmonic instrument.

Currently, the banjo, usually associated with music in styles such as country and bluegrass, is widely used in pop music, Celtic punk, punk rock, folk rock, hardcore.

However, the banjo also clearly showed itself as a solo concert instrument. Usually, performing composers compose works for the banjo, among them Buck Trent, Ralph Stanley, Steve Martin, Hank Williams, Todd Taylor, Putnam Smith and others.

It should also be noted that the repertoire list of works is generously supplemented with original transcriptions of works by the great classics: I.S. Bach, P.I. Tchaikovsky, L.V. Beethoven, L. Boccherini, W.A. Mozart, E. Griga, R. Schumann, F. Schubert.

In turn, it is important to note that such composers as George Gershwin, Hans Werner Henze, Daniel Mason included the sound of the banjo in their symphonic works.

Performers

Originally used primarily by the African American population of the United States, the banjo gradually gained the attention of white players. One of the first banjo players who not only successfully brought the instrument to the concert stage, but also made a significant contribution to its improvement, was Joel Walker Sweeney - a true banjo enthusiast.

Subsequently, the instrument, which was gaining more and more recognition from the audience, brought more and more talented performers to the stage - virtuosos, among whom A. Farland especially stood out, who became famous by performing transcriptions of a European piece on the banjo classical music such as sonatas L.V. Beethoven and overtures by D. Rossini.

As the banjo became very popular not only on the American continent, but all over the world, more and more players proved their love for this instrument.

E. Peabody, D. Bayer, B. Lowry, S. Peterson, D. Bandrowski. B. Trent, R. Stanley, S. Martin, H. Williams, T. Taylor, P. Smith, C. Douglas, D. Garcia, D. Crumb, P. Elwood, P. Seeger, B. Mandrell, D. Gilmore, B. Ives, D. Lennon, B. Mumy, D. Osmond, P. Seeger, T. Swift, P. Tork, D. Dyke - this is just a small list famous musicians who delighted the listeners with their skillful performance.

Since the instrument has found its application in various genres, the performers who adorned jazz compositions with their performance should be especially noted. At an early stage, D. Reinhardt, D. Saint-Cyr, D. Barker should be noted. Today, very famous banja jazzmen are K. Urban, R. Stewart and D. Satriani.

Story

The banjo, which appeared on the American continent, has a very interesting story, which can be traced back to 1600, although the progenitors of this instrument appeared in West Africa long before that time, about 6,000 years ago. To date, West African music studies represent more than 60 various tools, which bear some resemblance to the banjo and may be its likely predecessors.

The first description of the instrument was made by the English physician, naturalist Hans Sloan in 1687 after visiting Jamaica, where he saw the banjo from slaves brought from Africa. The early instruments, according to the Englishman, were made from a dried gourd or a wooden case, which was tightly tightened over the top with leather. On a wooden fingerboard, in addition to the main strings, one or more drone strings were added. And the first mention in the press of the banjo, which for a long time was considered a tool of black slaves, in North America appeared in « New York Weekly by John Peter Zenger in 1736.

Banjo with early XIX century along with violin was the most popular instrument in African American music in the United States. But then white professional performers became actively interested in him, demonstrating the banjo to a wide audience. In the 1830s, Joel Walker Sweeney is the first white musician to not only master the instrument and bring it to the stage, but also gain great recognition as a banjo player. D. Sweeney is also credited with a significant modernization of the banjo: he replaced the pumpkin body with a drum body, delimited the neck of the neck with frets and left five strings: four long and one short. Since the second half of the 19th century, the banjo has become very popular not only in concert venues but also among music lovers.

