As we travel this bluegrass and banjo road together, we want to be clear that our conversation will be more of a “let’s get acquainted” one than an in-depth exploration of deep roots, influences, and falling-outs. To do that would require way more resources and time than’s in our blog budget, plus you would need a libretto to follow all the different players and acts along the way. Instead, our story will touch on the often unknown history of the banjo and how it and African Americans have influenced and created our country’s music. 

From Gambia to Guadaloupe 

The banjo as we know it today is a melding of several instruments, including the Akonting, which is from Senegal and Gambia, and the N’goni, which is from West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Mali).  

The N’goni was associated with the Griots, a storytelling group that would come to communities and share stories and history with the residents of the villages. The Griots were a higher caste and very respected as the keepers of knowledge in their social system. 

The Akonting was shaped similar to today’s banjos in that it had a round gourd body with a hide stretched across it and a round stick for a neck. It also has a floating bridge, just like a modern banjo, that is held in place by tension on the skin head. 

Mark Freed, the cultural resources director for the Town of Boone (North Carolina) and one of the organizers of 2005’s Black Banjo Gathering, shared “The Akonting was associated with a working class of people on the African continent, and it was played in a way similar to the clawhammer style for American banjos.”  

When enslaved people made the voyage on the Middle Passage from the west coast of Africa to the Caribbean and the British colonies, they were brought on deck and made to dance as exercise. This was one of the first times that Europeans were introduced to instruments similar to today’s banjo.  

As many African cultures came together on the Caribbean islands, they shared their own stories and musical traditions and began creating new traditions. As noted in a blog on The Front Porch Charlottesville website, “It (the banjo) was born out of a lot of people coming together and creating a way to survive.” 

Photo at right is from Wikipedia. The instrument is a West African Akonting at the Casa Museo Del Timple, Lanzarote, Spain.

Instrumental Changes 

The banjo was played for more than 150 years before being adopted by white people and until its first known depiction showed up in a piece of artwork. John Rose, a plantation owner in Beaufort County, South Carolina, painted a group of enslaved people dancing on a South Carolina Plantation between 1785 and 1795.  

If you look closely at the image, you can observe changes from the Akonting. A fourth string has been added, tuning pegs are used, and the neck is flattened.  

Freed observed, “The flattened neck was an innovation that happened here (in the colonies and the United States). It was European-inspired and makes it easier to play chords with multiple notes and playing melodically.” 

Enslaved people were introduced to European music and instruments and became the bands for dances and get-togethers. These introductions led to experimentation – like adapting fiddle tunes to be played on the banjo.  

Professor Cecilia Conway from Appalachian State University has researched much of Black banjo history and its players. She said in an interview on YouTube from 2017 that Black fiddlers were coming into their own about the same time that the Scots-Irish were coming to the colonies, so the of influence of Black fiddlers is undeniable.  

The construction of the banjo was changing. The gourd was replaced by a round wooden frame with an open back. Dr. Conway believes that part of this change comes from the mass production of cheese that started in the 1850s. The “hoops” that the cheese is aged in became the frame foundation for people to make their own banjos. 

Watercolor painting: Attributed to John Rose - http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/SlaveTrade/collection/large/NW01, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3450804 It is on display at Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, VA

Banjo Disassociation 

How did the banjo make its way from being an instrument of the enslaved to being the building block of folk music? And why did African Americans move away from the banjo – an instrument they invented and cultivated?  

Part of the answer is quite simple. It is because of the banjo’s association with the most popular musical trend of the 1830s through the 1890s... The minstrel show.  

White musicians learned the craft and techniques of playing the banjo from neighboring slaves and then plied it to traveling shows played in black-face with over exaggerated features to make fun of and minimize the importance of the contributions of an entire race. 

In the meantime, banjo songs and techniques are passing from Black people to white people by workers chasing work on the railroads and in lumber camps in the Appalachian Mountains and even in religious camp meetings where people of all kinds were coming together.  

