Moses Williams playing the diddley bow- Waverly, Florida (3371222056)

The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the blues sound. It consists of a single string of

baling wire Baling wire, otherwise known as bale wire, farm wire, haywire or soft wire, is a type of wire used in agriculture and industry for many uses such as mending fences or manually binding rectangular bales of hay, straw, or cut grass. It is also us ...

tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and as a means to magnify the instrument's sound. It was traditionally considered a starter or children's instrument in the Deep South, especially in the

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

community, and is rarely heard outside the rural South. It may have been influenced to some degree by

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, ...

instruments. Other nicknames for this instrument include "jitterbug" or "one-string", while an ethnomusicologist would formally call it a "

monochord A monochord, also known as sonometer (see below), is an ancient musical and scientific laboratory instrument, involving one (mono-) string ( chord). The term ''monochord'' is sometimes used as the class-name for any musical stringed instrument h ...

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

Origins

The diddley bow derives from instruments used in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. There, they were often played by children, one beating the string with sticks and the other changing the pitch by moving a slide up and down. The instrument was then developed as a children's toy by slaves in the United States. They were first documented in the rural South by researchers in the 1930s. The diddley bow was traditionally considered an "entry-level" instrument, normally played by adolescent boys, who then graduate to a "normal"

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

if they show promise on the diddley bow. However currently, the diddley bow is also played by professional players as a solo as well as an accompaniment instrument. The diddley bow is significant to blues music in that many blues guitarists got their start playing it as children, as well as the fact that, like the slide guitar, it is played with a slide. However, because it was considered a children's instrument, few musicians continued to play the diddley bow once they reached adulthood. The diddley bow is therefore not well represented in recordings.

Construction

The diddley bow is typically homemade, consisting usually of a wooden board and a single wire string stretched between two screws, and played by plucking while varying the pitch with a metal or glass slide held in the other hand. A glass bottle is usually used as the bridge, which helps amplify the sound. Some diddley bows have an added resonator box under the bridge, and are essentially single-string

cigar box guitar The cigar box guitar is a simple chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator. The earliest had one or two strings; modern models typically have three or more. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick or a 1×2 ...

s. Some recent diddley bows are electrified with pickups.

Notable users

One notable performer of the instrument was the

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

blues musician Lonnie Pitchford, who used to demonstrate the instrument by stretching a wire between two nails hammered into the wood of a vertical beam making up part of the front porch of his home. Pitchford's headstone, placed on his grave in 2000 by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund, is actually designed with a playable diddley bow on the side as requested by Pitchford's family. DiddleyBow

Other notable traditional players include Lewis Dotson, Glen Faulkner,

Jessie Mae Hemphill Jessie Mae Hemphill (October 18, 1923 – July 22, 2006) was an American electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in the North Mississippi hill country blues traditions of her family and regional heritage. Life and career Hemp ...

, Compton Jones,

Eddie "One String" Jones Eddie "One String" Jones (December 10, 1926 - Unknown) was an American country blues unitar The one stringed guitar, also known as a Unitar is a somewhat less known version of the standard electric guitar. Although rare, the one-string guitar i ...

Napoleon Strickland Napoleon Strickland (October 1, 1919 – July 21, 2001), sometimes known as Napolian Strickland, was a fife and drum blues artist, and songwriter, and vocalist specializing in country blues, specifically North Mississippi hill country blues. He ...

, Moses Williams, James "Super Chikan" Johnson and

One String Sam Sam Wilson, known as One String Sam, was an American Detroit blues musician, who specialised in playing the diddley bow. Details of his life are scant, but he recorded two tracks described as an "eerie, spooky, and riveting version of country bl ...

. Willie Joe Duncan was also notable for his work with a large electrified diddley bow he called a

Unitar The one stringed guitar, also known as a Unitar is a somewhat less known version of the standard electric guitar. Although rare, the one-string guitar is sometimes heard, particularly in Delta blues, where improvised folk instruments were popula ...

. Some members of the Motown band "The Funk Brothers" are said to have learned to play the guitar on the diddley bow.

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaugh ...

learned to play music on a two-string homemade diddley bow before getting his first guitar (a Harmony acoustic). Recent performers who use similar instruments include

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

-based

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

Cooper-Moore, American bluesman

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Samm Bennett Samm Bennett is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Samm Bennett is a singer and songwriter, a drummer and percussionist, and a player of string instruments such as the stick dulcimer (sometimes called a dulcitar) and the ...

, Danny Kroha, One String Willie, Chicago-based musician Andy Slater a.k.a. Velcro Lewis, and Chicago-based percussionist .

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

makes one at the beginning of the movie '' It Might Get Loud'', then after playing it quips "Who says you need to buy a guitar?". Seasick Steve recorded a tribute to his diddley bow, via his song "Diddley Bo" from his 2009 album, ''

Man From Another Time ''Man from Another Time'' is the fourth album by Seasick Steve. It was released on October 19, 2009. It entered the UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio s ...

.''

Filmography

*''American Patchwork: Songs and Stories of America'', part 3: "The Land Where the Blues Began" (1990). Written, directed, and produced by Alan Lomax; developed by the Association for Cultural Equity at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and Hunter College. North Carolina Public TV; A Dibb Direction production for Channel Four. *'' It Might Get Loud'', a 2008 documentary about the careers and influences of prominent

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

guitarists, features

building a diddley bow from scratch and playing a tune on it.

