The real difference between clawhammer and bluegrass banjos, though, is not construction but playing style. Occasionally you will see a fretless clawhammer banjo this is very rare in other types of banjos. (It is common to retune a banjo to play in other keys.) The main difference in the construction of bluegrass and clawhammer (“old-time”) banjos is that bluegrass banjos place a back (“resonator”) on the drum, making them even louder than the other types. Clawhammer and bluegrass banjos have five strings, with the fifth string shorter than the others and played as a drone these instruments are usually tuned to a smaller set of intervals, such as DGBDg (where g is the fifth string) this is the standard G tuning. A tenor banjo has only four strings, and is usually tuned like a member of the mandolin family it is common in Irish music and in some jazz forms such as Dixieland. There are now many members of the banjo family: Tenor banjo, clawhammer banjo, bluegrass banjo. The noises made by the strings are picked up by the bridge, which presses against the drum the sounds are amplified by the drum, giving a sound quite unlike most stringed instruments. A neck is attached to the drum, and strings stretched over it. The instrument consists of a round “pot” over which a thin membrane (originally skin, now usually plastic) is stretched this forms the drum. (Clawhammer) Banjoĭescended from African instruments made from gourds, the banjo might be defined as a drum with strings. The bouzouki played by Brian Miller is somewhat different it is somewhat larger, and is tuned all in courses (that is, every pair of strings is tuned to the same pitch, not in octaves), and it has a deep back like a “taterbug” mandolin.Īlmost without exception, the bouzouki is played with a plectrum.įor another member of the mandolin family, see the mandocello below. The cittern played by Don Clark of Walking on Air was fairly similar to the one shown here, though the body was somewhat narrower. The common tuning is GDAE (like a violin, but an octave lower). The strings are strung in pairs, usually but not always with the bass strings tuned in octaves (that is, with one string pitched an octave above the other). Like mandolins, bouzoukis usually have eight strings, though ten-string models are not uncommon. The general construction is like that of the mandolin family, though with a much longer neck than on a normal mandolin. On the rare occasions a classical musician uses it, the likely name is an octave mandolin. If it’s Irish, where is it very popular, it’s a cittern. Bouzouki (Cittern, Octave Mandolin)Īn instrument found in several traditions. This page tells you something about the instruments used.

Many of the instruments heard on this recording are relatively rare today, though most were common and important in the days when acoustic music was common and important. Irish Music and Dance Association Festival at Landmark Center.Additions and Corrections to the Printed Songbook.The Louisiana Purchase and the War of 1812.*The Swede from North Dakota (new material).*O’Shaughanesey (Brakeman on the Train) (new material).Texts and Additional Notes on Printed Songs.(Swedish) Vem Kan Segla Förutan Vind? (Who Can Sail without a Wind?).(Swedish) Hälsa Dem Därhemma (Greet the Folks at Home).(German) Es Klapert Die Mühle am Rauschenden Bach.(French) Ah! Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser!.(Finnish) Rosvo, Rosvo (Robber, Robber).(Finnish) Käki Se Kukkoo (Listen to the Cuckoo).(Danish) Langt Udi Skoven (The Tree in the Forest).From the Introduction to the Heritage Songbook.

Celtic stringed instrument