Posts Tagged ‘folk instruments’
Play a Diddley Bow Like Seasick Steve
Music should always be fun. It should be easy for anyone with almost any level of aptitude to make some form of music. Unfortunately we are taught that, in order to make music, you need to study music tablature, learn scales and chords, spend money on expensive musical instruments and practice loads. But this is far from the truth.
Have you ever see any African tribes people dancing to drums? These talented drummers will have never been to music college. Obviously they aren’t familiar with scales, chords or paradiddles. But they know how to have a good time. Using simple instruments to make music, maybe a home made drum or rattle, is really great fun and what music should be all about.
There is a one stringed Brasilian instrument called a Berimbau that has African roots. The instrument looks very much like a bow that might be used for hunting. Now this simple instrument is the precursor to pretty much all forms of stringed instrument including guitars, harps and even pianos.
You make have heard of an instrument called a Diddley Bow. This is an African American folk instrument that uses only one string or wire. These might typically be made by stretching a piece of wire along a length of wood. The string is made taught with a bridge of some kind, maybe a can, and then fretted with a slide, often a knife, piece of bone or bottleneck.
Lonnie Pitchford, a well known exponent of the Diddley Bow would make his one stringed instruments by attaching a wire to the vertical support of his front porch. In fact, making Diddley Bows in this manner, by attaching a piece of wire (often fence wire or broom wire) to a house or shack, was common practice amongst the poor workers living in the Mississippi Delta region.
The sound of the Diddley Bow is very much the sound of the blues. Many of the early blues orginators from the 1920s and 1930s got their start by twanging Diddley Bows. One popular modern day Diddly bow player is Seasick Steve. So why not make yourself a simple one string Diddley Bow today and make some music.
Who Else Wants to Play a Cigar Box Guitar
Cigar Box Guitar - Goin to Brownsville
I’ve been playing, or should I say learning, the guitar for over thirty years but I’ve only recently discovered the fun that can be had with a simple cigar box guitar.
If you are new to cigar box guitars I should explain what they are. The clue is in the name, a cigar box guitar is a guitar made from a wooden cigar box. They tend to be home made instruments that use a cigar box as the resonator in the same way that an acoustic guitar uses its guitar body to amplify the sound from the strings.
Back in the 19th century cigar smoking was far more popular than it is today. They began to package cigars in wooden boxes from around the middle of the 19th century and people soon found a use for these boxes in various home made instruments.
Turning a cigar box into a guitar like instrument is relatively easy to achieve with a length of wood for the neck and a few tuning pegs. The simplest of cigar box guitars might have only one string, but they are commonly made with three strings and no frets. A bottleneck slide, knife or even a piece of animal bone can be used to fret the steel strings.
Cigar box based musical instruments are a traditional form of folk instrument that could easily be made using items that would otherwise have been thrown away. In recent years there has been increased interest in these simple instruments with people sharing their building expertise, tips and advice on the internet. And its not essential that you use a cigar box to make home made musical instruments. Many builders of cigar box guitars use other boxes for the resonator including biscuit tins oil drums and childrens lunch boxes.
If you are struggling with your fancy six string why not get yourself a three string cigar box guitar and join the revolution.