2011年8月23日 · Research by a Gambian musician has shed new light on the African origins of a quintessentially American instrument.

2022年5月27日 · The origins of the banjo begin in Africa, with accounts from European explorers noting a “gourd with neck and strings.” Specifically, the banjo is a West African instrument, which came to the Appalachian mountains via slavery.

2020年11月23日 · Quite literally, every main component of a gourd banjo—one that’s built in the manner of its African precursors—arises from the land. The Black Banjo Reclamation Project, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, aims to put banjos into the hands of everyday people.

The banjo was created by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and colonial North America. Here, they maintained and perpetuated the tradition within a complex system of slave-labor camps, plantations, and in a variety of rural and urban settings.

The modern banjo derives from instruments that have been recorded to be in use in North America and the Caribbean since the 17th century by enslaved people taken from West and Central Africa. Their African-style instruments were crafted from split gourds with animal skins stretched across them.

2024年1月6日 · From its humble beginnings as a gourd instrument in Africa to its vibrant resonance in the pubs of Ireland, our blog weaves a tale that captures the essence of the banjo’s transformative journey. Unlock the secrets of its African …

2022年2月14日 · For many years, the banjo was played primarily by Black folks. So how did the instrument become associated with a particularly white, rural music? Learn about the complicated history of the banjo.