When people talk about the old-style banjos, they often use the terms gourd banjo, tackhead banjo and minstrel banjo as if they are synonymous. Hopefully, this post will clear matters up a bit.
There are a number of photo thumnails in this article. Click on them for larger views.
First Things First: Where was the banjo invented and by whom?
There is a lot of discussion of whether the banjo was invented in Africa or the Americas. The answer is kind of both places. The American banjo was invented by African slaves, using similar African instruments as design inspiration. The banjo as we know it was invented in America. It is but one of the 1000s of inventions by innovators of African descent, but that is another very large and important topic.
Gourd Banjos
The gourd banjo is the earliest form of what we now know as the banjo, with
direct ancestral roots to Africa, where similar instruments were made and played. It is well-established that it was the African slaves in America who invented the gourd banjo and defined the early playing styles on this significant musical instrument in American history. The gourd banjo pre-dates the tackhead and minstrel banjos by at least a century.
The gourd banjo, and its descendents, the tackhead and minstrel banjos, ultimately became a primary fixture in Appalachian folk music, which evolved into what we now call “Old-Time” or “Roots” music, a distinctly American blend of African and Scots-Irish music. The distinctive "lilt" to American versions of Scottish and Irish reels with the same title was a major influence of African-American musicians. This music ultimately evolved into Bluegrass music in the 20th Century. The gourd banjo is not only a significant instrument of our past, but a vibrant and living instrument today as well.
The original gourd banjos were unfretted, but some were retrofit with tied gut frets much like those used on the viola da gamba and the Renaissance fiddle. The fret-knot for banjos is distinct from the fret knots used on earlier European instruments, however.
Tackhead Banjos
The so-called “tackhead” banjos appeared in the 1800s, either along with the
fancier minstrel banjos or perhaps a bit earlier (historians disagree on this topic). Noted banjo maker Jeff Menzies believes that they were developed earlier. The tackhead banjo gets its distinctive name owing to the tacks which fasten the head to the hoop. It has no tension hoop, shoes, hooks or nuts for adjusting the tension on the head. The tackhead represents a stage of banjo evolution where we begin to see an instrument resembling the modern banjo.
According to at least one maker, the tackhead banjos, at least later in their history, were used by folks who could not afford a fancier banjo, or were not in a position to find a banjo maker, such as being engaged in a war (the American Civil War, also known as the War of Southern Independence). The owners of these wonderful instruments usually often made their own, or had a friend make one for him. The tackhead banjo was, according to some authorities, a favorite of the Civil War soldiers as they could be made in camp (like the Civil War era cigar box fiddles) and were light and easy to carry.
As with the gourd banjos, the tackhead banjos were generally unfretted, but many were retrofit with tied gut frets. These instruments are more often seen with frets than the gourd banjos.
Minstrel Banjos
Banjos resembling in many ways modern banjos came on the scene as banjo
manufacturers set up shops. They are generally called “minstrel banjos” today. A perfect example is depicted in the painting, “The Banjo Player” by the artist, musician and inventor, William Sidney Mount. Each banjo manufacturer tended to use a distinctive head (where the tuning pegs are) design. These designs bear the names of the manufacturers to this day, such as Boucher, Jacobs, Sweeney, and so forth. An interesting note is that the early C.F. Martin Guitars (established in the early 1830s) had Boucher-style heads.
The main characteristic that differentiates a minstrel banjo from a tackhead banjo is that it has all of the hardware necessary (tension hoop, shoes, hooks and nuts) for adjusting the tension of the head. The evolution from minstrel banjo to modern banjo was simply a matter of incremental enhancements.
Minstrel banjos were either unfretted or fretted with tied frets.
In Conclusion
Hopefully, this article answered a few questions and, perhaps, introduced new questions. I know from experience that I will be hearing from banjo enthusiasts about some fact or another that I got wrong (in their opinion). I look forward to the comments.
I would be seriously delinquent if I did not refer you to the authoritative website on early banjos, www.dhyatt.com.
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