5-String Banjo — Lutherie Encyclopedia

5-String BanjoType: instrumentAn iconic American stringed instrument with a drum-like membrane head, a long neck, and a distinctive short fifth drone string.## History The banjo's origins trace to West Africa, where instruments with skin-covered gourd bodies and plucked strings were played for centuries. Enslaved Africans brought these instruments and their playing traditions to the Americas, where the banjo evolved into its modern form during the 18th and 19th centuries. Joel Walker Sweeney is often credited with adding the short fifth string in the 1830s, though this is debated. The five-string banjo was central to minstrel show music, then became the backbone of old-time Appalachian string band music. Earl Scruggs revolutionized the instrument in the 1940s with his three-finger picking style, which became the defining sound of bluegrass music and remains the most recognized banjo technique today. ## Construction The five-string banjo consists of a circular wooden or metal rim (pot) over which a plastic or animal skin head is stretched, a long neck with 22 frets, and a short fifth-string peg located at the fifth fret. The pot assembly includes a tone ring (a heavy metal ring that sits on top of the wooden rim, enhancing volume and sustain), a flange that connects the resonator to the pot, and a coordinator rod that joins the neck to the rim. Open-back banjos omit the resonator for a quieter, mellower sound suited to clawhammer playing. The resonator-equipped banjo projects sound forward for the volume demands of bluegrass. Four long strings run the full length of the neck, while the fifth string begins at the fifth fret and se…