The minstrelsy era was the first time when folk songs were written down and techniques shared in books so others could learn to play the banjo, and that led to an explosion of interest, as well as mass manufacturing of the instrument.  

Black musicians adopted the guitar as their new instrument of choice and went on to create the blues sound. 

Black Influence Across American Music 

The influence of African Americans is all around us, especially in music. The banjo is an important part of traditional jazz and functions as a part of the rhythm section (most of these banjos are the four-string version).  

And jazz has a big influence on bluegrass. In jazz, instrumentalists often take turns with solos while others in the group step back and play back up. The same happens in bluegrass – think of the banjo spotlights of Earl Scruggs when he was playing with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. 

Call and response lyrics have roots in the musical tradition of sub-Saharan Africa. Today, call and response can be found in gospel and rap music. An example of call and response that many people are familiar with would be “Shave and a haircut... Two bits.” 

Syncopated rhythms and polyrhythmic music come directly from African music. It’s more prevalent in jazz. As an example of polyrhythmic music, you have 4/4 time signature – four beats in a measure. One line of music could be playing triplets – three notes making up one quarter note beat - against eighth notes – two notes making up one quarter note beat.  

A Note about Bluegrass & Other Music 

Many bluegrass musicians of the past learned their licks and some of their techniques from Black mentors but never shared that information openly. For instance, Bill Monroe took some of his mandolin’s sound from that pioneered by Arnold Schultz on the guitar and fiddle. 

All in all, music and culture happen and change by listening to, adapting from, and adding to the work and technique of others.  

Over the last decades through Black Banjo Gatherings, like the one held at Appalachian State University in 2005 and the Black Banjo Reunion in 2010, African Americans are rediscovering and reuniting with an instrument that is uniquely their own. Several universities in the Appalachian region have held or are holding gatherings, seminars, and symposiums celebrating the heritage of the banjo and Black banjo players. There might be one near you - or at least an internet search away.

As Mark Freed said in our interview, “All American music was inspired by combination of European and African traditions coming together. The rhythms and playing styles of Black culture combining with the melodies and instrumentation of European culture and blending together... it really is what makes our country so beautiful.” 

More Resources 

If you’ve caught the bug to learn more, there are so, SO many resources out there to dig in deeper. From podcasts to YouTube videos and dissertations to events and conferences where the history of bluegrass, banjos, mountain dance, and more are discussed and displayed.  

Here’s a quick list to get you started: 

Interview with Cecelia (Cece) Conway (YouTube video)

The Carolina Chocolate Drops at Music Fest n’ Sugar Grove featuring Arthur Grimes (African-American Appalachian Folk Dancer) (YouTube video) 

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia (snippets of songs)  

Black Music Project: The Roots of the Banjo 

Give Me the Banjo (a PBS documentary)  

How Black bluegrass musician Arnold Shultz's forgotten legacy lives on in the genre today (radio story)

The African American Folklorist - Black Influence on Kentucky Music (podcast) 

Biscuits & Banjos Festival in Durham, NC, April 25-27 
This event is put together by Rhiannon Giddens, a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and a black banjo evangelist. 

Check Out Our Playlist 

There are many people of color born in the communities surrounding the Mast Store who went on to be influential luminaries in their genre. They include:  

From North Carolina - Etta Baker (noted Blues player), Roberta Flack (R&B/Soul, Pop, Folk singer), Fantasia Barrino (R&B singer), Rhiannon Giddens (Folk musician), Nina Simone (R&B/Soul, Jazz, Blues) 

From Tennessee – Amythyst Kiah (Alternative/Indie), Clifford Curry (R&B/Soul, American Beach Music), Cripple Clarence Lofton (Boogie Woogie pianist) 

From South Carolina – Eartha Kitt (Singer), James Brown (R&B/Soul, Funk) 

From Virginia – Rufus Kasey (Banjoist) 

Here's a LINK to the Banjos & Beyond Playlist