Discography

* Louis Dotson - "Sitting on Top of the World" on ''Bothered All the Time'', Southern Culture SC 1703 * Willie Joe (Duncan) and His Unitar – The track "Unitar Rock," is available on ''Teen Beat Vol 4.'', Ace CDCHD 655. "Twitchy" and "Cherokee Dance" are available on ''The Specialty Story'', Specialty 5SPCD-4412-2. * Glen Faulkner – "Cotton Pickin' Blues," "Louisiana Blues," "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah," "Get Right Church And Lets Go Home," on ''The Spirit Lives On: Deep South Country Blues and Spirituals in the 1990s'', Hot Fox HF-CD-005 (German CD, now out of print). *

– two tracks (one accompanied by Compton Jones) on ''Heritage of the Blues: Shake It, Baby'', HighTone HCD 8156. Two tracks (accompanied by Compton Jones and Glen Faulkner) on ''Get Right Blues'', Inside Sounds ISC-0519. * Compton Jones – One track, "Shake 'Em On Down," on ''Afro-American Folk Music from Tate and Panola Counties, Mississippi'', Rounder 1515 (CD). With booklet notes by diddley bow scholar, Dr. David Evans. *

– ''One String Blues'', Takoma Records CDTAK 1023. Nine tracks, the first one an interview of Eddie Jones where he tells how he built his instrument. The booklet notes includes a drawing and some photographs of his instrument and of him playing. * ''The Almanac of Bad Luck'' 2009 by Tijuana Hercules. * Lonnie Pitchford – Pitchford was another diddley bow master. He can be heard on four tracks on ''National Downhome Blues Festival Volume One'', Southland SCD-21, "Train Coming Around the Bend," "My Babe," "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "One-String Boogie." Two tracks on ''All Around Man'', Rooster R2629; "Real Rock Music: Crawlin' Kingsnake" and "My Babe." One track on ''Living Country Blues'', Evidence ECD 26105-2 ("Boogie Chillen"). Also, another "One-String Boogie," and "My Baby Walked Away" on ''American Folk Blues Festival '83''; "Johnny Stole An Apple," ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 7: Afro-American Blues Roots''; "My Baby Walked Away" on ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 9: Mississippi Moan'' and (yet another) "One String Boogie" on ''Living Country Blues USA - Volume 10: Country Boogie'' *

– One track, "Key to the Blues," on ''Bottleneck Blues'', Testament 5021 (CD). (This same cut also appears on the CD ''Africa and the Blues''). *

– Two cuts ("I Need $100" and "I Got to Go") from the 1973

Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 200 ...

on ''Motor City Blues / Please Mr. Foreman'', Schoolkids' Records, SKR2101-2. Two tracks on ''Rural Blues Vol 1 (1934-1956)'', Document Records B000000J8B ("I Need $100" and "My Baby, Oooo" (studio versions). * One String Willie - Seven tracks on ''A Store-Bought Guitar Just Won't Do,'' 10 tracks on ''You Gotta Hit the String Right to Make the Music Swing''. * Moses Williams – four tracks on a double-LP anthology of Florida blues produced by the Florida Folklife Program; ''Drop on Down In Florida'', Florida Folklife LP 102-103. A double-CD-with-hardback book edition of this double-LP set has been released, adding ten further tracks. Two CDs from the Florida Folklife Collection present Williams playing and singing "Which Way Did My Baby Go?" and "Apple Farm Blues". * Velcro Lewis: ** ''The Oven's On'' 2007 by Velcro Lewis and His 100 Proof Band. ** ''The Bronze Age'' 2009 by the Velcro Lewis Group. ** ''White Magick Summer'' 2010 by the Velcro Lewis Group.

Similar instruments

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Cigar box guitar The cigar box guitar is a simple chordophone that uses an empty cigar box as a resonator. The earliest had one or two strings; modern models typically have three or more. Generally, the strings are connected to the end of a broomstick or a 1×2 ...

Đàn bầu The đàn bầu (; "gourd zither"; chữ Nôm: ), also called độc huyền cầm (獨絃琴, "one-string zither") is a Vietnamese stringed instrument, in the form of a monochord (one-string) zither. History While the earliest written records o ...

* Duxianqin *

Ektara Ektara ( bn, একতারা, hi, एकतारा, ur, اِک تارا, ne, एकतारे, pa, ਇਕ ਤਾਰਾ, ta, எக்டரா; literally 'one-string', also called actara, iktar, ektar, yaktaro, gopichand, gopichant, ...

* Ichigenkin * Lowebow *

Musical bow The musical bow (bowstring or string bow, a subset of bar zithers) is a simple string instrument used by a number of South African peoples, which is also found in the Americas via slave trade. It consists of a flexible, usually wooden, stick 1 ...

* Slide guitar *

Washtub bass The washtub bass, or gutbucket, is a stringed instrument used in American folk music that uses a metal washtub as a resonator. Although it is possible for a washtub bass to have four or more strings and tuning pegs, traditional washtub basses hav ...

(gut bucket)

References

External links

Heavyfogguitars.com

Onestringwillie.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diddley Bow American musical instruments Continuous pitch instruments Monochords Musical bows