Banjo

The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashioned by African Americans in the United States.[1][2] The banjo is frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, and has also been used in some rock, pop and hip-hop.^{[citation needed]} Several rock bands, such as the Eagles, Led Zeppelin, and the Grateful Dead, have used the five-string banjo in some of their songs. Historically, the banjo occupied a central place in Black American traditional music and the folk culture of rural whites before entering the mainstream via the minstrel shows of the 19th century.[3][4][5][6] Along with the fiddle, the banjo is a mainstay of American styles of music, such as bluegrass and old-time music. It is also very frequently used in Dixieland jazz, as well as in Caribbean genres like biguine, calypso and mento.

Quick facts: String instrument, Hornbostel–Sachs classific... ▼

Banjo

A five-string banjo
String instrument
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	321.312 (resonator) or 321.314 (open-backed) (Composite chordophone with a neck that passes diametrically through the resonator, sounded by plectrum, finger picks, or the bare fingers)
Developed	18th century