In 1848, the first manual for self-learning the instrument was published. There is information about holding various competitions of performing skills on the banjo. The first workshops for the manufacture of these instruments opened in Baltimore and New York, where smaller banjos were produced especially for women. Manufacturers experimented with the design of the instrument, replacing the gut strings with metal ones. In the last quarter of the 19th century, banjos of various sizes were constructed, such as the bass banjo and the banjo piccolo, from which banjo orchestras were subsequently formed. Similar musical groups began to appear in colleges, one of the first was the ensemble of Hamilton College. By the end of the century, the banjo craze reached its peak. Musicians - professionals on concert stages even performed works by classical composers, for example, such masters as L.V. Beethoven and D. Rossini, arranged for banjo. last decade The 19th century was marked by the emergence of new styles such as ragtime, jazz and blues, in which the instrument took an important place. However, in the thirties of the XX century, due to the appearance of electric guitars, which had a brighter sound compared to the banjo, interest in the instrument began to wane. However, this did not last long. In the 40s, the banjo again successfully returned to concert venues.

Today, the banjo, once the instrument of black slaves, is in great demand among musicians in all corners of the world with different skin colors. It is successfully used in compositions of various modern musical trends, delighting listeners with its perky and groovy sound. Cheerful and sonorous voice of the instrument tunes to the positive and uplifting.

Video: listen to the banjo

Banjo- a musical instrument is now very fashionable and in demand, it used to be quite difficult to buy it within the CIS, but now it is in every music store. Probably, the point is in a pleasant form, ease of play and a pleasant quiet sound. Many music lovers see their idols in the movies playing the banjo and want to get hold of this wonderful thing too.

In fact, this is a type of guitar that has a rather unusual soundboard - it is a resonator that is stretched over the body, like a drum head. The instrument is most often associated with Irish music, with blues, with folklore compositions, etc. - the coverage is constantly expanding, thanks to the growth in the spread of the banjo.

traditional american instrument

It is believed that in the 19th century there was no more important tool for African traditional music; due to its simplicity, it appeared even in the poorest families and many black Americans tried to master it. Such a tandem is interesting: violin plus banjo, some experts believe that this combination is classic for "early" American music. Exist various options, but most often you can find a 6-string banjo, because it is easy to play after the guitar, but there are varieties with a reduced or vice versa increased number of strings

Blues and country banjo

No need to write off another type of American classic - country - these are incendiary songs with a characteristic sound. Another guitar joins the duet and it turns out a full-fledged trio. It is important that the musicians can exchange instruments, because the playing techniques are very similar, only the sound, which has different resonant and timbre colors, differs fundamentally. It is interesting that some people think that the banjo sounds cheerful and this is its main difference, others, on the contrary, that it is characterized by a sad “blues” sound, it is difficult to argue with this, since opinions are divided and a compromise is not always found.

Banjo strings

Strings are made of metal and less often of plastic (PVC, nylon), special windings are used (steel and non-ferrous metal alloys: copper, brass, etc.), which give the sound a more sonorous and sharp tone. The characteristic sound of a banjo is considered to be the sound of a “tin can”, since the first sensations are such that the strings cling to something and rattle. It turns out that this is a good thing, and many musicians strive to recreate this original “drum guitar” sound in their playing. In the auto industry, there is a banjo bolt, which, according to some reports, is related to music, but in fact, it resembles with its hat (it is connected “tightly” to the washer and has a hole for fixing on a part free from the thread) the design of the drum-deck of the instrument, perhaps that is why it got its name.

See photo - old banjo

Tool design

As already mentioned, the body is not a classic guitar deck, but a kind of drum, a membrane is fixed on the front side (it replaces the resonator hole), it is stretched with a metal ring. This is very similar to the strings of a snare drum. And in fact, this is so: after all, the sound is not external, like that of a guitar or balalaika, domra, but internal, drumming, the membrane rattles - that's why we get such a unique sound. The ring is fastened with ties - these are specialized screws. It is rare now that a banjo is made of leather, although this material was used in the original, now they use plastic, which is practical and easily replaced if necessary, is cheap.

The string stand is placed directly on the membrane, it determines the height at which the strings will be. The lower they are, the easier it is for the performer to play. The neck is wooden, solid or in parts, attached, like a guitar neck, with a truss rod, with which you can adjust the concavity. The strings are tensioned with pegs using a worm gear.

