Evolution of the Banjo from Africa to Appalachia
One of the most iconic moments of my childhood was watching a little green frog play a banjo on a log in the middle of a swamp. Kermit’s song, Rainbow Connection , was one of my first experiences with the banjo and it is an instrument that I have come to love and appreciate ever since. Original banjos created using gourds and animal hides To me, the banjo is a very happy sounding instrument. I personally have associated the banjo with the deep south and more “redneck” areas and so I always thought of it as a very American instrument. However, because of its roots in the south I shouldn’t have been so surprised to find out that the banjo was originally brought to the United States during the slave trade and therefore, has a much deeper African history than it does American. The banjo has African origins as far back as the 1600’s when an animal hide was secured over a hollowed out gourd and attached to a neck containing three to four strings. The gourd and animal hide were similar to a d
