BANJO, FIVE-STRING

BANJO, FIVE-STRING (c. 1840) The five-string banjo, developed in the mid-nineteenth century, was probably derived from earlier African instruments. White minstrel star Joel Walker Sweeney is generally credited with adding the short fifth or drone string to the banjo, which previously had been made in four-, six-, eight-, and ten-string models. Early banjos generally had wooden bodies and rims, a fretless neck, and a skin head. The original banjo playing style has been variously called…