Types of banjo

The American original banjo has not 6, but 5 strings (it is called blue grass, translated as blue grass), and the bass string is tuned to G and always remains open (it is shortened and does not clamp), you need to get used to this system, although it is quite just after the guitar, since the technique of clamping chords is similar. There are models without a shortened fifth string, these are classic four-string banjos: do, sol, re, la, but the Irish use their own special system, where the salt moves up, so it’s very difficult to understand that they are playing, since the chords are clamped intricately and not at all as the Americans are accustomed to. The six-string banjo is the simplest, it is called the banjo guitar, it has the same tuning, which is why it is especially loved by guitarists. Interesting tool Banjolele is a combination of ukulele and banjo.
And if there are 8 strings, and 4 are double, then this is a banjo-mandolin.
There is also a popular attraction, the banjo trampoline, which has little to do with music, but is very popular, not recommended for children under 12 because it has some degree of danger. In some countries, it is banned due to accidents, but these are just particulars. The main thing is good insurance and competent use of protective equipment.

“George was holding in his hands some strange package wrapped in oilcloth. It was round and flat at the end, and a long, straight handle protruded from it. - What it is? asked Harris. - Frying pan? “No,” said George, looking at us with a kind of dangerous gleam in his eyes. - This year it is very fashionable. Everyone takes them to the river with them. This - banjo».

Quote from popular book"Three in a boat, not counting the dog" by the English classic Jerome K. Jerome is probably known to everyone. But what exactly is this “fashionable” instrument called “banjo” at the end of the 19th century, few now know. (English banjo) is a stringed plucked musical instrument related to the guitar. Its body is similar to a flat tambourine with a leather membrane stretched on one side. With the help of a plectrum, the banjo produces a very sharp, sharp and almost immediately fading sound.

Initially, the body of the instrument looked like a flat drum open at the bottom, closed with a leather membrane, with a long neck with a head and no frets. From four to nine core strings were pulled on the banjo, and one of them was plucked with the thumb and was melodic, and all the rest were used for accompaniment.

The future 3rd President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, back in 1784, gave a description of a similar home-made instrument, which was called "bonjar". It was made from half a dried gourd, on which a sheepskin was stretched as a sounding board. The strings were made from mutton sinews, and a plank served as a fingerboard.

Historians who study the American folk music, believe that the banjo is an instrument of Negro nationalities, either taken out of Africa around the 17th century, or restored to the African model in America. Initially, there were no frets on the fretboard. This is due to the fact that there was no exact intonation in Negro music. Permissible deviations from the main tone were up to one and a half tones. In the American stage, this has survived to this day (jazz, blues, soul).

From the Negro environment, the banjo got into the white minstrel show (minstrel-show). The dance and sound of the banjo on the minstrel stage were inseparable. From the 1840s until the appearance of the first jazz bands, the main acting figures on the stage were two soloists - a dancer and a banjo player. At the same time, the musician performed both functions to a large extent, dancing and beating out with his feet the complex rhythms characteristic of Negro dances.

It is no coincidence that of all the various instruments of the Old World that appeared on the American continent, the minstrels chose the banjo. This instrument perfectly played the role of not only a soloist, but also became an indispensable member of the future minstrel ensemble (band).

The banjo stands out from other instruments due to the purity and power of the sound that its membrane gives. Therefore, in jazz groups, the instrument performs both rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment. Here we use its four-string version.

In the 19th century, the instrument was improved: one more string was added to the four strings, and frets appeared on the fretboard. The five-string banjo is typical of American folk music. On it, chords are played with the right hand using a plectrum (the thumb is used for bass).

The development of country and bluegrass styles actually began with the spread of the African American banjo and violin, as well as the constant improvement in musical performance. Nowadays, the banjo is increasingly used in a variety of musical styles, including in pop music, hardcore and Celtic punk.

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