Banjo Dulcimer
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Banjo Dulcimer
A banjo dulcimer is an Appalachian dulcimer modified by adding a vibrating membrane to the body of the instrument. This changes the tone and volume of the instrument, operating on the same principle as the banjo. Homer Ledford, a luthier during the early part of the revival of the dulcimer, built several banjo dulcimers, which he called the ''dulcijo'' (a portmanteau of dulcimer and banjo).Alvey, R. Gerald. ''Dulcimer Maker: the craft of Homer Ledford''. University Press of Kentucky, 2003. Makers of banjo dulcimers *Doug Thomsonbanjomer.com has been producing banjo dulcimers since 1980 - called "Banjo-Mer" * McSpadden Dulcimers began producing banjo dulcimers in the early 2000s. *Mike Clemmer produces a banjo dulcimer called "ban-jammer" *Dennis DenHartog (folknotes.com) has been building a solid frame banjo dulcimer called the "Banj-Mo" since spring, 2001. See also *Banjo mandolin *Banjo ukulele *Banjo guitar Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banj ...
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Appalachian Dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer (many variant names; see below) is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings, originally played in the Appalachian region of the United States. The body extends the length of the fingerboard, and its fretting is generally diatonic. Name The Appalachian dulcimer has many variant names. Most often it is simply called a dulcimer (also rendered as "dulcimore", "dulcymore", "delcimer", "delcimore", ''etc.''). When it needs to be distinguished from the unrelated hammered dulcimer, various adjectives are added (drawn from location, playing style, position, shape, etc.), for example: mountain dulcimer; Kentucky dulcimer; plucked dulcimer; fretted dulcimer; lap dulcimer; teardrop dulcimer; box dulcimer; etc. The instrument has also acquired a number of nicknames (some shared by other instruments): "harmonium", "hog fiddle", "music box", "harmony box", and "mountain zither". Origins and history Although the Appalachia ...
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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. The banjo is frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, and has also been used in some rock, pop and hip-hop. 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. 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. Histo ...
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Homer Ledford
Homer C. Ledford (September 26, 1927 – December 11, 2006) was an instrument maker and bluegrass musician from Kentucky who specialized in making dulcimers. Born in Alpine, Tennessee, he started building instruments at an early age. When he was 18, Ledford was given a scholarship to attend the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. He later attended Berea College, where he met his wife Colista. Ledford eventually transferred and graduated from what is now the Eastern Kentucky University in 1954. Ledford worked as a high school industrial arts teacher at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester, Kentucky before becoming a full-time instrument maker. Musicians from all over the world have sought after his dulcimers, banjos, mandolins, guitars and ukuleles. Some of his works are on display in the Smithsonian Institution. According to his website, he made over 5,776 dulcimers and over 475 banjos in his lifetime. He is also the inventor of the dulcitar, and ...
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McSpadden Dulcimers
McSpadden is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Clem McSpadden (1925–2008), American politician *Dwight McSpadden (1932–1990), American football coach *Gary McSpadden (1943–2020), American pastor, singer, songwriter, producer, television host and motivational speaker * Lara McSpadden (born 1999), Australian women's basketball player *Lealand McSpadden (born 1946), American racing driver * Phil McSpadden, American softball coach *Richard McSpadden (died 2023), American pilot and educator See also *Alex McSpadyen Alexander McCluckie McSpadyen (19 December 1914 – 1978) was a Scottish footballer who played as an outside right, mainly for Partick Thistle as well as for Aberdeen as a guest player during World War II and Portadown after the conflict ended. ... (1914–1978), Scottish footballer * McSpadden Hollow, a valley in the U.S. state of Missouri {{surname ...
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Banjo Mandolin
The mandolin-banjo is a hybrid instrument, combining a banjo body with the neck and tuning of a mandolin. It is a soprano banjo. It has been independently invented in more than one country, variously being called mandolin-banjo, banjo-mandolin, banjolin and banjourine in English-speaking countries, banjoline and bandoline in France, and the Cümbüş in Turkey. The instrument has the same scale length as a mandolin (about 14 inches); with 4 courses of strings tuned identically to the violin and mandolin (low to high: GDAE). The movable bridge stands on a resonant banjo-like head typically 10 inches in diameter and currently usually made of plastic. Originally heads were made of skin and varied in diameter to as small as five inches. Larger heads were favored, however, as they were louder, and thus more audible in band settings. Origins Inventors were experimenting to create amplified instruments in the days before electric amplification. The first patent for a mandolin-banjo w ...
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Banjo Ukulele
The banjo ukulele, also known as the banjolele or banjo uke, is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. The earliest known banjoleles were built by John A. Bolander and by Alvin D. Keech, both in 1917. The instrument achieved its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, and combines the small scale, tuning, and playing style of a ukulele with the construction and distinctive tone of a banjo, hence the name. Its development was pushed by the need for vaudeville performers to have an instrument that could be played with the ease of the ukulele, but with more volume. Construction and tuning In terms of overall construction, banjo ukuleles parallel banjos, though on a smaller scale. They are always fretted. Most are built of wood with metal accoutrements, although the mid-century "Dixie" brand featured banjo ukuleles made from solid metal. The banjo ukulele neck typically has sixteen frets, and is the same scale length as a s ...
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Banjo Guitar
Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banjo tuned in the standard tuning of a six-string guitar (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4) from lowest to highest strings. The six-string banjo was introduced in the late 19th century. Less widespread than four- and five-string banjos, it was reintroduced in the latter part of the twentieth century with the modern guitar-like tuning. The six-string "banjo guitar" should not be confused with the five-string banjo (played by Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs and others), which retains re-entrant banjo tuning with a high-pitched short drone string going halfway up the neck. The zither banjo has six tuning keys, but also only five strings as the short fifth string goes up a hole at the 5th fret up a channel under the fingerboard, and through a hole in the headstock to a tuning roller. Banjo guitar players Johnny St. Cyr was the first well known player of six string banjo. He used it in Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven, with Jelly Rol ...
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Guitjo (six-string)
Banjo guitar or banjitar or ganjo (Australia) is a six-string banjo tuned in the standard tuning of a six-string guitar (E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4) from lowest to highest strings. The six-string banjo was introduced in the late 19th century. Less widespread than four- and five-string banjos, it was reintroduced in the latter part of the twentieth century with the modern guitar-like tuning. The six-string "banjo guitar" should not be confused with the five-string banjo (played by Pete Seeger, Earl Scruggs and others), which retains re-entrant banjo tuning with a high-pitched short drone string going halfway up the neck. The zither banjo has six tuning keys, but also only five strings as the short fifth string goes up a hole at the 5th fret up a channel under the fingerboard, and through a hole in the headstock to a tuning roller. Banjo guitar players Johnny St. Cyr was the first well known player of six string banjo. He used it in Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven, with Jelly Rol ...
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Banjo Family Instruments
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. The banjo is frequently associated with folk, bluegrass and country music, and has also been used in some rock, pop and hip-hop. 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. 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. Hist ...
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